Frederic Ozanam

Antoine Frédéric Ozanam was a French historian and literary scholar who founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The great grandnephew of Jacques Ozanam, Frédéric was born it Milan, 23 April 1813; died at Marseilles, 8 September 1853. Ozanam died at the young age of 40 leaving a widow, Amelie and a daughter Marie. Frédéric first settled in Lyons as a merchant, then after bad fortune decided to go to Milan. Later he returned to Lyons and became a physician. As a teenager he went through a crisis of doubt, which he overcame with the help of a teacher, Abbe Noirot. This experience provided him with an intellectual foundation for his faith, which became characteristic of him for the rest of his life.
His daily life was animated by an apostolic zeal. He was one of those who signed the petition addressed to the Archbishop of Paris to obtain a large body of religious teachers for the Catholic school children, whose faith was endangered by the current unbelief. As a result of this pe...