97mm (4 301 mGarvin!

Th w ld mart rs the Chu ch and the hur h ub e or y r , C c s dues th e wo rld The w o d o f o u r Di ine Lo rd a re alwa s verifi ed r s v y , ’ m n o send c u on h bu w r h I co e o t t ea e ea t t s o d. T e a p p r , a g e m r o f mi acl ne er c es Ma r r d m i o f a t s as es eas . t o a r y , r , v y s er etu al no e u onthe M s ica l B o d which ha s th e Sti mata p p t p y t y, g o f us e er fresh Wis m n Jes v e a .

PY R I GH T CO , 1 91 3.

FI FTH E DI TI ON ’ This edition of Blessed Theopha ne Véna rd s life is dedica ted to the Catholic youth of America in the hope and belief that among them many will be found to follow Christ the whole way into the wilderness

o H t for the s uls that e ha s died o sa ve . ’

C O N T E N T S .

Prefa ce.

CHAP T E R I .

B irth a nd S ch o o l Da y s

HAP T E R I I C . — At Coll eg e Doué and M o ntmo rill o n

R CHAPTE III .

The S emina ria na t P o itiers

CHAPTE R I V .

B reaking H o me Ties

HAPT E R V C .

“ ” I n Paris— Th e Mis sio ns E trang eres

CHAPT E R VI .

La s t Da ys inPa ri s— Th e Depa r tu re

CHAP TE R V I I . — Th e Vo ya g e Antwerp to H o ng - Ko ng

CHAPTE R V III . — I n H o ng - Ko ng Final Pr epa r a tio n — CONTE NTS CON TI N UE D.

CHAPTE R I X . PAGE

Arrival a t T ong -king

H C APTE R X .

Pers ecuti ons in T o ng -king

CHAPT E R X I .

Labo rs a nd T rial s

CHAPTE R X I I .

Under Fire

HAPT E R X C III .

I n th e Caves

CHAPT E R X I V .

Arr est

CHAPTE R X V.

Firs t Anniversa ry and R etro spect

CHAPTE R X VI .

Th e Afterwa r d

Hymn o f Sis ter Thérés e

Chant o f Depa rture L I S T O F I L L U S T R A T I O N S

Ve r d Froni s iece ha ne na . J . Th eo p t p PAGE

B o ys a t th e Pr epar a to ry S emina ry 1 6

Genera l View S t. L o u p ( )

P a ri s S eminar y (Ch a pel )

L o u T h e River T h o u et (S t. p)

Ceremo ny o f D epa r tu r e

F r P ro s e B el ech . p r p

T yp ica l Junks in T o ng - king

T h e V éna r d H o m e (St. L o up)

B is h o p T h eu r el

T o mb o f T u D u c

I nteri o r o f P a r i h h r h L s C u c (S t. o u p)

Fa th er E u s eb iu s V éna r d a t F o r ty Y ea r s o f Ag e

Fa th e E u s ebiu s V éna r d in 1 9 05 r . A P R E F CE .

P o n the 5th 1 852 In the city of aris day of June, , two young men were ordained to the priesthood . One ,

- h a born in Ireland twenty t ree years before , was p pointed almost immediately to the chair of Funda m in . P mental Dog a the Seminary of St Sulpice at aris .

Nineteen years later , during the revolt of the Com mu nists , this priest , from his prison cell in the Co ncier gerie, defied his persecutors and narrowly escaped A 1 884 massacre . fterwards , in , he came to America 1 900 and , until his death in , gave to the clergy of the United States the ripened fruit of his broad and cul re tu d mind . The r other young man , a native of France, was o E A dained for the foreign missions of astern sia , and

To - th u four months later sailed for ng king, at e so th e o f o ast extremity China , where , after seven years f a o wa s postolic lab r, he beheaded for the faith . T n hese two young men were John Baptist Hoga , ’ the late honored superior of St . John s Seminary in T e no w Boston , and Jean heophane V nard, Blessed , the subj ect of these letters . To Father Hogan, his early guide in the spiritu al o f m life, the editor this volu e is indebted for a first e acquaintance with the story of Theophane V nard , e n whos letters , read in Seminary days at Brighto , have always been a treasured memory . 1 9 03 P In the summer of , while at the aris Seminary F n M n T ’ for oreig issions , he lear ed that heophane s E youngest brother , usebius , was still living , and at

once arranged to visit him . E b r the He found usebius a venera le p iest , curé of P refa ce

A P . little village of ssai , in the diocese of oitiers With

this visit began a cordial friendship , which became more intimate through subsequent correspondence and

- two later soj ourns in the province of Deux Sevres . ’ In Assai and at St . Loup , the martyr s birthplace ,

a few miles away, were secured most of the photo

graphs and extra data that appear in this volume . A few weeks after his first visit to Assai the writer r called , in London , upon the late Lady Herbe t of

E - Lea , to whom nglish speaking Catholics are indebted fo r the discovery of the charming letters which make ‘ n up this life . Nhe Lady Herbert learned of the ’ w writer s intention to publish these letters ane , she expressed the hope that her former work , which had

long been out of print , might be of some service . Lady Herbert ’ s kindness was accepted and many of the letters which appeared in the earlier translation were embodied substantially in this new life .

CATH OL C FORE N M S N M N A K LL I IG I S IO SE I R Y, MARY NO , N . Y .

Fea f n n m st o the P ese a io N o e be 2 1 1 9 1 3. r t t , v r , FR OM LA Y H E R B E R T ’ S P R E FACE D .

T e heophane V nard was no ascetic saint , trembling at every manifestation of human or natural feeling . He was eminently a tender and dutiful son ; a most devoted and loving brother ; an equally devoted and attached friend . Neither did he consider these warm affections incompatible with the great work to which he had given his life . His devotion to his sister , ’ whom he calls part of his very life , shines through every page of this touching and beautiful correspond ence . She is the first thought of his boyish years , she is his last thought in death . Yet all this strong human love did not prevent his sacrificing everything to Go d — leaving the home he loved so fondly , the sister he idolized , the family tie which bound him with what —e r others might have considered iron links , ve ything ,

- in fact, which made life dear , when the voice of the Master called him to go forth from his people and his country into a strange and distant land , to preach

His word and do His work , and save the souls for T whom He died upon the Cross . his is the striking u s— characteristic of the life before human love , sur ff passing all ordinary home a ections , willingly and joyfully off ered up o n the altar of o u r Lord for the salvation of the heathen who knew Him not . LA E R B E R T ’S T R B UTE DY H I .

o Herbert H use ,

W . Belgrave Square , S . , 4 1 9 6 0 . January , Dear Father Walsh : “ I am delighted with th e beautiful new edition of ’ T h Véna r d s o u so h eop ane Life , which y kindly sent ’ o n to me , and which reached me New Year s Day . It is so infinitely superior to th e original that they cannot o f be compared , and the insertion the pictures gives o an additional interest t it .

