Why Do We...Pass on the Oblate Cross?

In 1807, during the adoration of the cross on Good Friday, St. Eugene De Mazenod received a special grace which brought him face-to-face with the true love and mercy of Christ’s sacrifice for the redemption of all humanity. Tears filled his eyes as he suddenly became profoundly aware of the Divine Mercy of the Lord. This may have been the most important event of his conversion because it was at that moment that he decided to offer his life to Jesus the Savior.

Inspired by the cross, St. Eugene began his ministry. He gathered other priests who were also willing to offer their lives to serving God and evangelizing the poor. His new order of missionary priests and brothers would eventually be called the Missionary Oblates from the term Oblation meaning “offering.”

The leading theme throughout his life, which he passed on to his Oblates as a legacy, was to be the “glorious instruments of the eternal salvation of souls created in God’s image and redeemed by His blood.” This legacy was embodied by the Oblate Cross which he saw as an essential tool of evangelization.

Saint Eugene’s passion for the cross was something he instilled in all of his Oblate brothers as he adopted the cross as a crucial sign in the charism and mission of the Missionary Oblates. He felt that the cross was a sign of Jesus’ sacrifice which redeems sinners and re-establishes the covenant with God. Furthermore, it was a sign of love and reconciliation. It was an essential sign of conversion because it represented the sign of utmost human poverty in suffering and death, as well as Divine Mercy.

The founder wished each of his missionary sons to wear a missionary cross as a distinctive sign of conversion. He wanted the cross to be “a sacred sign of our apostolic mission” as well as “an essential part of our religious habit. . . given on the day of profession as a distinctive sign of our ministry.” Oblates have since always carried their Oblate Crosses to their missions around the world as a sign of God’s mercy, and as a constant reminder of the virtues of humility, charity, and modesty.

By 1830, the passing on of the missionary crosses from deceased Oblates to new Oblates was already part of the Oblate tradition. Each new Oblate received the cross of one of his deceased brothers so that he could be inspired by and further the legacy of his deceased brother. This tradition of passing on the Oblate Cross is still an important part of Oblate perpetual vows ceremonies. The passing on of the Oblate Cross is not just a continuance of the legacy of St. Eugene De Mazenod but it is also a symbol of Oblate brotherhood in Christ.