Saint Who?
Saints Who Lost Loved Ones
Blessed Frédéric Ozanam
Married layman († 1853)Feast: September 9
“Do not be afraid of new beginnings…. You who have energy, who have enthusiasm, who want to do something of value for the future: Be inventive, launch out; do not wait!” Frédéric Ozanam was born in Milan to French parents in 1813. His father was a doctor; his mother he later described as “a living image of Holy Mother Church.”
Frédéric studied law to please his father and literature to please himself. He became a professor of literature at the Sorbonne, where he was an outspoken defender of Catholicism. In 1833, eager to do more than just talk about the societal problems he saw, he cofounded what became the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. “I am weary of words—let us act!”
Frédéric’s mother died around 1840. He wrote poignantly of her final hours, during which he helped her to pray the simple prayers she had taught him herself. In 1841, Frédéric married Amélie Soulacroix, whose virtue and goodness were a consolation for the death of his mother. Sadly, their first and second children died in utero. While Amelie was convalescing with her parents after the first miscarriage, Frédéric wrote to her daily. At about thirty-seven, Frédéric became ill. His wife wrote, “The more his body is weakened…the more beautiful his souls grows.” He died in 1853 and was beatified in 1997.
Beloved Father, through the prayers of
Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, comfort those
who bear the cross of miscarriage.