“ “ Cardinal Vaughan , years ago , asked me to put ‘ ’ a penny edition of the Life among the publications o f T T n the Catholic ruth Society , so that heopha e ’ Véna r d s glorious example might be followed by many E h nglis lads ; and it answered admirably . It has been sold more largely than almost any other of the penny l s pamph et . “ I am very grateful to yo u fo r having brought o u t this excellent biography o f o ne so dear to all who o th e c l ve foreign missions , which are more lear to me than any other Catholic work . n and Yours with many grateful tha ks , much e resp ct ,

Very sincerely , M E RB . . HE ERT . M O D E R N M ART YR

(THE OPH ANE Vé NAR D )

CH AP T E R I .

B irth a nd S ch l a oo D y s .

- - T St . Loup sur houet is a little French town in the

o f - e o f P department Deux S vres , in the diocese oitiers , o f P situated some miles north arthenay . Here begins the beautiful golden valley which gives its name to A irvault (aurea vallis ) , a busy little town built in the shape of an amphitheatre , and possessing, besides the l i o f o d . ru ns an castle , a very interesting Gothic church

A no t . irvault is more than three miles from St Loup , u which , surrounded by n merous hills , is hardly dis cernible even at a short distance . In spite o f the ill - natured assertions o f a modern f to o o . author , the population St Loup is serious and E religious to have imbibed any Vo ltairian spirit . ven “ ” should it be true that the author of H enr ia de was no w s o f n . bo r there , St Loup boast a more glorious hero ; fo r from its soil has sprung in these latter days , — a martyr . o Jean Theophane Venard was born at St . L up on 2 1 1 82 9 P the 5t o f November , , the feast of the resenta o ne tion of the Blessed Virgin . He belonged to of those patriarchal families in which religion and honor M e hold the first place . His father , . Jean V nard , 2 A M od er n Martyr

h a A l th e w ose family c me originally from nj ou , fil ed po st o f v illage schoo l - master with as much ability as a dev o tion to his duties . He g ve up this fatiguing work l h on y after t irty years of toil , to accept a position as o f j ustice the p eace in the department of which St . Th Loup was the chief town . ere his experience in business and his good j udgment made him invaluable o to his townspe ple , until the day when his laborious o and useful lab rs were brought to a close . M His wife , Mme . arie Guéret, was a gentle , pious d woman , simple and loving in character , entirely devote

o f . to the care her own home She had six children . Two o f Me these died as infants , but the others , lanie , T h E im heop ane , Henry , and usebius , will all play an U po rtant part in this little history . nder the direction o f h o T e t ese g od parents , heophane V nard made rapid progress in virtue . He combined the loving, gentle character of his mother with the firmness and resolu f l o f tion o his father . His contemporaries still ta k the amusing contrast between his small , baby figure and r his g ave , quiet manner . His greatest pleasure was to o c watch the goats or the cows on the hillside, an cu pa tion which fostered his love of solitude and his T spirit o f recollection . hese hillsides and pleasant fields hold an impo rtant place in the story of the o f future missioner , for here the first thoughts his vocation came upon him ; and the feelings then inspired m re ained among the sweetest of his whole life . The . o . country around St L up is very picturesque , T but it owes its great fertility to the rivers , the houet Cebro n n and the , which i tersect the valley in oppo site directions . Between the beds of these two rivers is a “ ” —Air o n f hillside called Le Bel , account o its health th e o n ful situation and glorious view all sides . When Th h old eop ane was only nine years , his delight was to T h eoph a n e Vena rd 3 pasture his father ’ s goats on this spot with his sister

. or a friend Here they would sing, or read books which they had borrowed from the pastor of the “ . A A village mong these books , the nnals of the ” Propagation of the Faith had the greatest charm fo r the little bo y. One day he was reading aloud to his companions the life of the Venerable Charles Cornay , Th whose martyrdom was then recent . e account o f the sufferings and death of this martyr for Jesus a Christ touched him even to te rs , so that at the end he “ And too w T - cried out , I ill go to ong king , and I too will b e a martyr ! ”

Shortly afterwards his father j oined the little group , T and heophane , turning to him with a gravity very unusual at his age , said , My father , how much is this ? ” “ ’ n field worth Well , I really don t k ow exactly , my ” “ ? ” “ . B child , replied his father Why do you ask e “ bo cause , the y answered , if you could give it to me , and I could have it for my share , I would sell it b and then I should be a le to go to college and study .

His father, surprised at such serious thoughts in one o ff so young, put him with some simple answer ; but he thought over these words which gave him a new light on the character and intentions of his son . He soon allowed the boy t o learn Latin with one or two other children who went for that purpo se to the pres b ter T y y, and heophane succeeded so well that it was decided to send him to college for a regular course of study . At the this time , principal of the College of Doué, in A the diocese of ngers , was a brother of the venerable e pastor of St . Loup , and to him young V nard was sent 1 841 in October , , together with a friend whom he had T known and loved from childhood . his friendship o T e never co led , and ten years afterwards heophan 4 A Modern M a rtyr

P U wrote from aris , ntil I came to the Séminaire e des Missions E trang res , the only intimate friend I ever had was one who had been born in my own vil Th . e lage , and who was dear to me as my own soul same fatherly hand baptized us ; side by side we sat o n o u r benches at school ; and at the very same time we were transplanted together to a new home , where o M another father received us b th with open arms . y friend was older , cleverer , and wiser than I , and took a higher place in the College , but our friendship was ff not in the least a ected by this . He flew , and I crawled ; but we were each quite contented . I was transferred to the ‘ Petit and there we found each other again in the same cloister , sharing co m a n the same masters , the same studies , the same p Go d ions . , who had united us in childhood , gave us n n o ne o e o e e . but thought , aim , and obj ct in life But the day at last came when we were to be separated my life seemed to be broken altogether ! But I have ” the firm hope that we shall be reunited in Heaven . No sooner was he fairly settled at college , than Theophane gave his whole mind to the fulfilment of to his duties . He was a model the other students , not only through the ho urs o f study but also during o f recreation , when he showed himself the gayest the

- r whole party . He bore all ill nature o contradiction with such good humor that those who were at first it Th inclined to tease him soon gave _ up . e more people vexed him , or gave him pain , the greater was his kindness toward them , and he rarely failed to win their hearts and make them ashamed o f their previous behavior . He gladly entered into all the little private devo

