“Breathe the Oblate Air”

Jan 7

Oblates at the General Council meeting in Annecy, France, 2025

Every summer, Oblates from around the world gather in Annecy, France, the home of St. Francis de Sales. We gather for prayer, fraternity, and discussions. It is a fruitful time together.

To travel to Annecy, most of us arrive through the Geneva airport. For the past two summer meetings, I’ve shared the hour-long ride from Geneva to Annecy with Fr. Ennio Di Giampasquale, OSFS, from the Italian Province. He speaks Italian and French, while I speak only English. Over those rides, we have exchanged a few words, but I never took the time to really sit with him or to use a translator app to speak with him.

Last summer, I discovered the impetus for Fr. Ennio to travel to Annecy. He explained his motivation, which I understood through translation:

“I often wonder why I come to these meetings. I don’t speak English well, and almost all the conversations are in English. I live in Albano, south of Rome. I am the rector of the cathedral there, which is the Pope’s cathedral. Castel Gandolfo is in my parish. Pope Leo is there right now, for his first visit. I was supposed to be there to welcome him.

But I told the Vatican I would not be there. They would need to find someone else.

Why? Because of our community. Because I need to breathe the air of being with other Oblates, even if I only understand half of what you are saying.”

As Oblates, we profess that there is always something of God in our neighbor. Yet I confess that I often allow distraction, fatigue, or difference to keep me from discovering that God is present.

In this season of renewal, hope, and joy, the action of “breathing the Oblate air” stays with me. Beneath all of the business of our lives, there is something simple, beautiful, and very demanding. It is the willingness to remain present to one another.

I will include the phrase, “breathe the Oblate air,” as one of my directions of intention this year. What will be your phrase?

May God be Praised!