History of the Congregation

2. The situation in the East (1862–1863)

To carry out this mission, Fr. d'Alzon sent Fr. Victorin Galabert, a priest holding degrees in both medicine and theology, to Constantinople in December 1862. Fr. d'Alzon joined him in April 1863 to assess the situation firsthand. Recognizing the immense need for charitable and educational outreach among the local population, Fr. Galabert, along with Fr. Barthelemy (an Assumptionist pharmacist), opened a school for 90 pupils in Philippopolis on December 10, 1863. This marked the first Assumptionist foundation in the East.

3. The Call for a Female Presence (1864)

By March 1864, Fr. Galabert realized that the mission could not succeed through the work of priests alone. Supported by the local Latin Bishop of Sofia, he urged Fr. d'Alzon to send religious Sisters to run schools for girls and engage in charitable works. Fr. d'Alzon agreed, noting that to penetrate homes, reach families, and serve the poor effectively, a female religious presence was indispensable.

After evaluating various options such as recruiting local women or partnering with existing religious congregations, Fr. d'Alzon resolved to establish a new congregation himself. He entrusted Fr. Hippolyte Saugrain, Novice Master for the Brothers, with preparing young postulants for this new missionary initiative.

5. Co –Founder:  Marie Correnson (1866–1867)

To form these young women into both schoolteachers and sisters of charity, Mother Eugénie temporarily delegated Sr. Marie-Madeleine from the Religious of the Assumption to guide their initial steps. Meanwhile, Fr. d'Alzon turned to Marie Correnson, a spiritual directee since 1859, proposing in July 1866 that she become the Foundress and Mother of the new congregation.

Initially hesitant due to the sacrifice of leaving high society life in Nîmes to live among uneducated girls, Marie overcame her interior struggle through prayer and spiritual guidance. On April 7, 1867, after a secret novitiate, she received the name Mother Emmanuel-Marie of the Compassion along with the motto “to be all to all.” She left home on June 27, 1867, to take her place as Superior at Rochebelle, making her perpetual vows on April 18, 1868.

6. Mission to Bulgaria (1868–1880s)

In April 1868, Mother Emmanuel-Marie and four Oblates traveled from Marseille to Adrianople, where they quickly established schools, an orphanage, a dispensary, and a hospital. By 1878, twenty-one Sisters were actively serving across Adrianople and Philippopolis, heroically remaining on site during the 1877 Russian-Turkish war to care for the sick, refugees, and orphans in true alignment with their founders' charitable spirit.

7. Oblates today.

Over 150 years after our establishment in Nîmes, the oblates have grown into a worldwide religious congregation serving in more than 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe. While our historical Mother House stays in Nîmes, our Generalate is located in Paris. Our leaders now can be chosen from any of these 4 continents.  To remain true to our founding spirit of answering the call "Here I am, send me!", we continue our mission of fostering unity, education, and healthcare worldwide. Across diverse cultures and religions, we dedicate ourselves to serving others through schools, dispensaries, orphanages, catechism, and pastoral outreach.