* r e a r a to r y em ina r P p S y . T h eoph a ne Venard 5

tions of the students , which were in harmony with ff E his taste and a ections . ven as a child he had vowed a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin . He was inscribed among the children of Mary , at Notre Dame des Victoires , and enrolled himself in the work of the P o o o f r pagati n the Faith , determined to help mis

s io ner s . as far as he could , until he became one himself

He tried also to lead , as much as he was permitted , ’ o n o ne a mortified life . When , a winter s day , of the him ff masters , seeing su er very much from chilblains on his hands and feet , told him to go and warm him in T e self by the comfortable fire his room , heophan “ The refused , exclaiming, missioners you were talk ff ing to us about last night , sir , su ered much more than that ! ”

He had a passion for reading, and delighted in the o f o wn o f lives of children his age , and especially those ff All who had su ered martyrdom . these holy disposi tions were fostered by the thoughts of his first Co m u n munion , which was approaching, and for which , i like the average small boy , he prepared h mself with the utmost anxiety and care . “ The day has almost come , he wrote his parents , that day which I have so earnestly desired ! the most beautiful day in my whole life ! Please pray to the fo r Blessed Virgin me , that I may receive her Son ffi worthily , for I feel I can never prepare myself su

cientl . y for so solemn an occasion I beg you , there fore , to forgive me any faults I may have committed ”

o u . against y , and to give me your blessing

Great as had been his previous doubts and fears , “ when the time came , his j oy knew no bounds . I ” remember him perfectly on that day, wrote one of “ his tutors . He seemed not able to contain himself f r o happiness . From that hour began his great devo 6 A M od em M artyr

tion to the Blessed Sacrament . He would steal away o for a visit during recreati n . I often used to open ” the o f th e l door chapel soft y to see if he was there , “ the wrote same master , and was always edifi ed by his wonderful spirit of recollection . Sometimes I to o o u t forced him g to play with his companions , as I thought it necessary fo r his health ; then devotion ” gave place to obedience . o But a great sorr w was hanging over his head , for which he would need all the strength his Lord had o f vouchsafed to him in the Sacrament His love . A fter two happy months spent with his family , he was obliged to part with his mother to return to college , and he foresaw that their parting would be a final one . Very soon after, in fact, she expired calmly in o f the arms her husband , leaving him the care of their The T four little children . blow to heophane was terrible . Nevertheless , his first thought was how he n could best console the mour ers at home . “ ” “ Dearest papa , he writes , when you wrote me f that my darling mother was very weak and suf ering, I flattered myself that o u r prayers and tears would h win from Go d t e preservation of her life . But j ust no wthe headmaster has told me of the terrible mis Go d fortune which has befallen us . O my , help me to ‘ Th The say , y Will be done hour fixed by Him has e come and she has had to l ave us , and is gone to be our protector in Heaven with the two little angels to whom she gave birth . Once more may His Holy Name be blessed ! It is thus He tr i es His creatures P n o f . t o here below ut ing the buckler faith , we will have recourse to religion , which alone can comfort r us in such sor ows . But it is very , very bitter . I have no cried till I can cry longer , and I have prayed with t fo r all my hear her dear soul . May she at this mo

8 A Modern M ar tyr

do not think of you , who are so very dear to me . I o o u to o h o u kn w y are t inking of me , and I suppose y ‘ Oh o will be saying, , my p or old brother will be so cold this winter ; and here am I enjoying a good big ’ T ff fire ! Be co mforted . hough I have su ered from o u the cold , as y know I always do , yet I have had some

o u t o f to o . fun it , for we have had famous ‘ skating no w And the weather is milder , and I am thawing, and pouring out some of my thoughts to my second

self . T Soon after, his brother Henry joined heophane at the College ; and it was impossible not to be touched e at the care which the eld r took of the younger , so as 1 84 . 5 to spare him the usual schoolboy troubles In , the Sodality of the Children o f Mary was established T h in the College , and heophane announced t is event

with jo y to his sister . He was made sacristan of his h c apel , an honor which he greatly coveted , as it not o f only gave him the care the altar , but enabled him

to steal away oftener for prayer . Yesterday , he “ Méla nie wrote to , I went to say my rosary in the ’

chapel ; and I don t know why, but I was very sad , i and I began to cry like a child . Yet all the t me I had

a wonderful interior consolation , and everything

appeared to me in a supernatural light . Very

often , when I am at work , my thoughts fly back to

o u . y I seem to see you going lightly about the house , fo r singing softly as is your wont , and doing things

our father and the children and everybody . I follow o u A y in thought everyw here . lthough we are so far o u r o u r apart , thoughts , wishes , our aspirations seem to

o ne. W be Oh , hat a blessed thing it is , this communion o f fo r souls , to be able to pray each other , and to pray fo r o u r loved ones together ! A sort of peace and o u calm comes over me with this thought . Do y know , Th eo ph a ne Vena rd 9

o f o u r P the other day , on the Feast atron Saint , as I was kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament at Bene diction , the Blessed Virgin seemed to smile amidst her o f flowers and tapers , and I thought you , who , I know, were then at the Sodality Vespers . I prayed so hard

for you, and I felt that you were doing the same for And w a s me and that our prayers were one . then I so happy, so relieved . But I should like to be with you again in body as well as in spirit . Oh , when shall we cease to be separated ? When shall we be able to live together as we did as children and share all o ur ” troubles and all o u r joys ? It seemed as if a vision of the future were before him— that future which was to be so great a struggle

to flesh and blood . But we must not anticipate . 1 0 A M o d ern M ar tyr

CHAPTE R II .

At C e— Do é a nd nm olleg u Mo t o rill on.

’ ON E ve 1 847 T New Year s , , heophane wro te to his father from Doué :

Here we are in the midst of piercing frost and cold ; but if the winter numbs our limbs , at least it does not — freeze our hearts . Whatever happens whether my chilblains disappear or not— I can ’ t let New Year ’ s Day pass without scribbling a few lines to repeat once more to you my hearty prayers and wishes for your P ’ happiness . eople declare that New Year s Day is the day for telling lies . Let those say so who tell them . As for me I always welcome the returnof the a nniver sa ry as an occasion for renewing the expressions of ’ n C . o e my old hildhood s love In word , dearest papa , ” I wish you many , many happy New Years .

