Olier, Jean-Jacques. Lettres Spirituelles de M. Olier, Paris: Chez Jacques Langlois et Emmanuel Langlois, 1672.
Call Number: SpC. 248.482 O46L1672
In a recent article in Vincentian Heritage, the Rev. Robert P. Maloney, C.M., described Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) and Jean-Jacques Olier (1608-1657) as “unlikely friends.”1 The founder of the Sulpicians and a key figure in the “French School” of spirituality, Olier was much younger than Monsieur Vincent and as the son of a well-to-do Parisian lawyer came from a very different background than the famous Gascon peasant.
Their personalities and spiritualities may have differed but in their case the differences that might ordinarily have led two people away from a friendship instead helped (despite some rocky moments) each of them to appreciate each other’s gifts and recognize other values that they shared. Such a successful relationship requires great maturity, and at the level of faith great holiness.
As Fr. Maloney also points out: “Both gave popular missions, working on teams in the French countryside. Both dedicated their lives to the renewal of the diocesan clergy. Both sent missionaries to distant lands and yearned to go there themselves. Both promoted apostolic activity of women. Each was strongly influenced by womenboth men were remarkably energetic and active, while remaining deeply prayerful.”2 For a time, Vincent de Paul served as Olier’s spiritual director.
On April 2, 1657 Vincent de Paul was at Olier’s side when he died. Soon after at the invitation of Olier’s fellow Sulpicians, Monsieur Vincent addressed them as they gathered to elect their founder’s successor as superior general. Vincent with great sympathy, and obvious emotion, told the gathering: “The earth holds his body, heaven his soul, but his spirit resides in you.”
The featured volume is an early edition of Olier’s spiritual letters.
1Maloney, Robert P. C.M. “Vincent de Paul and Jean-Jacques Olier: Unlikely Friends,” Vincentian Heritage: Vol. 28: Iss. 1, Article 1, 7-19.
2Ibid., 8-9.
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St. Vincent’s Reading List is recurring blog series exploring texts known to have been read and recommended by St. Vincent de Paul, those which can be presumed to have been read by him, and important works published during his lifetime (1581-1660). All materials discussed are held by DePaul’s Special Collections and Archives. The entire series may be viewed here.