Greetings from Rome, together with Brother Tadeusz. We are in the Eternal City, a place deeply connected with our Oblate history. I feel a great joy walking the same streets where St. Eugene once walked. He stayed here from November 1825 to May 1826. It was not an easy time for him - there was anxiety and uncertainty - but also deep trust. And in the end, it became a time of great joy and thanksgiving, when Pope Leo XII approved our Congregation.

For me, these days in Rome feel like a special grace. I look at our Congregation with hope as we enter our third century. On February 17, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presided at the solemn Eucharist, and our Superior General, Fr. Chicho, gave the homily. Three sentences stayed in my heart:

“The Oblate of the third centenary will either be mystical or he will not be. The Oblate of the third centenary will be a prophet—and will be so in community—or not at all. The Oblate of the third centenary will be a missionary with the poor—or not at all.”

I trust that, with the help of St. Eugene and all the saints of our Oblate family, we can renew our lives and the lives of those to whom we are sent. And it all begins with what is mystical—that is, with a deep experience of God’s love. Our Oblate life is about living in a real, loving relationship with God, deep in the heart.

Fr. Jacek Nosowicz OMI

(Photos: Fr. JN, omiworld)

on the tomb of Pope Leo XII