A T A t this time heophane was eighteen . lthoug h he o d had given himself up to G from his youth , the devil filled him with doubts and temptations when it came to a question of deciding o n his future voca tion , and , as usual , his sister is the confidante of his troubles

M M éla nie — W e y dearest , must talk a little of the

Blessed Virgin , for I feel as if I had not spoken enough ? of her this year . Can it be that I have changed I T h e opha n e Vena rd 1 1

n thi k not but other thoughts preoccupy me j ust now . I am nearly at the end o f my classes here and yet I o f T seem to have no clear conception my future . his worries me very much . I always thought I was called to the priesthood . Sometimes I say to myself , ‘ What a glorious thing it is to be a priest ! What it ’ ’ must mean to say one s first Mass ! But then fo r h — so l— n t at, one must be so good pure like o e o f ’ T o . t P G d s angels hat is why I still hesi ate . lease to ’ unite your prayers with mine, that I may discern God s ? ? will in the matter . Will you But why do I ask o u I know you will , and I want y to give me your Communion the first Sunday in Lent with this imten ” tion , and I will prepare myself for the same . “ A t lit le later he writes , O my dearest sister , do o u write to me at once , for I look only to y for com

fort . Bring back hope to my poor sad heart ; that is A n . s your mission , you k ow regards me , I should like to laugh and be merry with you ; but I have no t the heart . I wait for your letter with the greatest anx iety . Still his heart tu rned towards Mary in the midst “ ho w of his greatest distresses : O Mary , I love the o f ! word ! Mary , refuge sorrowful hearts Mary,

under whose wing we have both sheltered ourselves , like little children with their mother at the approach o r o u o f the enemy ! I l ve Ma y , but I think y , my dear T est sister, love her more . hen he comes back

to his previous sorrow . I get so weary of life and ’ r t k . of eve y hing, I don t now what to do It is only o u to you that I dare own such a thing . But you , y are — Y o u half of myself . are more than my sister you ” are my guardian angel . ’ A e t last , by God s grace , p ace came back to his

soul , and he writes , 1 2 A M o dern M a rtyr

Méla nie — T Dearest , hank you , my good little sis fo r ter , thank you a thousand times your delicious o ! O letter . Oh what go d it has done me nce more I ’ thank you with all my heart , that s all I can say . Here is the month of Mary nearly over ! It is high time we should talk about her a little . We too have special M ’ devotions every day for ary s month , and I delight in decorating her altar . We have a quantity of beau Th tiful roses in the garden here . e largest and sweet est, you may be sure , I keep for our tender , good M ff other, and it is a great pleasure to o er her fresh ones every morning . I fear the hands and the heart that bring them are miserably unworthy ; but she is o r ! so go d , she receives eve ybody Well may we call ‘ ’ ‘ ’ Afflicted R her Comfort of the and efuge of Sinners . “ ou Oh , if y did but know how my poor old head ’ works when I am all alone , and can t sleep for think ! ing Oh , how happy I should be in a quiet country parish with my Melanie ! I would guide the good peo ple to try to save their souls , and you would have care of the church ; and together we would labor for h God , and talk of Him and of His Mot er , and of all o ne those we have loved and lost . But thought troubles All me in the midst of these castles in the air . this is very good and very pleasant certainly ; but when it o P o ? comes to the p int , what is the riesth od Is it not an entire detachm ent from all worldly goods— a co m ? pl ete abandonment o f all temporal interests T o be a P o ne To o riest , should be a Saint . guide thers , one T must first learn to guide oneself . hen should not the o f P life a good riest be one of continual sacrifice , self I o o mo rtifi ca tio n o f ? Ho w mm lati n , and all kinds in the world should I ever have the courage to embrace — I such a life , who am so little advanced in the paths ? of virtue , or of penance Th eoph a ne Vena rd 1 3

T h h h hese are my t oug ts , darling sister , and t ey th e h always come back to same t ing . “ Go d h to But when I pray to enlig ten me , I seem ‘ T hear an interior voice ever singing, hou must be a

Priest ; God gives His grace to all who ask Him . to o Then a great peace seems c me over me , and I find ‘

. o n myself happy and contented You will say , What t ? ’ ear h am I to conclude from all this Why , that the who choice of a vocation is a terrible thing, and that ffi ever thinks of it seriously is in a desperate di culty . “ But as concerns myself , I hope , in spite of my Go d unworthiness , that will have pity upon me . Our

God is a Father, and a most tender Father ; and we have besides a powerful Advocate in one who deigns ” to be our Mother .

’ But in Mélanie s own heart the struggle was going k th e on li ewise as to the choice of a vocation , and mutual difl'i culties and the entire confidence which they had in each other bound them , if possible , still more T ’ closely . In heophane s mind his sister appeared more fo r Go d u n and more holy , while his own love was consciously increasing in like proportion . “ He writes again to her , You may be quite sure that o u I am true to my promise , and if y pray for me I feel often as if my life were one prayer for you . But ’ though you will laugh at me for saying so , I can t help s ometimes , when I am asking God and His saints to ’ sa ou enlighten us , I can t help , I y, wishing for what y ‘ no . o u t do not desire I hear y say , But this is right ; - “ ’ ’

is e l . r this not r a ly loving me Don t be ang y , the ” / thought is repented of as soon as conceived . But “

'

i . the fact s , I cannot bear the idea of a total separation I am afraid this arises from selfishness on my part ; Mé n n . a ever mi d , it is only a slight shade No , de rest 1 4 A Mod ern M a rty r

— I lanie ! believe this, will never try for an instant to turn yo u from any generous or holy proj ect . I should be afraid o f robbing yo u o f your crown ! But I tell yo u frankly that to lose you would be a terrible sacri E fi ce o nmy part . very time the thought comes across Go d my mind , I beg for the grace of to enable me to bear it, if it be His will that you should go and leave Y o u us . I wish only for your highest happiness . say r ! . fo that God calls you If so, so much the better you h I can only envy you your lot , and hope t at some day r I may have the like favor . Let us leave it to o u dear Lord and Master to direct our future ; our only busi ness is to strive to correspond with His grace as far ” as we possibly can .

T heophane was going upwards with rapid strides , i P and not content w th the riesthood , was beginning to A thirst after the higher glories of the postolate . He himself said later that he was , as it were, led by the The hand , not knowing whither he was going . fol

- lowing memorandum , found among his copy books , 1 7th 1 847 and dated June , , shows the working of his mind at that time “ To - day in the chapel of the College at Doué , I vo w M R o f made a to ary , efuge Sinners , to say my in or d er to o bta in a s ecia l ra ce rosary every day , p g ” ro m G d f o .

a n— en In the following letter to his sister , he gives thu s ia stic description o f the procession on the Festival “ o of Corpus Christi , and c ncludes with the words , If o n religious services earth are so glorious , what must they be in H eaven ? E ternity ! Have you ever thought ? E ! of this word ternal , eternal a thing which R will never , never end ! eflecting on such subjects o s metimes overwhelms me , although I am still

1 6 A M o d ern M a rtyr month of October entered what is called Le Petit

S éminaire at Montmorillon . He was very happy “ to here , and wrote his sister , From the bottom of my Mélanie heart,dearest , I do assure you I never was so ‘ ’ Co r et — happy . T unum anima una , this is the motto of the congregation ! Such words can come only from God Himself ! Is not that the link which unites all Christians to one another ? Is it not this M P feeling which creates the issioner , the riest , the ? Christian Brother, the Sister of Charity Cor unum , v we can apply it to ourselves , for our lo e and our ! . et ! hopes are one Oh , yes Cor unum anima una

We can say so now , and we shall be able to say so still better later , if God calls you to serve Him more distinctly . Go , go , my dear , good sister . I will never stop you , notwithstanding the sorrow I cannot help feeling at the idea . But think a little bit of our father , our dear , good father . I pray for you every day , that God may deign to enlighten us both and to show us His Holy Will . There was nothing gloomy or repelling in his relig i n h o . t e On contrary , he was always cheerful and M eu merry , especially at ontmorillon , where his tr a in and gaiety became proverbial , and where the little feasts o f which he was the presiding genius will * be remembered as long as his generation remains .

