Fr. Henri Chaumont - Our Founder
Henri Chaumont was born in Paris on 11th December 1838, of Pierre Chaumont and Anne Korsten as the second child of a family of 8 children. He was consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary at the age of four by his mother.
During the early years of his life, Henri became an ardent reader of the “Annals of the propagation of Faith” which increased the missionary ardour in him. This missionary flame was kept burning vibrantly until the end of his life. At the age of 14, he felt that it was mainly through women that the Gospel could reach every family.
Mgr Gaston de Ségur, a holy Priest, filled with the spirit of St. Francis de Sales, became his spiritual director from the day Henri received first communion. Henri revealed his desire to become a priest to this priest. This Mgr.de Segur played a great role in his formation and influenced his achievements. When he was 16 years old, Henri entered the minor Seminary in Versailles in 1855 and then in 1858 the Seminary of Montmorillon.
On October 5, 1859, he entered the Seminary of Issy-les-Moulineaux, where the "letters" of St. Francis de Sales were read in the dining hall. This influenced and inspired him in a great way. To quote him, "From that time I did not stop the study of St. Francis de Sales which I undertook at the same time with my Philosophy. I was carrying this volume everywhere and studying it as I had done before with the Annals of the Propagation of Faith. It was the starting point, a stroke of grace."
Before his ordination, Henri Chaumont went to the Seminary in St Sulpice on 1st October 1860 where he started reading and meditating the Acts of the Apostles. "The Apostles formed the faithful women living in the world to practice virtues, and they in their turn became their auxiliaries. If at all God deigns to entrust some souls to me, if He gives them to me for their direction in the midst of the world, I will form them in the apostolic tradition, and I will make use of the method of the Apostles. This dream became a reality. This is what I tried to reproduce among the Daughters of St Francis de Sales," Henri Chaumont narrated at a retreat to the Daughters of St Francis de Sales in 1895.
He was ordained a priest on 18th January 1864 in the Chapel of the Seminary of St. Sulpice by Mgr Henri Maret, delegate of the Archbishop. It was the time when the world around saw the development of ideas of freedom and rationalism, growth of atheism, and the expansion of industrialization. As a secular Priest at the service of the Diocese of Paris, he upheld salvation of souls as the main focus of his priesthood. At first he was posted at the Parish of St Marcel, in a very poor area of Paris, also materially and spiritually poor district (1864 – 1868). It is in being available in the confessional and through visits; Fr Chaumont came to know the people, their needs and expectations, especially the need for Christian instruction and formation. He responded to this situation by his own creativity and through various persons who were ready to help him.
He became seriously ill in January 1868. His family and friends prayed to St. Francis de Sales for his healing. On 29th January – the then feast day of St Francis de Sales – the dying patient was cured. He promised to go to Annecy to thank the Saint for his miraculous healing.
War broke out in 1870 in France; the country fought and suffered greatly. In 1871 the Commune caused the people to revolt and the country was occupied. The future looked bleak. Anticipating upheavals to come soon, Fr. Chaumont wrote, "Hold firm to the faith. Yes, some sullied leaves are going perhaps to fall in the hurricane which is blowing through the Church. The wind will carry the useless straw and the pure wheat will remain."
Keeping in line with his ever burning desire to make the women as apostles to carry the Gospel of Christ to all ,he founded a group called the Society of the Daughters of St. Francis de Sales. The auspicious day was 15th October 1872 and Madame Carre de Malberg was the pioneer along with Fr.Chaumont. The members lived their daily ordinary lives in the world, at the same time aiming at holiness, taking the light from the Introduction to the Devout Life. This book came out from the hand of St.Francis de Sales, the then Bishop of Geneva.
The Founder, right from the start had awakened a missionary enthusiasm among the members of this society. It is out of this group four members were sent to the Indian soil (Nagpur) in 1889 to begin their missionary journey. Later on they went to China and other countries. The Congregation of the Salesian Missionaries of Mary Immaculate (SMMI) was born from the Society of St.Francis de Sales. It is in 1968 that we were recognized as a Religious branch by the Holy See. In the present world we, the Salesian Missionaries of Mary Immaculate are serving the Lord and His Church in more than 20 countries. We reach out to the poor and the marginalized through the various forms of apostolate.
As years rolled on, Fr. Henri Chaumont founded groups as Sons of St.Francis de Sales, Priests of St.Francis de Sales, to enable the diocesan priests to be spiritual centred persons to guide the people. The members of these groups spread all through the world, live the Salesian Spirituality and fulfil the vision of Fr.Henri Chaumont. We thank the Almighty for this great personality of Fr.Henri Chamount and we continue to serve the Universal Church living and keeping alive our Charism. May the Ever living Triune God continue to guide our journey in the days to come.
