Father Vicar General,
The establishment in Perreux, which you recommend so strongly, and which really does deserve our attention for a great many reasons, is so far just up in the air. They are talking of two houses, which even joined together could still not accommodate half the children; and I am not even talking about housing the brothers. Together with the gentlemen of Perreux I visited all the houses they thought could be used provisionally; none of them could serve the purpose without major repairs.
Then there are the finances. They talked a great deal about resources and means, but they did not show me anything concrete.
We insist, and we have even made it a rule, that we will never start an establishment on such a footing, in the interests of our congregation and even in the interests of the towns which ask for us. Too much haste will totally wreck an establishment. Please, Fr. Vicar General, do not be offended if we postpone this establishment for a few months, especially in view of the fact that nothing is ready there, whereas we have a good number of much earlier requests where everything is ready.
Please accept the expression of my gratitude for your interest in us, and believe that I am always your most respectful and most devoted and most obedient servant,
Champagnat
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Notas
The preceding 26th April, Fr. François Fleury Moine, parish priest of Perreux, had written to Fr. Champagnat to ask for brothers. He was insistent, for all sorts of good reasons, that the school should be opened by All Saints. So much haste, and so much vagueness about material problems, were not at all to the Founders liking. We learn from the present letter that he had met with the civil authorities of Perreux, or perhaps the religious ones (for the mayor at least seems not to have been in favor). In any case, we know from a second letter from Fr. Moine on 27th August that Fr. Pinchon, his curate, had gone to N. D. de lHermitage at the beginning of July, but apparently could not furnish any more precise information. All of these negotiations explain the delay in this answer to Fr. Cattets letter of 7th May 1837, which stated:
My dear Father Champagnat,
You must have received a letter from the worthy and venerable parish priest of Perreux, requesting brothers for that city. I think I ought to tell you that Miss De Bretaille wants this foundation. So this will be one of your best establishments, where your brothers will succeed and where you will find more young aspirants for your congregation than anywhere else. Miss De Bretaille, who is making sacrifices for this excellent project, is in very poor health, and there are even fears that we will lose her soon; other persons who are also involved in the foundation may change their mind. Consequently, when you accept this foundation wholeheartedly, please promise subjects for next All Saints. I have involved myself in this matter only because of the needs of Perreux, where for the past twelve years I have been concerned with their efforts to establish a good school for boys. Between us, dear Father, the parish priest of Perreux, who is the best person in the world, does not have any business sense. So you will have to go there yourself to pick out the house and arrange everything, in order to get this long-desired project moving and in order.
I am, very cordially, dear Fr. Champagnat, your devoted,
Cattet, V.G.
P.S. I invite you to first give the parish priest of Perreux a favorable reply.
On the heels of that letter and the one from the parish priest, Father Champagnat certainly put things in motion for the granting of the request, but he realized that conditions were so precarious that it would be in the best interests of the project itself to take more time to prepare before embarking on it. He will write to the parish priest in that vein on 9th August, which leads us to think that not much time elapsed between the two letters. Since the register indicates July, this one must have been written at the very end of the month.
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Daprès la minute, AFM, RCLA 1, p. 48-49, nº 45