One ea rt a nd o n mind T h e . ’ M ontmo r i o n i s o n a s o r t o u rne fr o m o iti ers a nd in th e ll ly h j y P , ea r a r t o f u 1 J . 905 th e w r iter s ent a ea s a nt d a a nd nig t ly p “ ly p pl y h a t th e etit s emina i r e o n th e c a el . e er a new fr es c es a do r p S v l h p , o ne d es cr i bm I n eta i th e m a r t r d o m o f T eo h a ne Véna rd the g d l y h p , h r m o t e s b e g devo ted to tw o m o r e o f th e a lu mni wh o ha ve a l s o wo n “ ’ ” th e m a r t r s c o wn r . Th e m em er s o f th e s emina r fa cu t 3 y b y l y , o o f b r 1 g ht a cti e o u n di o cesan r ies ts w er e m o s t r a ci o u s b dy , v y g p , g a nd a ttentxve to th e Amer i ca n wh o wa s inter es te in thei r s a int o d ly u 1 l a nd th e s tu d ents o f E n s n o c io n o d h e p p , li h o thi s ca s n e j ye t no e t o f h ea r i n E n i s h s o en with o u t a r nc a ccent Th e v l y g gl p F e h . n o h tr a diti o s f t e h o u s e h a ve h a r dly cha nged since Theo ph a ne and E u se i u s ena rd i ved t er e E d b V l h . [ .

Th eopha ne Vena rd 1 7

a Iet fun T In spite of his g y and , however , heophane ha d a strong groundwork of serious and deep feeling , in which came out his letters to his little brother , of which we will give some extracts here “ ! E — My dear little usebius , Well , how do you like school ? A re the lessons very hard ? Very disagree able ? Courage ! you are j ust now at the bottom of the o ladder . Very s on you will get on , and see the fruit o of your work . Have y u found any fellows that you ? ? T like Have you j olly games together ell me all . I so often think o f my poor little brother and wish I him could be with , especially in these first weeks of

- . ix n his school life It is half past s in the eveni g . ’ The wind blows through the chinks of the door isn t t ? it bit er But I feel so for you , my poor little man . I am sure your po or little toes a nd paws are all ov er c hilblains , as mine used to be ; and the tip of your nose ’ ’ ? Ah ! o f is all frozen , isn t it but that s the true life a schoo lboy ! We go to learn to bear ; but let us leave the b i winter eh nd , and wish one another a very , very P happy New , and aradise by and by , though I ‘ - Year t ’ hope not j us yet , as I don t feel disposed to give up i my little brother so soon . I recollect how in old t mes ’ you used to long for New Year s Day , but then that

- ! was all for the presents and sugar plums . Now , alas — there are no presents and no goodies o nly lessons . ! Oh , dear But by and by you will be glad to have n du lear ed something, so as to be more fit to fulfil the o u ties God will appoint for y in life, and thus win e E Heaven . For that , d ar usebius , and that alone , must be the obj ect of all our actions . Work hard , work well , o r o r o u not to get praise , honor , prizes , but because y T o f will thus please Go d . ake this as the maxim your ‘ ’ ’ ' life All fo r o u r goo d Go d . Don t neglect your 2 1 8 A M o d ern M artyr

prayers . Be docile to your superiors , for they are set over yo u by God ; be loving and kind to your co mpa n o i ns , and then everybody will love you , and you will ” be really happy .

T ’ m hen came his little brother s first Co munion , and

Theophane writes ,

My dear little brother has just made a great step n Fo r n i life, and a step towards another world . o e l ittle moment you paused and pitched your tent , and looked back to all your childish faults , faults which the world counts little , but which a Christian j udges ff ’ di erently ; and kneeling at the feet of God s priest , yo u told him all these little failings and short n comi gs , and he lifted the burden from your shoulders with the words of absolution in the name of the Thrice

Holy Go d . You have now become once more innocent o f o u as a little child , and the friend the angels ; and y have received Him whom the heaven of heavens can Oh not contain . , the inexpressible happiness of the child ’ s first Communion ! Who can describe that ? mystery of love Only angels know that lang uage . Ma o u too y y understand it , , my dear little angel on earth

Th f P o eophane was no w eighteen . His year o hil s o h to p y was over , and he was about be transferred “ P ” “ ” from the etit to the Grand Séminaire , but first

to o o he was allowed g home , and his j y found vent in the following words : “ In a month more I shall see the sky of my native

* E u s e iu s ena r w a s u n i , t h i s ea t , e ru a r 2 4, 1 9 1 3 a s to r o f b. V d l d h F b , p A s s a 1 s m a . a ll to wn a b o u t fi ve m il es fr o m t e r a i lw a y s tati o n a t Ai r a u t a n , d es s th a n fo u r mi es fr o m th e a terna o m e o f S t v l l l p l h . L o u E d p . [ . Th eo ph a ne Vena rd 1 9

H o w ! valley . happy the thought makes me My friends at the ‘ Grand Séminaire ’ begin their vacation a month sooner , which makes me rather envious . th e o o Well , time will soon slip by . My sch lboy life is at ho an end ; it has not been wit ut its trials , but it has had th m m its sweets too . For e o ent I feel as if I wanted the fresh air of my own dear home to strengthen T n . o w no t lived me, body and soul ill I have , so to E speak . I am going to begin . very living thing seems

. The to me to follow its vocation . river flows to the e sea , and the plant germinates , and the animal fe ds and

Go d . grows , and man lives and draws daily nearer to The But each man walks after his own fashion . busi ness of one is to cultivate the soil ; another, the intel lect . Handicrafts supply the material wants of man kind ; politics , the social . One and all gravitate to e wards their end , which is d ath , although each follows a different path . In one sense man has a free will , but he can scarcely be said to cho ose his career ; it is almost always marked out for him . If he wanders from it , nothing but confusion is the result . Well , I am longing to work and to find my place in the world , r to spend and be spent for my brethren . Whateve course be proposed to me , I always come back to that — P at to be a riest . No other career has the least traction for me . Yes , one day I shall be the soldier of

Jesus Christ , and fight under the banner of the Church , and the day will soon dawn for the fulfilment of that T wish . hat is why I feel so happy at the thought of A o r o wn going home soon . week two among my to m e and to m people , and then y c ll y vocation for ” evermore . 20 A M o d ern M a rtyr

CHAPTE R I I I .

