Who was Blessed Frederic Ozanam?
Frederic Ozanam was born on April 23, 1813 in Milan. Frederic was raised in Lyon, France and was sent to Paris to study law. In 1833, he founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul with a group of other young men at the Sorbonne University of Paris. Frederic Ozanam was not a priest, but a layman who married and had a family. The Society spread very quickly throughout Europe and the world. Frederic Ozanam died in 1853 at the age of 40. He was beatified by Pope Paul John II in Paris in August, 1997.
