CFE 104 – CICM and the World: Part II (Dr. W. Vanhoutte), 2nd Semester 2019-2020.
A.Course text (narrative)
Summary of topics: (1)T. Verbist and his qualities
(2)CICM in mainland China (until 1950’s)
(3)CICM in Asia, beyond China
(4)CICM in Africa
(5)CICM in the Americas
(6)CICM in Europe
(7)The CICM missionary as pioneering and daring
(a)The CICM missionary as a martyr
(b)The CICM missionary as a church leader
(c)The CICM missionary as an anthropologist
(d)The CICM missionary as a healer
(8)The CICM as an international organization
Note: From February 26 until March 11, 2020, topics covered in class have ranged from (1)the
qualities or personality traits of founder Theophile Verbist (strong faith, compassionate, listening,
persevering, cosmopolitan...) to (2)the historical expansion of CICM in Chinese Mongolia (expansion
in the Ortos region, division of the vicariate in three parts, Boxer rebellion and martyrdom of bishop
Ferdinand Hamer and several others…), followed by (3)the expansion in Chinese-speaking areas
outside the People’s Republic of China, that was proclaimed in 1949 after the Communist
Revolution under the leadership of Mao Zedong (A fragmented territory called Provincia Sinica –
comprising Singapore (where CICM already had a ‘sub-procure’ since 1931), Hong Kong (1954), and
Taiwan (1955)- plus the expansion in Japan and (Outer-)Mongolia – beginning respectively in 1948
and 1992 – and in the existing missions in the Philippines1 and Indonesia (respectively starting in
1907 and 1937).
The most recent of these, the mission in Mongolia, had a Filipino CICM-member for bishop from
2002 until his death in 2018. As explained in class, the mission in Mongolia started on July 10, 1992,
when three CICM confreres - Robert Goessens, Wenceslao Padilla, and Gilbert Sales (SLU President
since 2015) - arrived in that North Asian country, after pope John Paul II, through the Propaganda
Fide, had sent them to establish the Catholic Church community there. Evangelization in Mongolia
almost had to start from zero. The pioneers’ position was not totally unlike that of the CICM
founder, Father Théophile Verbist, who could only rely on a very elementary church structure when
they arrived in the vast Chinese part of Mongolia in 1865, dedicating themselves to the conversion
of the infidels, the preaching of the faith to
1
The CICM mission in the Philippines will be the topic of this course AFTER the mid-term.
the Chinese and the salvation of the many abandoned infants.2 The CICM missionaries of 1992 also
had to adjust to the harsh climate, the scarce and different food; they had to learn something of
the different language of the locals, as they were dealing with non-Christian religious conservatism
as well as indifference among the locals. As Christian missionaries, they also had to deal with the
sometimes “aggressive” missionary methods of their non-Catholic counterparts. The CICM had
acquired ecclesiastic supervision over ‘Urga’ (Outer-Mongolia), when it fell into the hands of Soviet
Russian troops in 1921 and the Mongolian People’s Republic was proclaimed two years later3. A
proper mission could no longer be established. Even as progress was very slow in the beginning of
the 1992 missionary drive, bishop ‘Wens’ and his team managed to baptize several hundreds of
Mongolians “without proselytizing”, “come and see” being their main slogan. 3 Bishop ‘Wens’
described his sentiments as follows: “I didn’t mind the difficulties: extremely harsh winters;
language barrier; lack of material comforts; strong religious affiliations of the people to Buddhism,
Shamanism, and Islam; the presence of other Christian denominations and sects; and the absence
of Church structures and local Catholic believers. I took all of these as positive ingredients of mission
life. I had a very strong conviction that the God who called had already been present in the ordinary
lives of the Mongolian brothers and sisters even before we arrived. Thus, I just had to grow in
spirituality, so I would understand the beliefs and practices of the prevailing religions, and in
wisdom, in order to learn more about the country and its people.”
Father ‘Wens’ knew that – today more than ever – missionary work is a complex and difficult task,
that requires huge amounts of patience, tactful communication, and well-considered, selective use
of local cultural elements to make the Christian message better understood and appreciated by the
population. He particularly heeded the CICM pledge to engage in Interreligious dialogue. The CICM
Constitutions declare: “We sincerely love and respect the people to whom we are sent. We adopt
a listening attitude and try to gain knowledge and understanding of their socio-economic, political,
cultural and religious realities. Aware that the Spirit has been at work everywhere, we discern the
evangelical values present in these realities.”4
(4)In a next step, the presence of CICM in Africa has been explored, to begin with Congo (1888),
later followed by Cameroon (beginning 1966), Senegal and Zambia (the latter was no longer
covered in class due to the suspension order for reasons of health emergency). In general,
missionary work in Africa occurs against the background of poor public order and services and of
2
These goals formed the purpose of the foundation of the CICM missionary congregation, as contained
in the 1862 Statutes. See: Nestor Pycke.(2010). Théophile Verbist’s Adventure. P.40. 3 The Vicar Apostolic
of Chahar, Mgr. J. Van Aertselaer, was also administrator of the apostolic mission of Outer-Mongolia,
called ‘Urga’. See: D. Verhelst & N. Pycke. (1995). CICM Missionaries Past and Present 1862-1987. Leuven
University Press. P. 170.
3
See: Youth Today, Feb-Mar 2004, p 9-12. With thanks to the CICM-RP secretariat!
4
Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. (1988). Constitutions General Directory. Art. 4.
Rome. p.16.
economic difficulties, but also of a vibrant variety of cultures and languages; some countries,
especially Senegal, have a Muslim majority, offering opportunities for Inter-
religious dialogue, even as conversions to Christianity are rare.
The CICM congregation ended up in Zambia in 1976 (the same year as the start of the Senegal
mission) after first eyeing at Mozambique, the large island before Africa’s eastern coastline. Zambia
has copper mines, where - among others - Filipinos are working. Unfortunately, like many other
African countries, Zambia has a serious problem with HIV infection and AIDS. 75% of the population
are Christians, among whom around one third are Catholics. The CICM team works at the side of
the diocesan clergy, in projects varying from the formation of lay leaders to ‘marriage encounter’
groups.
