This is the first letter we have from the abundant correspondence with Fr. Mazelier, but it is not the first contact between the two priests. During May 1835, the superior of the Brothers of Christian Instruction had visited the Hermitage and met Fr. Champagnat for their first discussion about an eventual fusion of the two fledgling congregations. The latter, preoccupied about the four brothers eligible for military service, discovered in the course of the conversation a way to exempt them, if Fr. Mazelier was willing to declare them to be members of his congregation, which was officially authorized. He was unwilling to commit himself without making inquiries, which he did as soon as he got home, and he gave Fr. Champagnat his answer on 26th May 1835, in the following terms:

Dear Father and worthy confrère, I heard with agreeable satisfaction the suggestion which you did me the honor of addressing to me, that we agree to do each other mutual favors; you, Father, by the number of your subjects; and I, given your situation, by my royal ordinance. While waiting for God to show us more clearly his further plans, I am very disposed to do whatever you wish for these four young men who will be included in the next drawing. I thought about it on my trip back from Lyons; I wanted to reflect on it and also discuss it with His Lordship the Bishop of Valence, before telling you my ideas on the subject. I hope you will succeed by pushing the issue; but if your fears persist, and if this be agreeable to you, you could send your subjects as soon as possible here to St-Paul. Immediately after the drawing, I will send you back the subjects whose numbers exempt them from military service. As for those who have drawn a number which makes them subject to immediate conscription, I will keep them, with your agreement, until they have been able to obtain a teaching position in some town. The choice is up to you. Then they will be shielded from inquiries. I could even send them back to you earlier, if you do not think they would be in any way exposed by assigning them in Dauphiny. Only, in that case (since they would still not be town teachers) it would still be necessary for me to be able to say without lying that they are under my jurisdiction up to a certain point, so as to validate their grounds for exemption. It would be a pleasure for me to be able to be of help to you, remembering the help that the Superior General of the Brothers of the Christian Schools permitted his brothers in Avignon to give ours, by admitting them to their house for several weeks. I will repay God for what he inspired others to do for us out of fraternal charity, and I hope that he in turn will repay us. May the Lord, in granting us the grace to glorify him by fulfilling his holy will, grant you the merit of glorifying him and of making him glorified a hundred times over.... My principal brothers, whom I told about my trip to N.D. de lHermitage heard my account with the same pleasure they would have felt had they already been yours. It is also true that under different names, all brothers are brothers to one another in J.C. their common master....

Father Champagnat must have received the letter at the end of the month, which means we can date his reply around the beginning of June. The expression, I intend to bring them to you myself sometime this month confirms that dating. But in fact, a rough draft of a second letter from Fr. Mazelier, dated 14th June 1835, makes it clear that in the end, he did not accompany them:

Father, yesterday I was overjoyed to receive your four young men. We will treat them like our own, and we will care for the one who is ill. The hope you give me, of seeing you within a few days, gives me real pleasure. I forgot to ask you to have them come without their habits. It seems to me that prudence requires that, for the success of our plan, they take off their cord and rabat. We could not use their ten-year commitment papers as they were; the dates would not coincide, and we could not trim the paper. At the moment, they are in the process of rewriting them. They will send them to their parents today or tomorrow.

You honor me by saying that we will accomplish something, not only by working together but also by uniting. Please explain the plan of this union, just as I took pains to explain my intentions to you in order to facilitate the coming of your four young men to St-Paul. I have the honor to inform you that whatever pleasure your proposals may give me, I still believe I must take more time to think about them, pray, and consult God, before I can have the honor of answering you in the affirmative. But I think I can tell you that God gives me the grace to want to share in something good when I see it, and even to make certain sacrifices for that purpose, if need be.

The following letter must be read in that double context: mutual assistance and eventual fusion. This is true of all the letters addressed to Fr. Mazelier.

Father Superior,

I am sending you the profession papers of the brothers who are going to St-Paul , so that you may be kind enough to have them filled out and send them to the rector. Three of the brothers who have made their commitment have to remain here for several days for urgent reasons, but I intend to bring them to you myself sometime this month. I want to have the opportunity to tell you in person how grateful I am for your goodness to us and for the signficant help you are giving us. I hope you will be kind enough to give me a date when I can be sure of meeting you. I had intended to come to you right now, but I have had to postpone my trip to make arrangements for one of our houses, which necessarily require my presence there.

Please believe, Father, that our whole society has the greatest affection for you and the most heartfelt gratitude for everything you are good enough to do for it. As for me, I realize more than anyone what it is worth and how important it is. I have made it a point of duty to have you share in all our prayers, as one of our dearest benefactors. May heaven grant that one day we may unite more closely for the glory of God and the honor of the divine Mary.

Please accept the respect with which I have the honor to be, Father Superior, your most humble and obedient servant,

Champagnat

Edition: Translation from: Lettres de Marcellin J. B. Champagnat (1789-1840) Fondateur de l?Institut des Frères Maristes, présentés par Frère Paul Sester,1985.

fonte: Daprès lexpédition, AFM, 112.14