Father,
The esteemed request you sent us seems very attractive and advantageous, but it would not be possible for us to accept it at present, because all our available brothers have been assigned, and since we moreover have promises to keep for several years yet, we could not give you brothers for at least four or five years, a date too far removed, no doubt, to satisfy you.
I am very touched by the confidence you show in our society and ask you to accept my gratitude as well as the respectful devotedness with which I have the honor to be,
Champagnat
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Notas
Since we do not have his letter, we have no way of knowing how the parish priest of Flavigny-sur-Moselle knew of the existence of the Institute of the Little Brothers of Mary. In any case, since there were no other requests from that region, so far removed from the Hermitage, Father Champagnat shows he is in no great hurry to satisfy this one. Even though the delay mentioned was a valid one, it produced the hoped-for effect of discouraging any further insistence from that quarter.
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Daprès la minute, AFM, RCLA 1, p. 177, nº 221
