Early Years (1813 – c. 1833)

Antoine Frédéric Ozanam was born on April 23, 1813, in Milan, which was then part of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. He was the fifth of 14 children born to Jean-Antoine Ozanam, a doctor, and Marie-Françoise Ozanam (née Lasource). His family moved to Lyon, France, when he was a child.

At the age of seven he suffered the loss of his sister, Elise, which came as a great grief to him because they had grown close as she patiently helped him with his early lessons. Frederic became a day student at the Royal College of Lyons where he quickly showed an aptitude for and an interest in literature and where he would later become editor of a college journal, The Bee.

In a letter written when he was sixteen we have something of an autobiographical account of these early years:

“…They say I was very gentle and docile as a child, and they attribute this to my feeble health; but I account for it in another way. I had a sister, such a beloved sister! who used to take turns with my mother to teach me, and whose lessons were so sweet, so well-explained, so admirably suited to my childish comprehension as to be a real delight to me. All things considered, I was pretty good at this stage of my life, and, with the exception of some trifling peccadilloes, I have not much to reproach myself with.

At seven years old I had a serious illness, which brought me so near death that everybody said I was saved by a miracle,. not that I wanted kind care, my dear father and mother hardly left my bedside for fifteen days and nights. I was on the point of expiring when suddenly I asked for some beer. I had always disliked beer but it saved me. I recovered, and six months later, my sister, my darling sister, died. Oh! what a grief that was. Then I began to learn Latin, and to be naughty; really and truly I believe I never was so wicked as at eight years old. And yet I was being educated by a kind father and a kind mother and an excellent brother; I loved them dearly, and at this period I had no friends outside my family,. yet I was obstinate, passionate, disobedient. I was punished, and I rebelled against it. I used to write letters to my mother complaining of my punishments. I was lazy to the last degree, and used to plan all sorts of naughtiness in my mind. This is a true portrait of me as I was first going to school at nine and a half years old. By degrees I improved; emulation cured my laziness. I was very fond of my master; I had some little successes, which encouraged me. I studied with ardor, and at the same time I began to feel some emotions of pride. I must also confess that I exchanged a great number of blows with my companions. But I changed very much for the better when I entered the fifth class. I fell ill, and was obliged to go for a month to the country, to the house of a very kind lady, where I acquired some degree of polish, which I lost in great part soon after.

I grew rather idle in the fourth class, but I pulled up again in the third. It was then that I made my first Communion. O glad and blessed day! may my right hand wither and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I ever forget thee!

I had changed a good deal by this time; I had become modest, gentle, and docile, more industrious and unhappily rather scrupulous. I still continued proud and impatient.

Despite a leaning toward literature and history, Frederic’s father decided on a law career for him and apprenticed him to a local attorney, M. Coulet. But, in his spare time, the young man pursued the study of language and managed to contribute historical and philosophical articles to the college journal.

In the Spring of 1831 Ozanam published his first work of any length, “Reflections on the Doctrine of Saint-Simon,” which was a defense against some false social teaching that was capturing the fancy of young people at the time. His efforts were rewarded with favorable notice from some of the leading social thinkers of the day including Lamartine, Chateaubriand and Jean-Jacques Ampere.

Ozanam also found time outside of work to help organize and write for the Propagation of the Faith which had begun in this same city of Lyons.

In 1831, at the age of 18, Ozanam moved to Paris to study law at the Sorbonne. The Parisian intellectual environment was vibrant but also marked by skepticism and anti-religious sentiment in the aftermath of the French Revolution. Ozanam found himself confronted with challenges to his faith from fellow students and professors. This period, while intellectually stimulating, also solidified his resolve to defend and live out his Catholic beliefs in a practical way.

His Works (c. 1833 – 1853)

Beyond his philanthropic work, Ozanam pursued a distinguished academic career. He earned his doctorate in law in 1836 and then a doctorate in literature in 1839. In 1840, he was appointed to the Chair of Foreign Literature at the Sorbonne, a position he held until his death. His academic contributions included influential works on Dante Alighieri and the Germanic peoples. He was also a prolific writer and journalist, contributing to various Catholic publications and advocating for social justice and Christian principles in public life.

Ozanam married Amélie Soulacroix in 1841, and they had two children, a son who died in infancy, and a daughter, Marie. Throughout his life, despite his growing family and demanding professional commitments, he remained deeply committed to the growth and mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

His Death and Beatification

The process for his beatification began shortly after his death. On August 22, 1997, Pope John Paul II beatified Frédéric Ozanam during the World Youth Day celebrations in Paris, declaring him “Blessed.” His feast day is celebrated on September 9th. The miracle attributed to his intercession, which led to his beatification, involved the healing of a young boy in Brazil from a malignant tumor in 1926.

Blessed Frédéric Ozanam is revered not only as the principal founder of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, which now operates in over 150 countries, but also as a model of lay sanctity, intellectual pursuit, and dedicated service to the poor, embodying the practical application of Christian faith in the modern world.