(5)CICM in the Americas
Regarding the mission in the United States, it is important to know that before the efforts described
in the Missionhurst website (situated mainly in 1946 and in the following years), earlier activities in
the United States took place beginning 1919. The reasons for this were mainly financial: (1)CICM
had started a few years earlier (1907) the mission in the Philippines, an American colony at that
time; from the beginning, this mission suffered from a lack of revenues, so CICM had to find financial
resources. On the other hand, from 1914 till 1918, World War I made it very difficult for the
missionaries to obtain funding from Belgium. So, since they had already developed a close working
relationship with American catholic clergy in the country, it looked somewhat obvious that they
would try to find resources in the U.S. The first two members, Henry Verwilghen and Edmond
Philippe, left on October 25, 1919 and – with the help of the Maryknoll Fathers – rented a house
that would serve as procure in upper Manhattan, New York City. However, shortly thereafter, the
bishop of Natchez, Mississippi, invited them to take care of the Indian missions, in Tucker. In 1921,
a third missionary priest and three Missionary Canonesses of St. Augustine – the latter meant to
work among Indian women – arrived. A dispensary and a school were built, while the sisters were
providing medical care, teaching catechesis, organizing sewing and housekeeping classes, and
looking after the upkeep of the church. The Fathers took care of visiting dispersed Catholics,
instructing new converts, and teaching new agricultural methods to the locals. Unfortunately, due
to a lack of missionaries, and the difficulty of finding a permanent location for the procure in the
form of a parish, the CICM eventually decided in 1930 to close the U.S. mission and recall the few
missionaries back to Scheut for further instructions. Apparently, the cultural and religious climate
was not ripe yet for a concept of mission that differed significantly from the more ‘traditional’
missions in China or Congo or the Philippines. That would change after World War II, and especially
after the second Vatican Council (early 1960’s). In 1944, Father Ernest Dieltiens first contacted the
archdiocese of Philadelphia, where CICM was a familiar name to the archbishop, since he had
served as archbishop of Nueva Segovia (Vigan) in the Philippines during the period 1903-1908, when
the CICM pioneers were arriving there. It was agreed that CICM missionaries would help in the
apostolate among African-Americans in various parishes; in 1946, the same was arranged with the
bishop of Columbus (Ohio). In the same year, CICM became owner of the former ‘Lyonhurst’
property in Arlington, Virginia, renamed ‘Missionhurst’; they also got a parish in Culpepper, Virginia,
in the diocese of Richmond. Because of the abundant availability of young missionaries waiting for
their assignment after the end of World War II, who were soon to be joined by expelled missionaries
from China, the U.S. mission saw a rapid expansion.5 In 1947, the expansion moved to the South:
they got parishes to take care of in Dallas, and San Antonio (Texas), with respectively high numbers
of black and Mexican-Americans among their populations. Other projects were situated in
Oklahoma and Louisiana (apostolate among French-speaking Catholics). In 1966, CICM also got a
parish in Los Angeles, California; they would remain in that state until the early 80’s. Still in the
sixties, CICM was charged with the operation of a high school in the archdiocese of Philadelphia;
the project couldn’t be sustained due to a lack of available missionary priests, however. The
Missionhurst property soon became not only the site for the procure of the U.S. province, but also
a center for mission animation, recollections and retreats. It gave its name to the Missionhurst
magazine, the first issue of which came out in 1949, and still forms the main communication
channel of the CICM in the U.S. and the English-speaking world.
In the Caribbean, particularly among the Greater Antilles (to which also belongs Cuba), there is a
large island called Hispaniola; it has a Western and an Eastern part; the Western part – actually
around one third of the territory – forms the State of Haiti, that has been independent since 1804.
The country was hit by a heavy earthquake in 2010, the effects of which can be noticed until today.
The population mostly consists of descendants of African slaves that were forcibly brought to
America during the colonial period. The language is French, but ordinary folks have their own
language called ‘Creole’, a mixture of French and African influences. Around 75% of the population
are Catholics, but there is a lot of syncretism, as in the Voodoo cult, that mixes Christian themes
with African animism. CICM came to Haiti first in 1949, to operate a cane sugar plant that would go
bankrupt soon. Developments in China caused a significant flow-over of missionaries to other
territories. That’s how Haiti received 17 missionaries in1953, and another 5 in the following year.
During the 1960’s CICM brothers came to help in construction and repair works, The number of
missionaries was increasing fast, and a house was acquired in the capital city, Port-au-Prince. In the
meantime, the mission became a full-fledged province in 1969. Activities were for a long time
limited to those related to the traditional parish, but gradually new initiatives were taken: a
permanent catechetical center (Emmaus), that was not only aiming at forming catechists, but true
community leaders, was established; a network of dispensaries and training center for nurses were
set up by a young priest-medical doctor (locally known as ‘père doc’). The regional hospital set up
by him was taken over by the Public health department in 1982; a ‘customized’ version of the Chiro
youth movement – combining recreation with Christian formation and leadership and responsibility
training – was created and called ‘Kiro Ayiti’. Other projects include monthly parochial newspaper
Bon Nouvel (started in 1966) and the 1984 Catholic radio station ‘Sun radio’ (Radio Soleil –
broadcasting discussions on educational, cultural and social issues, and the culprit of hostile actions
5
After the end of World War II, they had been able to continue and finish their formation, while others
were displaced after the revolution in China and in need of re-assignment elsewhere.
by the Duvalier regime before its collapse in 1986). Other projects furthered by CICM missionaries
include the provision of clean water, essential to the people’s health.
