Oratory of Jesus

In France, Bérulle, ordained a priest in 1599, felt that the clergy of the country had lost their spirit, seeking only the economic security of benefices.

[2] Taking the example of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri in Rome, he envisioned secular clergy living together in community.

However, Bérulle felt that the situation in France required a tighter organizational structure than Neri's communities in Italy, so the French Oratory operated under the authority of a Superior General.

[4] The French Oratory became very important in the area of spiritual direction, as the Fathers of the congregation were confessors of influential people, for example Charles de Condren, confessor to Prince Gaston of France, King Louis' brother, and were protected by the royal court, especially Queen Marie de Medici.

They also were confessors to numerous monasteries of Discalced Carmelites, who had been established in France, through the efforts of Bérulle, under the leadership of the Blessed Marie of the Incarnation, OCD.

[3] When the French Revolution broke out in 1789, initially the Fathers of the Oratory were very supportive of the ideals of liberty that it espoused, which fit into their corporate ethos.

The last Superior General had died in 1790, but, given the social upheavals going on, the Oratorians decided to wait it out before attempting to elect a successor, thinking that the situation would be only temporary.

[3] In 1903, forced to leave the country as a result of the anti-clerical laws of the Third French Republic, the Oratorians took refuge in Switzerland, returning to France only in 1920.