“Nothing is small in the service to God.”
St. Francis de Sales
Serving God by Serving Others
Help in all areas but these are our specific outreach
Locally
Serving Locally: DeSales Service Works
DeSales Service Works (DSW) invites people to join in service, prayer, and community in the Salesian spirit of friendship.
This ministry is focused on sharing Salesian Spirituality with people in struggling communities through direct personal service and the advancement of peace and justice. Volunteers do much-needed practical service. The DSW experience fosters the Christian worldview of St. Francis de Sales and brings the power of gentleness, humility, and optimism to a world that can be poor, hard-edged, and harsh.
All service involves reflection and prayer. Students and adults participate in service retreats of one day to one week where retreatants perform a variety of service activities.
"Let us work for the happiness of others.”
St. Leonie Aviat
Serving Locally: At Oblate Apostolates
Oblates parishes and schools serve and support their communities volunteering at food pantries, homeless shelters, community centers, retirement communities, and many other places of need.
“Let us always be ready to serve, assist, console, support, and comfort others as much as possible in a spirit of joy and cordiality.”
St. Jane de Chantal
Internationally
Missions
St. Francis de Sales worked as a home missionary in the villages of the Chablais region in France trying to bring people back to Catholic Church. Fr. Louis Brisson, OSFS, following his patron's example and at Pope Leo XIII's request, asked the first Oblates to serve the Church as missionaries. Priests and brothers were sent to many parts of the world to spread the Gospel in the spirit of our patron. Today the Oblates continue this work:
Chablais Mission Fund: The Oblates are in the Ivory Coast, Benin, Namibia, Brazil, Uruguay, Haiti, Mexico, and India. Mission funds are used to provide living supplies, establish food centers, run parishes, support work centers, and provide transportation. The Oblates run a hospital and seminary in Ivory Coast St. Francis de Sales Catholic School in Parakou opened in 2021 and the donations help manage this school.
Parish and school groups of students and adults go to different parts of the world so they can meet and learn from people in a variety of cultural environments, forming new connections based on empathy and mutual respect and help them in any way they need. At Salesianum School, the Oblate high school in Wilmington, DE, the BRIDGE program brings students to mission locations to learn and serve. At St. Francis de Sales High School in Toledo, OH, the Jamaica Mission is an annual mission trip where students serve and support the local community
Annual Mission Appeals are held throughout the year when Oblates travel to different parishes around the country to share their experiences, promote the missions, and raise funds and support.
Hands Together One North American Oblate, Fr. Tom Hagan, OSFS, ministers in Haiti at Hands Together, a faith-based service organization that runs schools, a free clinic, an elderly outreach, and a housing program on seven campuses. They also promote human development among the rural poor through water well digging, agricultural programs and production, and assisting the poorest parishes in the northern dioceses.
Mayan Indian Missions: North American Oblate, Fr. Bill Auth, OSFS began the Mayan Indian Missions. The organization serves the Maya people in the rural communities north of Merida: Noc Ac, Cosgaya, Sierra Papacal, Dzitya, and Komchen. It is known in Mexico as Ayudar es Compartir, which translates to Helping is Sharing.
Oblates Around the World
Oblates of St. Francis de Sales serve around the world and can be found in the following countries:
Austria ~ Belguim ~ Benin ~ Brazil ~ Switzerland ~ Ivory Coast ~ Germany ~ Ecuador ~ France ~ Haiti ~ India ~ Italy ~ Mexico ~ Monaco ~ Namibia ~ Netherlands ~ United States ~ Uruguay ~ South Africa
“The principal foundation of the spiritual life is love and its most important fruit is union with God and neighbor.”
St. Jane de Chantal
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