Why a “New” Directory in English?

During my novitiate year of 1993-94, readings assigned to novices included the few documents related to Fr. Lanteri and the early history of the Oblates that were available in English at the time. These included the biography A Cross for Napoleon by Msgr. Léon Cristiani; a spiral-bound book entitled Documents of the Founder, which had been compiled and translated by Fr. Timothy Gallagher, OMV and printed in 1988; the Rule of 1826 and a history of the congregation until 1870, both translated by the late Fr. Gregory Staab, OMV; and a small white book known as the Directory.

The latter book, which had been printed in 1974, contained the English translation of the Directory which had been published by Fr. Giov. Battista Isnardi, OMV in 1857. A few copies of the original Italian version which had been printed in 1975 were also in our library at the time.

The importance of such a directory was English and Italian editions containing Isnardi’s Directory evident, given the brevity of the early versions of the Rule. The 1817 Rule for the Oblates at Carignano was simply a list of 24 rules—a total of only about 600 words in the original Italian. The Rule of 1826, which received papal approval, was also brief, consisting of five short chapters with 14 rules (most of the other 10 rules from the 1817 version having been incorporated into other sections of the document) with three chapters taken largely from St. Alphonsus Liguori. During his lifetime Lanteri had labored over a directory that would expound these early Rules and describe more fully how Oblates were to live them, but no finished version of the directory was left to us upon his death.

Isnardi would meet the need for such a directory. At the time of Lanteri’s death in 1830, he had recently been ordained to the priesthood, and was one eight priests remaining in the Congregation. In 1856 he became Rector Major at the age of 49. Isnardi gathered various documents of the founder which had been drafts or partial versions of the Directory, and weaved them, with some editing, into a usable whole. On August 5, 1857, the 27th anniversary of Lanteri’s death, Isnardi had the Directory published.

Another of the books in our library during the 1990’s was a 1945 work in Italian by Fr. Amato Frutaz called the Positio, or “Position” regarding the introduction of Lanteri’s cause for beatification and canonization. In assembling the Positio, Frutaz had studied the documents in the Oblate archives that were drafts or partial versions used by Lanteri in his work of preparing the directory. He concluded that although Isnardi’s Directory was for the most part accurate, Isnardi had sometimes edited the form in a very pronounced way. Frutaz judged that one of the documents in the archives (AOMV, S. 2,8,7:262, which I refer to as “Manuscript 262”), in Fr. Loggero’s handwriting and corrected throughout by Lanteri, was the most complete of the original documents.

For the sake of further completeness, Frutaz inserted into Manuscript 262 a total of four passages from two other partial versions of the directory that were in the archives. These four insertions (representing a total of 1,244 words, about 8% of the total), filled in gaps that had been left by Lanteri in Manuscript 262 at the time of his death. Thus, in contrast to Isnardi, Frutaz had assembled a version of the directory which consisted of Lanteri’s own words, contained a minimum of editing, and clearly delineated how that editing had been done.

The resulting version of the directory can be found in the original Italian in the third volume (“Fondazioni/Ascetici”) of the four-volume set of Lanteri’s writings, which can be found in most of our Oblate houses. In that volume, it is labeled as document Org 2262, and is found on pp. 1850-1891. The Rule of 1817 (Org 5271) and the Rule of 1826 (Org 8052) can be found in the same volume.

Although the founder arranged the Directory around the 24 rules in the Rule of 1817, the early Oblates regarded it as a reliable guide to understanding and applying the Rule of 1826 as well. In the words of Frutaz, “[E]ven after the composition of the definitive Rule, approved by Leo XII in 1826, the Directory, based on the Rule approved in 1817, remained in use; indeed, it is cited there in the same new Rule in chap. III, Par. 2. We know then with certainty . . . that the Directory has always been considered by the Oblates as the text in which the true and genuine spirit of the Congregation is reflected, according to the mind and the heart of the Founder.”

Intrigued by the fact that there was a document available to us that was a nearly complete version of the directory of the original Rule in Lanteri’s own words, I resolved at the time of my ordination to the priesthood in 2000 to translate the document into English, and compare it with the English version of Isnardi’s 1857 Directory that had been in use. This work became one of those many good intentions in life that are frequently interrupted. However, almost 20 years later, I am grateful to say that the work is finally completed. And I consider it a work of God’s providence that its completion coincides with the increase of interest in the founder’s life that we are seeing both within and without the congregation.

In this Directory (which I refer to as “Lanteri’s version of the Directory” for lack of a better title), I have endeavored to make the most literal translation possible from the original Italian, so as to be as faithful as possible to the founder’s own words. I begin with Frutaz’ own brief introduction, also translated into English, explaining why he believed the present Org 2262 to be the most accurate version of the Directory. Having translated Org 2262 into English and compared it with Isnardi’s version, I believe that I can verify that Isnardi’s version is largely faithful to the founder, but that there is also much to be gained by studying the founder’s own words.

I have printed in Monotype Corsiva font the four passages that Frutaz inserted into Manuscript 262 in order to yield the present Org 2262. As said above, these insertions total about 8% of the present document. I have also included about 60 of my own footnotes in the text, cited by letter (a, b, c, aa, bb, cc, etc.). My main purpose in these footnotes is to point out the differences between Isnardi’s 1857 version and Lanteri’s version of the Directory, in the hope of recovering any insights about the founder or the original rule which may have been lost by Isnardi’s editing. In many cases the additions of Isnardi are edifying, yet it good for us to know what is from him and what is from the founder.

The numbered references in the present document, of which there are 55, mark the notes of Lanteri in the original document. The notes to which they refer are placed at the end of the present document.

It is my hope that this work will help us to understand better the mind of the founder in regard to how he wanted his fledgling congregation to live its Rule. Though it is to the current version of our Constitutions that we owe obedience, understanding as deeply as possible the original vision of our founder will help us to know him better, and to live our life as Oblates more faithfully.