The eastern part of the island Hispaniola is called the ‘Dominican Republic’. After occupations by
France, Haiti, and Spain, it became independent in 1863, with Santo Domingo as capital city. The
CICM started a mission in the Dominican republic in order to provide a territory for US-born young
CICM priests to acquire missionary experience ad extra not too far from home. The mission was,
therefore, placed under the supervision of the CICM United States province. In 1958, two
missionaries arrived; the next year, three others came. They were assigned to parishes in the Neiba
Valley, which is rich in sugar cane. Problems related to work in the plantations include poverty and
exploitation; Seasonal workers from Haiti have to live a miserable life in camps. In 1963 and 1964,
a total of six more missionaries arrived. A further increasing number and the diversification of
projects leads the mission to become independent from the American Province in 1969 and a fullfledged province in 1972. When the arrival of new missionaries from Europe and the U.S. began to
decrease, especially in the 1980’s, young CICM priests from the Philippines, and later also from
Congo and Haiti provided reinforcement, to meet the demands of multifaceted pastoral work. CICM
missionaries are at work both in the slums of Santo Domingo and in the campos of the South-West,
mainly inhabited by Haitian plantation workers. The pastoral methods used in Basic Ecclesial
Communities (BEC) are widely promoted; Radio Enriquillo – called after an Indian rebel who resisted
the Spaniards – is a radio station that supports the struggle of the people through prayer services,
Bible readings, instructive programs for mothers, youth, farmers and other categories that need a
voice against injustice, oppression and exploitation.
In 1954, the CICM also started a mission in Guatemala, a Central American country situated
between Mexico (to the North, where CICM is also present) and El Salvador and Honduras (to the
South). The CICM in Mexico faces a country where 90% of the population is Catholic but very few
are actually practicing. Suffering from poverty, poor education, and drug-related gang violence,
many workers are looking for employment in the United States or border region, leaving women
alone with the kids. In Guatemala, malnutrition remains a serious problem until today, besides drug
and human trafficking. A significant part of the population consists of Maya Indians, both in the
mountainous North and in the coastal South, where large banana plantations are located. CICM
missionaries were initially assigned in the latter, but would later also move to the North. Aside from
the fact that religious practice used to be not so arduous, some non-Catholic Christian organizations
were competing with CICM. The missionaries eventually took over the school and dispensary of a
large fruit plantation, after this closed due to repeated infestations; later, lay formation, a Catholic
news bulletin, and so called ‘conscientization’ or ‘consciousness-raising’ in Basic Ecclesial
Communities belong to the mission’s priorities. The province became independent in 1969.
Between 1980 and 1983, two Belgian and one Filipino missionary either died or ‘disappeared’, while
nine others decided to leave after receiving death threats. Defending the rights of the poor clearly
came at a price! Starting 1964, the CICM also received help from the ICM sisters.
In 1962, pope John XXIII called on the Catholic countries to send priests to Latin America, given the
acute lack of ordained ministers in that part of the Catholic world. After earlier unsuccessful
attempts to come up with a CICM mission in either Argentina, Chile or Brazil, a new attempt is made
in 1963. The CICM took charge of two parishes in the diocese of Nova
Iguaçu, a satellite city of Rio de Janeiro with plenty of problems, ranging from massive influx of poor
people from the countryside, to social unrest and practice of the Macumba AfroBrazilian religion.
Brazil is a former Portuguese colony that became formally independent in 1822, the republic being
proclaimed in 1889. As in most Latin American countries, civilian governments did not care much
about democracy, but were backed by oligarchs and big landowners, whose interest they serve.
This has led Brazil to become today a growing drug trafficking hub which contributes to violence,
poverty, and crime. The people of Brazil struggle from overpopulation and corruption, and many of
the marginalized are forgotten. Gang violence permeates the cities, drawing in many young men
and drawing them away from their families. This creates a large divide between generations. Aside
from doing classical parish work and administering sacraments, the CICM gets involved in the setup of a pastoralcatechetical center, that soon became famous because of its catechetical
publications and pastoral methodology. At the same time, the missionaries were working hard to
implement the many recommendations from the second Vatican council, like in liturgy, where the
language of the people had to be introduced.
A team of ICM sisters arrived in 1965; there was also a collaboration with the ‘grey’ sisters from
Roeselare (Belgium). The 1970’s are sometimes considered as the time of Brazil’s ‘economic
wonder’. Thanks to heavy loaning, the military regime managed to develop the country, but mainly
serving the interests of large international companies rather than those of its impoverished
population. Critics of the regime are mercilessly forced to shut up or simply ‘disappear’, not rarely
after being tortured. The positions of the Latin American bishops’ conference formulated in
Medellin (Colombia) in 1968, that included the ‘preferential option for the poor’ and the promotion
of ‘basic ecclesial communities 6 ’, were also implemented in the Brazilian settings. CICM
missionaries start working in parishes that are located in industrial areas, and in places with lots of
migrants and neglected youth. The main focus is not to carry out some kind of pre-conceived
strategic pastoral plan, but to respond to the real needs of the people, that can suddenly change.
Another Latin American bishops’ conference (that of Puebla in, held in 1979) will set the tone for
further pastoral developments. Some CICM missionaries move into the Amazon territory, where
impoverished adventurous people try to start a new life, as they are looking for land, wood, and
gold, which brings them into conflict with local Indian tribes. 1979 is also the year when Brazil
became a separate province of CICM, and an own formation program was started, in which each
confrere plays a role, whether as host to a candidate in their own parish, or as providing assistance
in the study program or spiritual formation.
(6) The CICM in Europe, or… where it al began!
6
The Medellin conference is generally considered as a founding moment for the Latin American
‘liberation theology’; this style of theology puts right action (‘orthopraxis’) above right doctrine
(‘orthodoxy’). As a result, it has sometimes been criticized by conservatives in the Church as ‘activist’ or
even ‘marxist’. Indeed, this approach has lead to political action in some cases. However, the main aim
of most followers of liberation theology was to go back to the basics, and read the Bible together with
the poor, from their point of view, demonstrating the actual relevance of faith and God’s Word in their
concrete situation.
