Ozanam, Antoine Frédéric

Ozanam, Antoine Frédéric (äNtwän` frādārēk` ōzänäm`), 1813–53, French Roman Catholic scholar. In 1831 he first achieved notice with his pamphlet against the Saint-Simonians. In Paris (1839), where he went to study, he met Chateaubriand, Lacordaire, Ampère, and other leaders of Catholic thought. In 1833 he helped found a charitable organization that was to become the worldwide St. Vincent de Paul Society. A scholar of law and literature, he was also one of the chief leaders of his time in Catholic social theory. His works, which had great influence in Germany and Italy, cover a wide range of material, mostly on medieval literature, thought, and history; his notable history of the Franks emphasizes the role of the church in transmitting Roman civilization to the barbarian cultures of the West.