The testimonial of Fr. Bernard Fougères, the episcopal vicar of the diocese of Nîmes, in which he speaks of his own relationship with Fr. d'Alzon.  

The first time I heard of Fr. d'Alzon I was only 10 years old, in my parish, St. Francis de Sales, when our parish priest told us about him in one of our catechism classes. He described him as a local apostle for the modern world. His account captured my imagination because it has stayed with me ever since I heard it: the founder of a religious order and an educator of the young

Ten years later when I was a seminarian at the seminary in Nîmes,  I became even more impressed by Fr. d'Alzon's strong personality and the reach of his priestly service, of which the rector would speak from time to time in his regular spiritual talks to us.  At that time I was drawn to the richness of his ministry: the quality of his administrative service as vicar general,  the attention he gave to the poor and the founding of an orphanage, his concern for the young and the organizations he established for them, the St. Louis de Gonzaga Club for richer kids and the St. Stanislas Club for less wealthy kids, all of the catechetical and  recreational activities he began, many of which still exist such as the Argaud Center. The gift of one's whole self to Christ and the Church in serving others marked me as a seminarian.  

I still remember what the rector of the seminary told us in November 1964 when Fr. d'Alzon's tomb was opened as part of the beatification process. He quoted from the pastoral letter of bishop of the time, Pierre Marie Rougé,  entitled "The Relevance and Presence of Fr. d'Alzon." He said, "Fr. d'Alzon must remain for us a sign of how we are to assume our responsibilities in carrying out the mission of the Church at a time of renewal in the spirit of the Council."   

Without a doubt it was at Le Vigan, Fr. d'Alzon's birthplace,  where I was pastor from 1981 to 1987, that I truly began to know him, thanks to the Assumptionist chaplains who served the Orantes of the Assumption on a regular basis. And let us not forget how much the people of Le Vigan are attached to the person of Fr. d'Alzon...  It was in this setting that I truly grasped Fr. d'Alzon's attachment to Christ and the Church, his soul of an apostle and a missionary, zealous and impassioned. It was at that time that I discovered this writing of his: 'I cannot love Jesus Christ without wanting that all love him and this is what drives the life of an apostle' and, of course, that of your motto, 'Thy Kingdom Come.'