The CICM statutes, drafted by a team lead by Father Theophile Verbist, making use of
examples like the 1855 approved statutes of the French Holy Ghost Society, were approved by
Cardinal Engelbert Sterckx, archbishop of Mechlin-Brussels (Belgium). The site called ‘Scheut’ or
‘Scheutveld’, where the chapel of Our-Lady-of-Grace and the CICM mother house (the later
Seminarium pro Sinis) were located, was situated in the vicinity of Belgium’s capital city indeed.
Both in China and the Philippines, the CICM were known as the ‘Belgian Fathers’.7 This is in spite of
the fact that Father Verbist had already at an early stage opened the group for non-Belgian especially Dutch – members, so as to enlarge his field of recruitment of candidates for the new
mission.
Today, CICM is active in limited projects, as in youth apostolate and in a number of parishes, as the
once ‘sending’ Belgian Church has become a ‘receiving’ Church, due to a lack of vocations for the
priesthood and the religious life. Secularized living and thinking – resulting from scientific and
technological progress, material wealth, social welfare policies, and a critical-liberal press - brought
many Belgians (as well as many other ‘Western’ people) to live a life of practical atheism (a day-today life without thinking of God or without an explicit belief in his direct interference in the world)
or tend to agnosticism (some believe in ‘something higher’, but without recognizing this as the God
of Christianity; others believe humans are simply unable to know whether there is a God or not) or
to relativism (the lack of distinction between religions and ideologies, as they are all believed to
promote the same values for the same reasons, like love, brotherhood, justice etc.). The importance
of right doctrine and active participation in liturgy are not fully understood and seen as superfluous
or even harmful to genuine Christian life that is mainly reduced to charity and correct living (moral
reductionism). The attitude of a lot of people towards the Catholic Church has also been adversely
affected by scandals and abuses involving priests or religious, while some nurture resentment about
the powerful social and political role the Church has played in the past. In spite of the challenges
this brings, CICM is still actively present in the Belgian environment, as a number of people are still
feeling some form of religious need. Even among young people, a good number admit in private
that they are praying, while some new religious movements have proved to attract members who
hunger for allowing the transcendent into their lives. Interest in humanitarian projects aiming at
community building and material or educational development in developing countries is still
widespread, as well as admiration for the work achieved by missionaries.
The presence of several retirement houses for missionaries who are enjoying a deserved rest in
their homeland from their former work ad extra in the Lord’s vineyard, also needs to be mentioned
when referring to CICM in Belgium and the Netherlands.
(7)The CICM missionary as a pioneering and daring personality.
While the current global Corona-virus crisis has revealed lots of heroic acts by healthcare workers
and other front-liners, even patients, CICM missionaries have also performed acts of heroism in the
remote and more recent past. Heroism can be – like in the case of bishop Ferdinand Hamer – an
extreme act of self-sacrifice that brought one to give up his life for the sake of others – or it can be
7
Their first name was ‘Belgian Mission in China’.
an act or attitude of remarkable value, reflecting someone’s dedication to one’s mission and life
project, whether or not it was paid for with one’s life.
(a)The CICM missionary as martyr: the example of Ferdinand Hamer and others
One of the brightest examples of the first kind of heroism is given by the late bishop Ferdinand
Hamer, a Dutchman who belonged to the pioneering team of CICM in Chinese Mongolia. As a young
priest of the diocese of Utrecht (The Netherlands), Hamer had joined the Belgian Fathers in 1864,
when he started his novitiate; he was accepted as a member of the congregation in July 1865,
shortly before the first journey to China. CICM founder Theophile Verbist had a very good
impression of Ferdinand Hamer, who was only twenty-five when they left for China, while Verbist
himself was forty-two; “F. Hamer, who is by far the youngest member at the age of twenty-five is
quick in learning Chinese and he also adapts easily to the life in China. His wish is to become a
Chinese amongst the Chinese as soon as possible.” Father Verbist further mentions that “F. Hamer
is invaluable to the mission” and that he is a model of missionary perfection: “Our Lord granted us
a perfect missionary. The Christians love him as they love a father; he lives entirely for them.” When
he came back in 1891 from a vacation in Europe, he had a lot of gifts with him. However, even as
he “thought of building churches and chapels, (…) he prefers to spend this money on emergency
aid”, after learning about robberies and famine that hit his mission.8
The most striking anecdote about F. Hamer is about the end of his life, when he already was vicarapostolic of the Ortos region (South-Western Mongolia). In the 1890’s, bishop Hamer had
repeatedly requested to be relieved from his duties, since he found the terms and conditions of his
function – especially the sharing of responsibilities with the CICM superior general - rather taxing.
After all, he had been in the mission since 1865! However, at the end of the decade, a so-called
‘palace revolution’ in Pei-ching re-kindled hatred against the Christians. It was the start of the socalled ‘Boxer Revolution’. They were not afraid (even before the time of modern social media!) to
fabricate and spread false rumors about the Christians and their foreign missionaries. In Eastern
Mongolia, Father Joseph Segers was captured and buried alive. The mission of Sung-chu-tsui-tzu
was saved thanks to a Russian military battalion; Xiwanze (Si-wan-tse) in Central Mongolia, thanks
to the presence of a Belgian commander who had ordered to build fortifications. Bishop Hamer had
just relocated his residence to a place called Erh-shih-szu-ch’ing-ti, in the Eastern part of his
vicariate, when the Boxers struck. Being advised by the Mongolian prince of Djüngar to move West
to a fortified residence for his security, he replied: “I cannot expose you to such a great danger and
a certain death. If there is a way to save you all, then I have to do this. I cannot bring the mission of
whom I am the head, in danger of losing all its priests. The only solution is a hasty retreat. I therefore
order you to leave for San-cheng-kung tonight. As I am an old man, I shall stay with the Christians.
So, if God wants my life, I shall offer it to him gladly in order to save my Christians and my good
missionaries. May God accept my sacrifice and save you all.” After the missionaries, forced to heed
the words of the bishop due to their vow of obedience, had left, the bishop, with a thousand
8
D. Verhelst, & N. Pycke. (1995). C.I.C.M. Missionaries, Past and Present 1862: History of the
Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Scheut/Missionhurst). Leuven University Press., p. 50.)