Th e S emina ria n a t P o iti ers .

T HEOPHANE VE NARD entered the Grand Semi; ” n fi rm ary , as we have seen , with the determination to become a Priest . He understood at once how im portant the training there given would be to him ; and the shortness of the time allowed made him grasp at i every opportunity to improve h mself , especially as t e a n tifi ca tio n garded his s c . With a clear and subtle in tellect o , and abilities very much ab ve the common , he at once distinguished himself among his companions ; but none o f these qualities made him lose sight of the r g eat virtue of humility , which he cultivated assidu o u sl y, so as always to try to escape notice by burying himself am ong the rest . He also made charity act as the handmaid o f humility ; and therefore not only t e fra ined from any unkind act or word , but denied him “ ” self many of those little sharp and amusing repartees which his wit and sense o f fun made often very tempt o ne ing to him . He preferred to pass for who was dull the and could not enter into a joke , than to wound in “ smallest degree the feelings of another . I think that ” this was not the least remarkable of his virtues , wrote one of his college friends . His r egu la r ityv inhis work attracted the attention of all his masters ; and he even began to have a sort of scruple as to the length o f his letters to his family . h i the His cell was his delig t , and he real zed promises

22 A M odern M a rtyr

‘ T n ! ’ quarter of an hour to say , ha k you and again ‘ ’ Thank yo u ! On one occasion he describes to his family the de parture o f o ne of the seminarians fo r the foreign fo r th e missions , and his secret wish first time breaks “ forth : Several vocations of the like nature have de ”

. ! cla red themselves , he exclaims It is quite glorious We are in a state of excitement and enthusiasm abo ut ” T it no t to be described . hese words awoke some in fears at home , especially the heart of the sister who “ knew him best ; and he writes in reply , So my news r o u ? t oubled y , dear little sister, did it But is there anything so very extraordinary in the fact that o ne among us is going to devote himself to the salvation of e ? th heathen Why , one talks of going to be a Jesuit ; T o n! another , to La rappe another to China ; and so

Oh , if you think there are no events and no gossip in

he r . o u t Semina y , you are very much mistaken But y have created a whole world of hope and fears o u t of that one little sentence of mine ! I can scarcely help A ’ i laughing . nother time don t let your magination run

e . wild , but sleep in p ace f M In this humble and hidden life, like that o his a s ter i at Nazareth , noth ng is so striking as the way he E passed from the natural to the supernatural . very t d hing spoke to him of Go . One day after telling his b E rother how at aster he had changed his room , and “ altered the arrangement of his things , he adds , It is me quite an event for , this change ; and now I am o ne going to work away with fresh courage, for thought pursues me , and seems to me to be at the bottom of all my college life . “ ’ Why have I come here ? Ad q u id venis ti . Why come to a theological seminary ? It is to go through

’ a n will s a certain course of i struction , you y. Well , T h eopha ne Venard 2 3

a nd th en? Oh but that course comes to an end ; , h o to when that thoug t c mes me , I can simply bo w my head , and beg God to answer me . I will do as He o shall app int .

Th e ceremonies and anniversaries of the Church as th e him celebrated in Seminary impressed strongly , o f and were the constant subj ects his letters . On

Good Friday he was especially moved , and wrote as follows is Oh , this indeed a sad and exceptional day at the S eminary ! T o see us all mournfully wandering here and there in the cloisters , without a sound being no t heard , not a voice , even a whisper, one would h An imagine we were sheep without a shep erd . d it is quite true ; the Pastor of pastors is dead ; the Pastor ” has given His life for His sheep .

T hese thoughts , which seemed to come naturally to the young theological student, were often poured o u t to his brother and sister . With his younger brother, e especially , it seemed to him the b st and most delicate way of m a king him take an interest in serious things h u u wit out disg sting him by lect res , or appearing to be “ ” “ always preaching to him . I like to think o f yo u “ o n these occasions , he wrote one day , and I fancy I see you , so recollected in prayer, so studious in class , so merry and gay at recreation and making us all so glad and happy ! for to be good 1 8 to be happy ; and we ” o u ca nnot be thoroughly happy unless y are the same . l In the faithfu practice of all these relative duties , Th eo phane made the best preparation fo r the priest Th e m a t hood . Christ as ordination , which he had only i a s s sfed . as a spectator , had touched him to the quick T n a When that of ri ity c me around , he was told to 24 A M o dern M a rtyr prepare himself fo r the first step by receiving the to nsure . “ - t My dearest Sister , he writes , to morrow I am o be tonsured ; that is , I shall no longer belong to the ‘

world , but to our Lord . I shall say to Him , My God ,

Thou art the portion of my heritage , and of my lot . Thou wilt give me a place in Thy H eavenly King ’ ‘ h R e ina cleri do m . I s all say to the Blessed Virgin , g , o ra pro Oh how proud I shall be to wear on my head the crown of the saints ! that crown to o btajp ’ which it would not be too much to devote one s whole life ! ”

But his happiness was to be delayed some time , owing to the death of the beloved bishop o f the s diocese . In so public a calamity his generou soul could not think fo r a moment o f a personal disappo int ment which had been swallowed up in the general ’ mourning . Just before the long vacation his father s feast day occurred ; and in spite of the press of

work before the examinations , he found time to write “ : — I a few loving words My dearest Father , try to vnin e e , a nd fancy myself with you on Saturday g , em o u ff u brace y with all my heart , while o ering yo the flower which most expresses my humble but devoted

o . T o f l ve O hou who art the Master life and death , to preserve us our darling father ; watch over him , ” and keep him in all his ways now and ever . The o f first year his seminary life was over , and it

had been fruitful in gifts and graces . But always o f du f afraid himself , and fearful lest he should relax th e o o o u t ing l ng vacati n , he wrote a series of resolu h tions , whic we will give verbatim

TQ u een o f th e er r a fo r u s Cl gy, p y . Th eoph a ne Vena r d 2 5

J ul 1 1 849 y , . A M . . D . G .

R FOR TH E SOME ESOLUTIONS HOLIDAYS .

