Charles de Condren, Cong. Orat. (15 December 1588 - 17 January 1641), was a French Catholic mystic of the 17th century and is considered a leading member of the

French School of Spirituality The French school of spirituality was the principal devotional influence within the Catholic Church from the mid-17th century through the mid-20th century, not only in France but throughout the Church in most of the world. A development of the Ca ...

Early life

Condren was born on 15 December 1588 in Vauxbuin, near

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

. His father, governor of the royal castle of Piles near

Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...

, had converted from Protestantism to Catholicism. He sought to instill in his son an attraction for military life, and had the boy outfitted with a military uniform when still very young. Charles was tutored by M. le Masson, a canon of Soissons, and displayed a remarkable memory even at a young age. Charles had a decisive spiritual experience at the age of eleven and half and decided to become a priest. He studied in the secondary school of Harcourt from 1603 till 1605, but because of an illness returned to his family for several months. His father was still determined that Charles should join the army either at Calais or in Holland, but perceiving the serious of the illness, agreed that should his son recover, he could enter religious life.

The French Oratory

He continued his studies at the Sorbonne and was ordained to the priesthood in 1614, receiving his doctorate from the Sorbonne the next year. He gave up his family inheritance, which by the law of

primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

was his, and entered the house of the French Oratory founded by the

Abbé ''Abbé'' (from Latin , in turn from Greek , , from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is also the title used for lower-ranki ...

(later

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

) Pierre de Bérulle on the Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris, having thought before that of becoming a Capuchin friar. In 1615, Condren participated in the foundation of a new house of the Oratory in

Nevers Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...

and in 1619 was in

Langres Langres () is a commune in France, commune in northeastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Haute-Marne, in the Regions of France, region of Grand Est. History As the capital ...

for the opening of a seminary, in conformity to the decrees of the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

. He returned to Paris in 1620 to open a new house of the Oratory in

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

and in 1624, one at the former Abbey of St. Magloire, which doubled as a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

. In 1625, he returned to the house in the Rue de Saint-Honoré. In 1627, he became the

confessor In a number of Christian traditions, including Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism, a confessor is a priest who hears the confessions of penitents and pronounces absolution. History During the Diocletianic Persecut ...

of Prince Gaston of France, (

Monsieur ( ; ; pl. ; ; 1512, from Middle French , literally "my lord") is an honorific title that was used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It has now become the customary French title of respe ...

), brother of King

Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

. He brought about a reconciliation between the king and his brother, who had been estranged, on 18 April 1630 in

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

. Condren also bore the responsibility of being the confessor of Bérulle.Lear, H. L. Sidney. "Charles de Condren", ''The Revival of Priestly Life in the Seventeenth Century in France'', Rivingtons, 1877
/ref> After Bérulle's death in 1629, Condren succeeded him as

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in the Catholic Church, and in some other Christian denominations. The super ...

of the Oratory. Condren was elected very quickly to avoid intervention by

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...

. The Oratory had 71 houses in 1631, but Condren was discouraged and came near to resigning in 1634. He was also a member of the Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement. The work Condren had most at heart was the foundation of seminaries after the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

model mandated by the

. The Catholic Church felt that its success in its own renewal lay in the thorough and systematic formation of the clergy through their education in these schools. Condren gathered a few young ecclesiastics around him for that purpose. The missions in which he employed them were meant to impress on their minds the religious needs of the country. A disciple of both

Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was an Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622, Vincent was appointed as chaplain to the galleys. ...

, and Condren,

Jean-Jacques Olier Jean-Jacques Olier, S.S. (20 September 1608 – 2 April 1657) was a French Catholic priest and the founder of the Sulpicians. He also helped to establish the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal, which organized the settlement of a new town ca ...

took part in "missions" organized by them in France. Condren was Olier's confessor, and counseled him not accept an appointment to a bishopric;"A Brief History", Society of the Priests of Saint-Sulpice, Province of Canada
/ref> instead Olier went on to found the Society of Saint Sulpice whose main purpose was the education of priests. In 1638 he created the

College of Juilly The College of Juilly ( French: ''Collège de Juilly'') was a Catholic private teaching establishment located in the commune of Juilly, in Seine-et-Marne (France). Directed by the French Oratorians, it was created in 1638 by the Congregationi ...

, where, at his death, he was laid to rest in the chapel,Ingold, Augustin. "French Congregation of the Oratory." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 7 January 2019 next to the tomb of Cardinal Bérulle. His first biography was published in 1643 by a member of the French Oratory, Denis Amelote (reviewed in 1657).

References

External links

Charles de Condren
(2005)

– LA VOIE MYSTIQUE * ttps://archive.org/stream/eternalsacrifice00char#page/n5/mode/2up Charles de Condren. ''The Eternal Sacrifice'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Condren, Charles de 1588 births 1641 deaths People from Aisne 17th-century French Roman Catholic priests 17th-century Christian mystics Roman Catholic mystics Burials in Île-de-France French Christian mystics French school of spirituality French Oratory mystics

Early life

The French Oratory

See also

References

Further reading

External links