Christians and catechumens took refuge in the church. After having fended off the first attacks, they
were convinced by military mandarins that the danger
was gone, just to find out that this advice was a hoax. In the attack that followed all children of the
Holy Childhood were killed, while women were sold as slaves.9 The bishop was found kneeling in
his chapel, brought away and subject to public humiliation and horrific torture. He was eventually
set alight, while his corpse was afterwards beheaded and desecrated. His six missionaries had to
cross the Ortos and Gobi deserts to Outer-Mongolia in difficult and dangerous conditions, and then,
together with nine confreres, travel all the way through Siberia to Europe; fortunately they got a
warm welcome upon arriving in Scheut!
Even in the Philippines, some CICM missionaries have paid their service to the Lord with their lives.
This was particularly the case at the end of World War II, when five of them were killed in separate
incidents, that took place in Baguio City, in Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela provinces. Among them was
former SLU “founder” Father Seraphin Devesse. Father Conrado Aquino was hit by a bullet in
Tinglayan (Kalinga province), while on his way to Baguio City. Elias Bareng died while being caught
in the crossfire of warring tribes in Tanudan, Kalinga, in 1979. Father Leonard Vande Winkel
disappeared in 1988, in Lubuagan, also located in Kalinga. He had received death threats after
openly criticizing an armed group guided by an ideology he believed to be against the teachings of
the Gospel.
Among the Filipino CICM missionaries assigned in foreign missions, Father Conrado dela Cruz went
missing in Guatemala in 1980, while still other CICM confreres were either killed, disappeared, or
were forced to leave the country. Father Pacificador Laranang drowned under rather suspicious
circumstances along Guatemala’s Pacific coast in 1984. Martyrdom is not just something of the
remote past but can occur in recent times as well.
(b)The CICM missionary as church leader: Bishop Wenceslao Padilla, Bishop William Brasseur, and
others
Not all CICM ‘heroes’ were martyrs. We have earlier given the example of bishop Wenceslao Padilla
(Ulaan-Baatar, 2002-2018; see paragraph on CICM in Mongolia). Other examples include Bishops
Constant Jurgens (Tuguegarao), Albert Van Overbeke (Bayombong), Carlito Cenzon (Baguio),
Prudencio Andaya (Tabuk); special attention befits the person of Bishop William (Willy) Brasseur:
Having arrived in the Philippines from Belgium in 1931, this missionary became rector of the Baguio
cathedral in 1945, Baguio had become an apostolic prefecture in 1933, with Father Oktaaf
Vandewalle as Prefect Apostolic; in 1935, Father Joseph Billiet took his place, until after World War
II. Father Brasseur became CICM-provincial superior in 1946. In 1948, he was promoted to the
9
Two other CICM missionaries were killed the next year as they were trying to liberate those women.
function of bishop, as vicar apostolic10 of the Mountain Province(s). The timing suggests that he had
a tremendous task to rebuild churches, chapels, convents, schools, dispensaries, dormitories, etc.,
that had been badly damaged or destroyed during World-War
II. However, re-building the old was coupled with launching the new. At least a couple of
dozens of new mission stations were opened during the leadership period of bishop Brasseur. He
was also the one who used new communication media in disseminating the good message of Christ;
The Mountain Province Broadcasting Company was started in 1965-66. Most of all, however. Bishop
Brasseur is remembered for being the founder of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
(S.I.H.M., commonly known in the Cordillera as the ‘Tuding sisters’) in 1952. Addressing the General
Chapter in 1975, the bishop declared: “Both these aspirations of these young girls and the need for
religious sisters to evangelize especially the women and children, urged me to start an exclusive
diocesan congregation, where only candidates [who are] natives of the Mountain Province, or
young girls who have spent most of their youth in the Vicariate and are acquainted with the culture
of the people of this Vicariate would be admitted”. Among the tasks of the sisters figure aspects of
the typical missionary’s apostolate: “catechetical work, education in the schools, social education,
health improvement”. Referring to himself, the bishop still pledges support for the sisters, both in
their preparation and training, and as they carry out their tasks: “The ordinary of the place will
remain always very close to this institute, ready to help them not only morally and even spiritually,
but also in case of need financially.” 11 The bishop is presented as the leader who creates an
organization with its leaders, to help him in leading his flock… Team work is a value that is not only
cherished by CICM members, but also shared by them with other groups in the Church. Bishop
Brasseur retired in 1981, and was succeeded by Rev. Emiliano Madangeng.
(c)The CICM missionary as anthropologist: the example of Morice (‘Maurice’) Vanoverbergh and
others
Missionaries ‘ad extra’ go out from their home country and culture to proclaim the good news of
Christ to foreign peoples. Doing so effectively requires a serious effort of immersion, so as to
perfectly assess the culture of communication in a certain place including the local language(s).
Therefore, CICM missionaries already have shown interest in local dialects and cultures at an early
stage. Referring to Father Alphons Bermyn, who became Provincial
Superior of South-West Mongolia in 1890 and Vicar Apostolic of Ortos in 1901, Father Verhelst
states: “For quite a long time, A. Bermyn has been compiling a Mongolian-French, FrenchMongolian dictionary of the spoken language. It is aimed at the young members of the
Congregation who will need to speak the language. He had based his work on the dictionary of the
Russian Jozef Szezepan Kowalewski, who brought together the words of the written language. A.
10
11
This title meant that the function had been upgraded, from ‘prefect apostolic’ to ‘vicar apostolic’.
Quoted in Michael Layugan. (2014). Ecce Ancilla Domini: a Narrative History of the Sisters of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. Manila: Logos Publications. P.58-60.
