"Marianists in Asia" by Fr. Dave

—MARIANISTS IN ASIA

—Sharing and Panorama

—GOAL

—Get acquainted

—Tell experiences

—Explore hopes, challenges

—Not detailed history

—Background to seminar, conversation

—Who I am?

—What is my Marianist experience?

—Era of Founders

—Intensely local, pastoral, practical

—No experience of Asia

—Vision and heart of Church universal

—Title: Missionary Apostolic  - origin in Asia

—New times, new situations

—Mère de Lamourous: missionaries to Korea

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—EARLY CALLS FOR MARIANIST MISSIONARIES FROM ASIA

—Much more than Africa, Latin America

—43 serious files in SM from 1858-1935

—Not including Japan

—Connected with other missionaries

—Esp.  Missionaries of Paris (MEP) – 26

—French

—Educational work

—Education a key priority of mission

—JAPAN AS KEY MARIANIST RESPONSE

—Paris Mission, our neighbor at Stanislas

—Fr. Simler and Japan

—Providential moment:

—Broader horizons

—Employment as expelled from France

—Become a truly international Family

—Special role of French education in Japan

—MEIJI ERA

—Japanese are the experts!

—Modernization

—French schools best!

—French MEP missionaries invite us

—Arrival in 1887, then spread to Nagasaki, Osaka, Yokohama…..

—Gradual cultural blend

—CHINA

—18 requests 1858 – 1926

—Many parts of China

—From missionaries: MEP, SVD, OFM….

—INDIA

—8 formal requests from 1887-1933

—Pondicherry 1887 (Montfort Brothers accept)

—Cuddalore 1888

—Vishakapatnam 1892 (from MSFS)

—Bangalore 1892

—Kumbakonam 1903

—Hyderabad 1905 (from PIME)

—Ernakulam 1927 (from Carmelites)

—Pondicherry again 1933

—Superiors say No, not enough English-speakers

—Other Asian Requests

—KOREA: 6 requests from 1892-1922, from Seoul and Taegu, all from MEP

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—VIETNAM: 5 requests from 1887-1935: Saigon, Hue, Hanoi, all through MEP

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—OTHERS: Seychelles, Burma (2x), Sri Lanka, Afghanistan

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—Superiors say No, not enough personnel to all

—We don’t have any record of invitations to….

—Philippines (Spain, then USA)

—Indonesia (Holland)

—Malaysia (England)

—Thailand

—Mission linked to colonization

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—GROWTH OF MARIANIST LIFE IN JAPAN

—Many French missionaries

—Gradual Japanese members

—Cultural blend

—Challenges: culture beyond folklore

—Language

—Political role of Japan

—Nationalities of missionaries

—New era in Japan after 1945

—FMI arrive, grow

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—Many post-war vocations (SM – 150 in 1960!)

—Impressive, prestigious educational work

—MLC in more recent years

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—TODAY: SM 35 / FMI 49 / MLC ???

—Look toward Vietnam, Philippines

—2nd RESPONSE: CHINA

—European politics and hopes play a role

—SM in Alsace

—St. Hippolyte needs to be authorized as postulate

—Germany (Prussia) has new colonies in Shandong Province, China

—Staffed by German SVD Fathers

—Maybe Prussian authorization will come

—1903-1909 YANZHOU

—After Boxer Rebellion

—At SVD center

—Near Qufu, Confucius’ home, South Shandong

—Very young community

—Hard work, little success

—Funding problems, no help from Prussia

—1908 to Tsingtao

—1909 to Japan

—1926-43 HANGKOW (WUHAN)
JINAN (1939-1943)

—USA, link to Franciscans

—Built existing school, now state school

—1939: Jinan, Shandong, built school

—Japanese expel enemy foreigners, city by city

—Help from Austria, Italy (allies?)

—Americans finally expelled in 1943

—Then Chinese communists expel foreigners

—No Chinese vocations

—Korean commitment since 2002

—Can we return in our time?

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—3RD response: KOREA

—Invitations from 1890’s through MEP

—Japanese connection

—Superiors say NO

—Korea becomes one of most Christian Asian nations

—1960: Pacific, help from Austria

—Mission in poverty, especially Mokpo

—Mifsud, Gossenreiter, Dennis Schmitz, others….

—Steady growth, rapidindigenization

—KOREA…..

—FMI comes in 1979

—Founded remarkably from Japan

—Strong growth of MLC, follow-up to conversion

—TODAY: 

—SM – 25

—FMI – 43

—MLC – 300?

—ALL KOREANS

—4TH RESPONSE: INDIA

—Invitations from 1887, mainly South India, MEP

—Never  thought we were able, superiors say NO

—Burgeoning interest in 1970’s in USA

—Idea of implanting charism (Fr. Tutas), vs. sending missionaries

—Arrival in 1980

—Nepal, at Jesuit invitation, for visa reasons

—Showly rooted in North India

—South mainly for education, then street-children

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—INDIA……

—TODAY:

—SM -90 (60 perpetual, 30 temporary)

—FMI comes about 2004, 9 + 20 candidates

—MLC – 20-25

—Success of “implantation”

—Difficulties of “implantation”

—5th RESPONSE: PHILLIPINES

—GREATEST Asian Christian country

—3rd or 4th largest number of Christians in world

—Center of Asian Christianity

—2002: visit with SM from Japan, Korea to China & Philippines

—Foundation, with street-children ministry

—International community

—TODAY: 5 SM, all foreign (Spain, India, Kenya, USA)

—Filipino candidates

—MLC – 40?

—6th RESPONSE: NEW CHINA?

—Great future for Church, many conversions

—Serious difficulties / schisms

—Government hostility, control

—Not easy

—Experience can speak here…….

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—SUMMARY AND OVERVIEW

—Rich history

—National presence in Japan, Korea, India

—Sense of culture, respect for culture

—Many, varied challenges

—Male and female religious roughly equal

—Marian sensitivity highly appreciated

—Let’s listen to our experience!

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