before he professed his vows as a member of the Society of Mary in 1867.

In the first speech delivered at Senlis, Antoine Monfat declared he was willing to follow its founder Poullet’s programme, and also retain his style. One could really have more reasonably said of him what was written later about one of his confreres, Fr. Terrade: “His direction was a combination of gentleness and strictness. One could easily have applied to him the motto of St.Vincent de Senlis College: Suaviter et fortiter (gently, but strictly).261

His activity as St. Vincent's was limited, however, because of the occupation of the school by the German troops in 1870 and because of his short term in office. In 1872 he left the school and during the following years was taken up with assignments which required his commitment to the direction of his own religious society. However, this did not prevent him from putting the richness of his experience and of his vast readings into numerous and various writings, some of a pedagogical nature. They found echoes abroad, including in Italy. Les vrais principes de l'education chretienne (The true principles of Christian education); 262 Pratique de l'education chretienne; practique de l'enseignement chretien (Christian education in practice; Christian teaching in practice) in two volumes.

The first volume was entitled Grammaire et Literature, the second Histoire et Philosphie. 263 The first two were translated into Italian264 and The Practice of Christian Education even found an echo at theValdocco Oratory, the Mother House of all of Don Bosco's Institutions. In the minutes of the conference held November16, l882 with all the Salesians involved in youth work, we find recorded what dealt with the duties of educators. “A paragraph from Antoine Mofat was then read out which gave rise to several remarks, especially that of being united and to be of one accord, which should be made evident to the young being educated by us”. 265

The general structure dealing specifically with the education carried out in a boarding school is clearly inspired by and directed towards a Christian view of life. Against the danger of secularism it is strongly stated that without any exception, it is absolutely essential that faith should hold the most prominent and sovereign place in education, “that the young man be turned into a Christian first of all”; 266 “the first duty is that of directing the entire school’s discipline towards faith, subjecting and referring all that is being taught to faith”. 267 “It is on this solid base that the two essential dimensions

261 Le révérend Père Terrade de la Société de Marie, (Paris: Imprimiere de J. Demoulin 1910), 23. Indicates not only a

personal trait but something of the entire Society of Mary. The following features of Monfat’s physical and spiritual

characteristics are highlighted: “his height, calm seriousness and recollectedness, a certain austerity softened by his

exquisite kindness, natural dignity of bearing, simplicity, tact, the appropriateness and mesauredness of hisspeech, his

modest approachability”[A. S.-B.], Le Rév. Monfat ancien supérieur de l’institution Saint-Vincent à Senlis (Oise).

(Senlis: Institution Saint-Vincent 1898),.4.

262 Les vrais principes de l’éducation chrétienne rappelés auz maîtres et aux familles. Dispositions requises pour en faire

une heureuse application et devoirs qui en décourlent par le P.A. Monfat de la Société de Marie. (Paris: Bray et Retaux

1875), 8-366.

263 “La réputation des ouvrages du P. Monfat a passé la frontiére: chez les étrangers que la forme du langage préoccupe

moins que le fond des idées, ils font autorité” Le R.P. Antoine Monfat religieux de la Socieété de Marie . (Bar-le-duc:,

Imprimerie C. Laguerre 1898), 15.

264 I veri principii della educazione del P.A. Monfat translated and annotated by the priest Francesco Bricolo former

Director of the Male Mazza Institute in Verona and Corretta, (Turin: Libreria Salesiana 1892), 479 pages.; La pratica

della educazione cristiana del P.A. Monfat della Società d i Maria, (Rome: Tipografia dei Fratelli Monaldi 1879), 208

pages.; F. Bricolo, La pratica dell’educazione cristiana del P.A. Monfat marista. A notably larger free version. (Ala:

Tipografia Editrice dei Figli di Maria 1891), 205 pages. “Free version of the recent work: La pratica della educazione

cristiana del padre A. Monfat Marista, who authorised me not only to translate it but to shorten it so as to make it more

accessible to a greater number of readers”. (pp 5-6). This second edition also has the second part of the original work

L’educazione propriamente detta, i.e. religious and moral.

265 J.M. Prellezo, Valdocco nell’Ottocento tra reale e ideale (1866-1889). Documenti e testimonianze, (Rome: LAS 1992),

254-255. It is possible that not only this time he does not recall a book that was somewhat familiar.

266 A. Monfat, Les vrais principes, 8.

267 Ibid., 6. The pivot for “theology of education” by Monfat, illustrated in two basic considerations from the first part of

the work: “1st L’educazione ha come scopo di formare la fanciullezza secondo il vangelo. Grandezza dell’infanzia