One year of my seminary life is already past , and I must give an account of this time of retreat and sancti i n A ! fi ca t o . las where are the graces which I have a c ? M T quired y God , hou hast searched me out, and E Th k . nown me ven the angels are not pure , in y ? R sight ; and what am I O my divine edeemer, have mercy upon me . Deign to accept my penitence , and to bless the resolutions which , with the help of h T . y grace , I hope to make for the future Virgin M ! other thou whom from my childhood I have chosen , fo r pray for me , thou art my refuge and my strength . “ R e u iu m ecca toru m o r a r o f g p , f 1 f . I will get up the moment I wake , of ering my M heart to Jesus and ary . I will never sleep later ’ than six . I f I serve the six o clock Mass , I will say “ ” my prayers and the little hours afterwards ; if the ’ eight o clock, then I will say them all before , together with my meditation and the study of a certain portion Th f of Holy Scripture . e rest of the O fice I will say in the evening at separate times . e 2 . I will make a particular examen every day b ’ T fore luncheon at two o clock . his examination is ’ to consist of a few minutes meditation on faith , charity , modesty , interior recollection , etc . , etc . , with a special consideration of the way in which I have At o f practised each . the end the month I will make a general examination , to prevent my relapsing into laxity or indifference . 3 . In the course of the afternoon or evening I will

R efu e o f inner s r a for u s t g S , p y . 2 6 A M od ern M artyr

visit the Blessed Sacrament , making use of St . ’ E o n l Alphonsus Liguori s xercises the subj ect . I wil “ also take fo r my meditation book the M emorial e ” r d o ta lis A rvis enet Vitae S a ce (by Claude ) , besides “ ” the Imitation and the Holy Scriptures , both of which I always carry with me . 4 . Directly after breakfast I will spend an hour or so in working either at my holiday task o r at the Holy

Scriptures . In the evening , after Vespers and Com pline , I will study again a little bit , but on less serious subj ects . I could do this while walking, or when I ’ am waiting at the Curé s . 5 . In my intercourse with the outside world , I will try to be most careful in speech . I will be gentle and r kind toward eve yone , and especially towards my o own family . Should the occasi n present itself , I will Go d never neglect to say a little word of our good , especially to children . But I will do this with great caution , remembering that deeds are worth more than words .

6 ' On . feast days I will work between Mass and

Vespers if I have time . On those days I will try to keep up a greater spirit of recollectio n . 7 . Of these resolutions , there are a few which I must strictly put into practice ; such are those in regard the to prayer , the particular examen , the visit to Blessed Sacrament and the spiritual reading of the “ ” ” Imitation o r the Memoriale . As to the other points I may be less severe , espe cia lly if my friends or companions insist upon my a o companying them on a walk or on a party of pleasure .

In fact , I must be careful to do nothing singular or out of the way , so as to excite observation ; all affecta t T a bo o ed . tion , therefore , is rue merit is hidden and simple , and dreads nothing more than publicity . If Th eoph a ne Vena rd 2 7

I can only keep always humble , charitable , and mod est , I may escape some of the dangers of my long va cation . I am sure good examples will no t be wanting f ? “ to me ; and then , have I not the grace o God D o mi

nus cus to dia t te. Dominus r t i tu Omn p o ect o a . ia pos ” s u m in eo ui me con or ' q f ta t. 1 T n r . Vé a d .

In this little ru le of life no mention is made of the frequentation of the Sacraments or other devotions ; but as he followed strictly the rule of the Seminary a ll in these points , it was not necessary to speak of them . No mention is made either of the rosary . It T was said every evening in his family circle , and heo phane presided at it during his holidays as a matter of course . Some readers may be surprised at the s im licit u T p y of this r le and its few austerities . his arose from his determination to keep it strictly , so that it should not be a dead letter . Moreover , he thought it right for th e sake of those around him to share in a their simple ple sures , and in the expeditions and pic nics which took place during his visit . His greatest delight was to be with his sister, and to talk with her of holy things and of their future vocations ; and daily was the soul of each strengthened by their mutual in

ter co u r se. Two months after his return to the Seminary (on 8 M r Pie o f the th of December) , g . , the new Bishop P oitiers , made his solemn entry into his episcopal The o f town . sight this young and saintlike Bishop ha d ff Th eo ha ne SO a grea t e ect on p , all the more as i t ensured the Christmas ordination , when he was to co ns id receive the tonsure . From that moment he re ered himself as set apart for the priesthood , and

h o r i h M a th o r d ee t ee. T e d s t r o tecto r a n o l t y e p y . c d a l L k h . L p I th in s in H i m wh o s tr en th eneth m g g e. 2 8 A Modern M a rtyr

A T doubled his zeal and fervor . t the rinity ordina 1 850 tion , in , he received minor orders , and wrote to “Oh ’ his father , what a grand day is that of one s ordi nation ! Ho w I wish you had been here to share in ! my joy But you will come , will you not , when the great and final step is taken ? You will add your bless ? Oh ing to the rest , it seems as if I could hardly wait ” patiently for the dawning o f such a great day !

The T vacation came round again , and heophane took the opportunity to open his heart more entirely to fo r his sister, both his own consolation and because he knew that her faith would triumph over all human considerations , and help him to overcome the shrink ings o f his loving heart as he thought over a separation which would probably be final . He spent almost the whole time at home , and employed part of it in help ing his brother to make a little grass terrace at the fo ot >i< a r den of the g , where , he fancied , after his departure they would be able to sit and think o f the absent n ’ On o e whom they had freely given for God s work . his return to the Seminary he seems to have redoubled h is eff orts to profit by this last year of study and r no t preparatio n fo his future career . But he did neg o f lect others in thinking himself , and his letters to his little brother and to his S ister are more frequent T o n f than ever . o the former he writes the beauty o “ ’ im piety in the young, adding , however , Now don t o n o r agine it necessary to put a sour face , to look

. T sanctimonious rue devotion is natural , gay, and

* Th e ena r d h o m e a t S t o u w a s in o s s es s io n o f th e fa mi u nti V . L p p ly l th e ea t o f F r E n A r in o h e cu s o m . u s eb i u i 1 9 1 3 cco t t t o f d h s . d g th e co u ntr a i h s to ne- w a enc o s es th e o n na r r o w a r en in y , h g ll l l g , g d th e r ea r w h er e F r E nt o u t o h e w r it r o n o ne o . u s e i u s o i e t t e f , b p d , — h i s i s its e et a e e s r o s e - tr ees a nd i ies th e m a n fru its o f v , v g bl b d , l l , y ’ o a ne s a a i n o E e c t o a r s d . Th ph v l b . [

30 A M o d ern M a rtyr

— step must soon be taken — the sub - diaconate a step fo r fo r ! life and eternity Oh , pray for me , that I may ’ in all things follow God s will , and that I may fully ‘ ’ o f know what He requires me . Say the Memorare f r Y u frequently o me with this intention . o know how I thank and love you beforehand for all that you ” do for me in that and a thousand other ways .

