Who are the Oblates?
We're a small parish group, but we're part of something bigger. It goes back to one priest who thought the Church had left the poor behind and decided to do something about it. Below: who he was, what his followers believe, and the youth movement we're part of today.
1816
founded in Aix-en-Provence
210
years of history
~3,800
Oblates worldwide
65+
countries
St. Eugene de Mazenod, 1782–1861
A restless aristocrat who chose the poor
Eugene de Mazenod was born into wealth in Aix-en-Provence in 1782, and then lost nearly all of it. The French Revolution sent his family fleeing across Italy for eleven years, moving from city to city, often poor, always unsettled. It's not the origin story you'd expect for a saint, but it's the one he actually had.
Back in France in his twenties, adrift between the aristocratic life he was raised for and something he couldn't yet name, a conversion experience one Good Friday reoriented everything. He entered the seminary, was ordained in 1811, and made a decision that scandalized his own social class: instead of a comfortable Church career, he chose to preach to the poor of Aix. He preached in Provençal, their own everyday language, not the formal French reserved for polite society.
On January 25, 1816, he and a handful of companions began living and working together in Aix. That small, unofficial household of priests became, ten years later, a congregation approved by Rome under a name that's stuck ever since: the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
“To be the servant and priest of the poor.”Eugene de Mazenod, on his ordination
Timeline
Tap any date to read more.
The Oblate charism
“Charism” is just the word for a religious family's particular flavor of following Christ. For the Oblates, that comes down to six things.
Christ & Evangelization
It starts with an experience, not an argument: God's mercy, made real in Jesus Christ. Everything else follows from actually wanting other people to know that too.
It's why we talk about faith over dinner, not just at Sunday Mass.
Love for the Poor
Not charity as an occasional add-on. It's a standing priority for “the most abandoned,” the people everyone else has stopped looking for.
It's why our service projects aren't a once-a-year checkbox.
Community
Oblates live and serve together, not alone. The idea is simple: you become more of who you are meant to be in the company of others chasing the same thing.
It's the entire reason this group exists.
Missionary Vocation
“Specialists in the difficult missions of the Church.” They go where the need is greatest, not just where it's comfortable.
It's why we go on retreats and mission trips, not just meetings.
Total Availability
“Oblate” means offered. The name itself is the point: given over, without the usual reservations people build in.
It's why there's always someone willing to host, drive, or show up last-minute.
Marian Devotion
Mary Immaculate as model and companion. The founder called her, simply, the Mother of the Mission.
It's why we pray together, not just show up together.
Oblate Youth, worldwide
Youth ministry isn't a modern add-on to the Oblate mission. It's baked into the founding. Eugene started a youth congregation in Aix in 1813, three years before the Oblates officially existed, and personally mentored young people at the mission house from 1816 on. Groups of Young Oblates of Mary Immaculate (YOMI) carry that on today across dozens of countries, tied into local Oblate parishes and missions much like this one.
The framework Oblates use for youth ministry is disarmingly simple. It's attributed to Eugene himself: help each other become, in order, human, Christian, and saints. Not a program so much as a sequence: dignity and growth first, then a real encounter with Christ, then a life actually built around it.
Every few years, Oblate youth from around the world gather for a World Youth Encounter, usually timed with World Youth Day. One of them was held right here in Toronto, in 2002. The most recent World Youth Day, Lisbon 2023, saw Oblate youth take part too. The next one is already on the calendar: Seoul, 2027.
World Youth Encounters
- Rome 2000
- Toronto 2002 (our city)
- Hünfeld 2005
- Melbourne 2008
- Málaga 2011
- Aparecida 2013
- Wrocław 2016
Which Oblate trait is most you?
Five quick questions, zero theology degree required.
Question 1 of 5
A friend texts at 11pm clearly having a rough week. You:
Truth and reconciliation
Part of telling this history honestly, especially here in Canada, is not leaving out the hard part: Oblates historically ran a significant number of the Indian Residential Schools whose legacy of harm to Indigenous children and communities is documented in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's findings.
The Oblates publicly apologized for this in 1991, and have since worked with the TRC and Indigenous communities on documentation, disclosure, and ongoing reconciliation. It's not a closed chapter, and it shouldn't be treated like one. It's a real, still-unfolding part of the family this group belongs to.
Want to be part of it here?
You don't need to know any of this history to belong. Just show up. This is the local, Toronto-sized version of that same 200-year-old family.