Bermyn adds the spoken words and many expressions which he had heard from the Mongols. The
dictionary contains 11,000 words with all their meanings, and also examples. He wishes to
provisionally make fifty copies, because he wants to complete it before publishing it.” 12 In the
Philippine context, the person of Father Morice Vanoverbergh
(1885-1982) deserves attention. The eldest of seven children, Father Morice took his first vows
in the CICM in 1904; he arrived from his native Belgium in the Philippines on October 24, 1909. He
was first assigned in the mission of Bauko, in the Mountain Province, a mission station founded by
CICM pioneer Father Jules Sepulchre, with a boys’ dormitory and a small school. Father Morice was
found of collecting plants; for this reason, his superior had recommended him to the Bureau of
Science in Manila. His next assignment was in Tubao, La Union. When Father Jules Sepulchre
prematurely died, Father Morice went back to Bauko to attend the funeral, However, the people
wanted him to stay. Once upon a time, while touring provincial Superior Fr. Henry Raeymakers
around, they passed a place called Guinsadan, where CICM was meditating on starting up a mission
station. The Provincial was a notoriously tall man, riding an Australian horse. Fr. Morice tells the
following story about their visit: “When we arrived there, all the people came out to look. Probably
they had never seen an Australian horse and, in addition, a big man with a long beard. The Provincial
commented, “it is quite obvious that they did not yet often see a missionary here”! The next
assignment of Fr. Morice was in Bangar, La Union. When the Filipino Resident Commissioner in
Washington was visiting Vigan, he learned about the presence of Fr. Morice in Bangar, and decided
to see him, since he was very interested in orchids. Because of their bad experiences with the
Spanish friars, the local population was initially very suspicious towards Fr. Morice, but that
changed after the commissioner’s visit: he spent more than one hour in the rectory of Fr. Morice,
but hardly paid attention to the local officials. It significantly boosted the prestige of Fr. Morice and
triggered a lot of respect for him in the community.
The next mission station of Fr. Morice was in Tagudin, Ilocos Sur. There, a team of ICM sisters were
looking after the school. In order to raise money for the schools, the sisters were selling lace, made
by the girls whom they had trained. In order to boost sales and income, Father Morice went to
peddle lace in major cities across the United States, until he found a broker through the Consul of
Switzerland, and he was called back to the Philippines for a mission in Apayao province. This was a
particularly challenging assignment for him, as his superior obviously wasn’t very much aware of
the situation on the field. He wrote: “I was assigned to found the Apayao mission, but I was
supposed to reside in Lubuagan [Kalinga]. The Provincial told me that I should go to Lubuagan every
month. This would have meant six days on horseback to go to Apayao and again six days to return
to Lubuagan. I was thus supposed to do practically nothing else but to trail along the road. This was
indeed some kind of assignment!” The Apayao territory of those times also comprised parts of
Cagayan province, and had a total surface area of 2,000 square miles. For such surface, they were
exactly two (2) CICM missionaries. He usually was accompanied by a catechist while travelling, also
for safety reasons: “Those trips were very perilous since we had continually to cross rivers. In order
to reach Dagadan, we had to cross the river fifty-nine times in one morning. The river was, in fact,
12
D. Verhelst, & N. Pycke. (1995). C.I.C.M. Missionaries, Past and Present 1862: History of the
Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Scheut/Missionhurst). Leuven University Press., p. 103.)
the road, and every time the river touched a mountain, we had to try to reach the other bank.
Sometimes the river was deep and few people were living in that region. It was, therefore,
necessary always to have a companion. We could have drowned, and nobody would have known
it.” It was during this time that Fr. Vanoverbergh was recommended to do research on the Negritoes
(Called ‘Agta’ or ‘Eta’) of Northern and Eastern Luzon. Witty as always, Fr. Morice jokingly said: “I
never had opened a book on anthropology, and I did not know what kind of report I had to make”.
In spite of this, his findings on the tribal religious beliefs and practices brought him praise from
nobody less than pope Pius XI ! Also around that time, in 1928 or 1929, the wooden church of
Kabugao was built, as well as dormitories to accommodate students for the nearby public school.
During World War II, Fr. Vanoverbergh was assigned in Sabangan, Mountain Province. That’s where
he built a church again – for an amount of five to six thousand pesos. When the Japanese imperial
troops entered the village, Fr. Morice had told them not to flee, since this would likely have lead to
all houses being burned to the ground.. Instead, he went to greet the Japanese commander and
showed him his passport that displayed stamps of four visits to Japan. The officer was satisfied and
no violence was committed. The pragmatic approach of Fr. Morice apparently had worked. Most
damage occurred during the American bombardments at the end of the war. They got weekly
bombings for nearly three months. The people had to flee and Fr. Morice, who was working on an
Iloko grammar, lost a part of his manuscript. After the war, he was again assigned to Bauko, where
a new church and convent were put up. Towards the end of his life, he retired in Home Sweet Home,
Baguio City, “to help those who are doing nothing” as he wittingly said. Although nearly blind, he
was still able to finish his Isneg dictionary in 1972, and an English-Kankanay thesaurus in 1981, the
year before his death. Fr. André De Bleeker, CICM, writes that Vanoverbergh first did not like to
publish any such thing as a book or dictionary, saying “Who among the CICM’s is ever publishing
books? That is not our custom!”14 However, he eventually gave in to go ahead with the preparation
of a book after discovering that a government-published Kankanna-ey grammar by an American
lady contained obvious errors.
His body was brought back to Bauko where a monument was put up in his memory.
(d)The CICM missionary as healer: the example of Joseph Rutten and others, until the SLUHSH
We may conclude from the story of Father Morice Vanoverbergh, that not all CICM heroes were
‘martyrs’ in the strict sense, but that all have excelled in dedication to their work as missionaries,
and in love for God and for His people. This is also what has been the basic motivation for attempts
to find a solution for exanthematic typhus, an illness caused by a bacterium (Rickettsia Prowozeki)
passed on to humans by lice or ticks. The illness is sometimes confounded with typhoid fever, a
contagious bacterial disease (Salmonella typhi) causing primarily gastro-intestinal symptoms. What
was at stake was obvious: at least 72 CICM members had probably died from typhus in China
between 1910 and 1930 alone. In 1868, the CICM founder, Father Theophile Verbist, had already
been a possible victim of the same disease – or of typhoid fever, as some are reporting -, after
barely twenty-seven months in his Mongolian mission. His case was not an exception, since several
foreign missionaries had died of any such disease in the area, including Father Alois Van Segvelt,
who died on April 5,
1867, and by whose death the founder had been heavily affected.15 Father Nestor Pycke,
14
Ibid. p.24.
15
Writing about what had happened to Van Segvelt, the founder exclaimed: “My God, what a sacrifice
are you asking from us! But your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. God had given him to us, he has
taken him away from us, may his holy name be blessed” (Letter 594). Grief always fades in the light of
divine Providence and comfort. Father Pycke observes these writings: “(…) as
CICM, reports the following:
He (Theophile Verbist) had decided to undertake a pastoral visit to all mission stations of his
vicariate, before going back to Europe “to give the final orientation to our novitiate in Scheut”.
He left Xiwanzi on February 3, 1868. Three weeks later, on February 23, on a Sunday, he dies
of typhoid in Laohugou, the Valley of the Tigers, in the district of Jehol. Matthieu Zhang, the
Chinese priest who was preaching a mission in a small village thirty miles away from Laohugou,
administered him the sacrament of the sick. Theophile Verbist was forty-four years old. Feeling
seriously sick, Th. Verbist had sent a courier to Kulitu, eighty miles away, to request the two
confreres who resided there, to come and help him. Hamer was preaching a mission in a
remote village. His assistant van Avezaath left them immediately for Laohugou, but he arrived
too late. They buried him in a tomb before the altar in the chapel of the village. (…) The founder
had been imprudent: when climbing a mountain to go to Laohugou, he removed his skin
clothes and walked all the way on foot. Afterwards, he went back to his place in the carriage,
but he failed to put on his warm skin clothes, while he was perspiring. In the evening, he had
high temperature.”13
“Exanthematic typhus” is a term that doesn’t appear in the letters of missionaries in 1868; however,
in 1930, CICM superior general Joseph Rutten mobilized an international team of experts to find a
remedy against the disease. In February 1931, he arrived in the vcariate of Xiwanzi (or ‘Hsi-wantzu’), accompanied by a Hungarian doctor, Stefan Gajdos, to vaccinate the missionaries against
exanthematic typhus. After visiting pope Pius XI in Rome, the superior general had gone to Poland
to contact the vaccine developer, Dr. Rudolph Weigl. Fathers Verhelst and Pycke describe the
continuation as follows:
In 1931, J. Rutten, together with his ex-student from Nan-hao-ch’ien, Dr. Joseph Chang, starts
a laboratory for the preparation of the vaccine in the Catholic University of Fu-jen. This
university was founded in 1927 in Pei-ching (renamed Pei-p’ing by the Nan-ching government).
This vaccine means the end of the deadly outcome of typhus, but not of the illness itself, which
will still plague the missionaries.14
13
Nestor Pycke. (2010). A Pioneer in Chinese Mongolia: Theophile Verbist’s Adventure 1861-1868.
Leuven: Ferdinand Verbiest Institute. P. 93-94.
14
Daniel Verhelst & Nestor Pycke. (1995). C.I.C.M. Missionaries, Past and Present 1862-1987:
The CICM had, still under the leadership of Joseph Rutten, put up their own hospital in Kuei-
soon as suffering and the death of children or of a relatively young person are involved, they refer at
once to “a better life”, to “the angels in heaven”, “to an eternal reward”, “to God”: he is their reward
and their consolation. When referring to the survivors, they add at times: What a sacrifice
God is asking from us, but at the same times they say: “May His will be done”.” (Nestor Pycke. (2010).
A Pioneer in Chinese Mongolia: Theophile Verbist’s Adventure 1861-1868. Leuven:
Ferdinand Verbiest Institute. P.95.
hua-ch’eng (‘City of the Return of Civilization’, also known as ‘the Blue City’). A Belgian medical
doctor and a French nurse started working in a dispensary in 1921. In 1923-24, a General Catholic
Hospital was built under the supervision of Father Leo Vendelmans, who was among others also
the architect of the Baguio Cathedral in the Philippines. Besides the 100beds hospital, the terrain
also accommodated houses for doctors and for the director, and buildings for student-nurses as
well as for the ‘Belgian sisters’ (officially called ‘Missionary canonesses of St. Augustine’, in the early
1960’s re-baptized as ‘ICM sisters’ or ‘Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary’). The European
doctors were gradually replaced by Chinese doctors. The hospital’s administration was transferred
in the 1930’s to the Chinese province of Sui-yüan. When the CICM received compensation money
for the sufferings endured during the so-called ‘Boxer-rebellion’ – during which several confreres
died as martyrs- China and Belgium agreed to use the money exclusively for infrastructural,
educational and charitable projects in China, including for the hospital. In 1943, the Belgian sisters
were replaced by native sisters, but were recalled a few years later, until the revolution broke out.
The last CICM missionaries – including an ophthalmologist-internist doctor – were relieved from
their hospital functions in 1953.
When the CICM missionary pioneers came to the Philippines in 1907, most of the country had
already been Christianized. In spite of this, the ‘missionary instinct’ of combining preaching with
caring did play a role as missionary practice, especially in remote areas. One of the pioneers who is
said to have “integrated medical aid for the people among his apostolic methods” is Rev. Father
Oktaaf Vandewalle. He made sure that there was in every town or barrio a local leader who would
inform him if any urgent matter had to be addressed, like somebody who got seriously sick. He is
also said to have cured the sister of an Aglipayan leader in Solano while he was staying at
Bayombong!
In the city of Baguio, the CICM had started college-level courses in 1952, that developed into Saint
Louis University in 1963. Initially, the university offered health science-courses in her College (now
History of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Scheut/Missionhurst). Leuven University
Press. P. 174.
called ‘school’) of Natural Sciences.15 In 1971, the clinical laboratories and charity clinic – that were
named after First Lady Imelda R. Marcos - had become a reality, providing free or affordable checkups, laboratory tests, and medicines to the population of deprived areas. As early as 1973, the SLU
clinical laboratories had made agreements with five rural medical centers, through the mediation
of concerned local CICM parish priests, to carry out laboratory analyses. The centers were in Banaue
and Kiangan (Ifugao), Salegseg (KalingaApayao), Natonin (Mt. Province), and Sinipsip (Abatan,
Benguet).
The SLU Blood Bank and the X-ray laboratory were the next steps in the expansion of paramedical
research and services. The MOMFI medical outreach missions were also thriving in that period.
However, the SLU dedication to science and public health culminated with the opening of a School
of Medicine and Hospital of the Sacred Heart (1976 and 1977). At the SLU-Hospital of the Sacred
Heart, a double target has always been aimed at: the hospital constitutes a significant addition to
the city’s public health infrastructure, while it also caters
to the ‘hands on’ and practical training of medical and nursing students. During School Year 197576, one of the research projects of the SLU Research and Development Office – that had been
erected just in 1974 – was a “Project Study on a School of Medicine and Teaching Hospital in SLU”16.
Putting up a hospital and operating such facility in a sustainable way isn’t something obvious for a
relatively small religious congregation that ran a young university in a developing country, outside
the capital city, without significant government support or financing. Still, the CICM fathers and
their aides in Saint Louis University dreamt of it and made the moves that were necessary to find
external funding for the huge project. It is no surprise that the SLU administration referred to the
socio-economic situation in the region and the country to support its request for foreign assistance.
The CICM-identity of the hospital should be reflected in the ‘human touch’ (or is it a ‘divine touch’?)
of the health care it continues to offer, in the respectful way in which it receives patients as goal in
themselves and images of Jesus-Christ, the Incarnate Word to Which the CICM was dedicated.17
As we are returning to the CICM and to her founder, Father Theophile Verbist, the words from the
founder in a letter to his confreres in Scheut – in which he was referring to political developments
both in his native country and in that of his mission - acquires an ominous sound in the light of the
current global Covid-19 health crisis:
“Farewell, my dear friend, take well care of yourselves and give us a lot of news. Europe is
really sick, but China hasn’t healed. What will happen to the world? Let’s hurry to
accumulate some merits, since the end [of life] could be near”. [T. Verbist, Letter 394 – To
J. Bax & T. Rutjes]
15
In 1968, the College of Liberal Arts had been divided in two colleges, one for the natural and one for
the human sciences.
16
Mentioned in: Builder of Progress, 1976, p. 12.
17
Mt 25,40;45. See also Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Constitutions General Directory.
Rome.(1988).Art.1. p.14.
Sickness and health have always been a part of the missionaries’ lives, as they have tried at all
times to prevent illness, to mitigate, or to eliminate it. Missionaries aren’t afraid to face illness
and put up efforts to overcome it, since they count on the unfailing help of God’s healing
Providence:
“I don’t easily give up and get away from hardships. The more trials the better!” [W.
Padilla, bishop of Ulaan-Baatar 2002-2018]
(8)The CICM as an international organization
As a congregation founded in Belgium in 1862, the CICM missionaries were often referred to
as ‘the Belgian fathers’; they used to be known also in the Philippines under that name. Indeed,
until World War II, the members of the congregation were mainly Belgian or Dutch. During the
general chapter of 1947, however, the opinion about membership began to change, even
before the second Vatican council introduced profound changes in Church and mission, and
Western countries saw a sharp decline in the number of new
vocations. In 1966, after the council had ended, all religious institutes were invited by pope
Paul VI to revise their constitutions and align them with the new ideas developed during
Vatican-II. CICM held a chapter in 1967 for this purpose. It resulted in tentative constitutions
that would be finally approved during the general chapter of 1987. Everything was put in the
light of ‘alignment to contemporary society and culture’ and of ‘returning to the source’. 18
During the general chapter of 1974, five CICM members from outside Europe joined the talks
for the first time in the history of the congregation. In opening membership to non-Europeans,
the congregation intended to heed a call of God: the gospel is inviting the followers of Christ
to break through barriers, to promote universal brotherhood and unite all humans in His
kingdom, regardless of their background. Faith in the living Christ is the only requirement.19 At
the same time, the integration of missionaries in their local communities and the service of the
congregation to the local churches, could also benefit from a spirit of openness. For the same
reason also, teams and communities of missionaries are preferentially mixed, being composed
of missionaries from different countries and continents. In this way, the CICM motto received
a new meaning and dimension: in spite of cultural differences among missionaries and
between the missionaries and their host population, there is a unity of heart and of soul among
congregation members, that is to be disseminated across the Church, in all continents.
18
These concepts are usually concentrated in the Italian term aggiornamento, initiallly used by pope
John XXIII and after him by church leaders and theologians worldwide. The term is further used to refer
in a broader sense to the entire second Vatican council and the reforms that it introduced in the Church.
19
This doesn’t exclude the possibility that other religions may offer some salvific value, especially if
these religions are defending values and principles close to those of Christianity.
The first countries where local candidates were recruited were Congo, the United States of
America, and the Philippines. In the Philippines, the first batch of eight novices started their
formation in 1953 in Baguio City.20 After some time, during which it was unclear whether they
would eventually be assigned in the Philippines or in a foreign mission, it was decided that all
CICM missionaries, regardless of their nationality, are to be assigned for some period in a
foreign mission), in accordance with the CICM missionary charism (ad extra). Therefore, two
Filipino CICM members left for Brazil in 1965; they were followed by dozens of confreres in
successive decades. At the same time, there were calls for more ‘Filipinization’ at home, for a
deeper integration of Filipino values in the congregation, in its identity and practices. Driven
by this and other concerns, a group of CICM missionaries formed the ‘Missionaries of Jesus’
(MJ) in 2002. Today, Filipino CICM missionaries are working in nearly twenty different
countries, spread all over the world. The ‘receiving’ church has become a ‘sending’ church. The
dream goes on!
20
In Home Sweet Home. The 1955 batch moved to the newly opened Maryhurst Seminary. Today, the
novitiate is located in Taytay, Rizal.