To his father he writes , in view of his approaching vows : I am now at an age when my future career must e b decided upon , and perhaps there may be a ques All tion of my marriage . this might have been a sub ect j of great anxiety and trouble to you . But , my dearest father, I have chosen my own path . Do not Ou r seek an earthly partner for me . Lord has called f r . o me , utterly unworthy as I am He has asked my S whole heart , for my body , soul , and pirit , and can I refuse Him what is His ? And then I turn in thought to you , from whom , next to God , I have received all o u to y , my darling father , and I ask , do not you wish the same thing for me ? Are you not willing to give me up to Go d ? To give me u p with ou t r es erve; to ma ke a com lete s a cri ce o o u r child ? Oh p fi f y , I am ’ sure yo u will say yes ! For if you have a father s heart , you have equally the heart of a fervent , loving o ne Catholic . But I would add word more . Is it not the father who takes the bride to the house o f Go d who ? no t , giv es her to her spouse Do her friends ? and relativ es accompany her Oh , I am sure you will do the same by me ! Yo u will come to this my mar ria e g , the mysterious union which j oins a human soul Y ff to its Creator . o u will come to o er to God the o u child He has given y . You will come and bless me o f not only in your own name , but in that her who I Th eoph a ne Vena rd 31 feel sure is now helping us with h er prayers before ” the Throne of God . You will bless me for my mother .

We add to this touching letter the few words he addressed to his godmother on th e same occasion “ P I hasten to tell you a piece of news . erhaps my dear godmother has forgotten that the little child she

- carried to the Baptismal Font is now twenty one , the age required by the Church for the office of sub - dea con . Well , I have made up my mind , or rather it is Go d not I that have settled it , but who has chosen one so miserable and unworthy as I to serve at His n ‘ ’ ? altar . A d can I say No I can only adore the mercy

' f n 2 l st o Go d . o , and nature must submit So , the of

- this month I am to be ordained sub deacon . My father, I trust , will come to the sacrifice of his son ; but I have no mother left on earth . Dare I ask my godmother— my mother in the order of grace— to take her place ?”

The day of immolation came , and the sacrifice was

T - consummated . hen the young sub deacon sought “ — his Director with the words , Now I am ready you will no longer oppose my wish ? you will let me go ? ” And the good and prudent Director assented , and at once wrote to Paris to obtain his admittance to the

- Foreign Mission Seminary . His much loved sister and little brother were unable to be present at his ordinatio n ; but to console them he wrote the follow ing words

Méla nie — s Dearest , Your brother is at la t a sub ! o deacon My soul overflows with j oy , but with a j y so sweet and so pure that I cannot express it . I should like to be able to tell you all I feel , but I cannot put it 32 A Modern M a rtyr

into words . I took the terrible step without trembling . Go d th e o f , in His infinite goodness , spared me agony n fear at th e moment . My knees did o t knock against each other , nor did my foot fail me . When I was stretched o nthe pavement I was filled only with a so l emu calm ; but when I got up I felt as if I had broken n — every li k , as if I were for the first time free free like a little bird who has escaped from the snare o f the Oh h o w fowler . , willingly would I then have flown ” u p to heaven !

To his brother he writes more gaily :

M Y E u s E B I U s — DEAR LITTLE , Henry IV . said , ‘ ! Hang thysel f, brave Crillon we have won a victory , ’ ‘ no t ! Yo u and thou wert there I shall say , too, were not o n there when your poor old brother , prostrate ’ a ! the pavement , gave himself irrevoc bly to God But n T I k ow well that it was not your fault . herefore please do not hang yourself ! but help me to thank our dear Lord for the great grace He has bestowed upon me , and for the happiness with which I am filled . Gr a tias D e s u er inenar ra bili d ono o p Oh , it r — u a e was a g eat day , and a day that has no ending q nes cit o ccas u m diei ! Its dawn will be brighter and n And brighter until we come to eter ity . now , my

dearest little brother , , I feel as if I had acquired a right ‘ ’

o u . to say to y , Do not love the world or its pleasures They are seemingly attractive and beautiful ; but u re within all is corr ption , vileness , emptiness , and

. Go d morse O my brother, let us love , our dear , good Go d S ! o , and be as heep under His hand L ve Him , and you will have no cause for repentance even o n th is

TTh a nks b e to God for hi s unsp eak a bl e gi ft ! Th eoph a ne Vena rd 33

earth . He , too, promises us j oys and pleasures , but — ax Dei they are j oys certain , inexpressible , eternal , p ” qu a e exs upera t a mu em s ens u m ! 1' Th e P answer soon came from aris , and it was T favorable . hen the young student began to make P his preparations to leave the oitiers Seminary, bid fo r adieu to his family , and start j oyfully that house which fo r: more than two centuries has trained Apos fo r E A tles astern sia .

‘ Th e ea c o l n i j p e f Go d which s u rp a s seth a l under sta d ng . 34 A M o d er n M artyr

CHAPTE R IV .

B rea kin H o me T g ies .

’ TH E OPHANE S departure for the Paris Seminary was definitely settled , and it became necessary to break the news to his family, and especially to his father , who, proud of his son , had already made endless T plans for his future advancement . heophane knew this ; and although he thoroughly appreciated ’ his father s courage and generosity, he yet shrunk , as his favorite child , from inflicting a blow which , he ’ well knew, would annihilate all his father s hopes .

Nevertheless , he could not bear that a strange hand should give the tidings , and so he summoned courage en to pen the following letter, which we give in its ir t ety. “ " Febru ar 7 1 851 y , . My — It DEAREST FATHER, is a little more than a month ago that, to my great j oy , you came to witness v Y . o u my consecration to the ser ice of God yourself , A as it were , presented the victim at the altar . poor and miserable off ering indeed ! yet such as it was o u r 'And Lo rd in His i nfinite mercy accepted it . since that moment how the time has flown ! God guides the Go . d hearts of men , and they follow as He leads , as it were, took me by the hand , and spoke to me with an ‘ ’ ‘ i n! M e . so rresistible voice My He said , come , follow , fear nothing ; you are little , and poor , and weak , and

A Go d . miserable , but I am the lmighty Come , I will T h eoph a ne Vena rd 35

! ’ And be with thee I , can I have a will in presence of the will of Go d ? “ - ? My dearly loved father , have you understood me ‘ Go d A T - One day said to braham , ake thy only begot ten son , Isaac , whom thou lovest , and go into the land of Vision ; and there thou shalt off er him for a holo canst upon o ne of the mountains which I shall S how ’ And A ’ thee . braham obeyed without a moment s hesi ta tion , and without a murmur ; and his Obedience was No w most pleasing to God . , my dearest father , do ? you begin to understand me Here am I , the child whom you love ; I have not borrowed a strange pen to

. subter tell you the truth I come openly, without any

fu es . Go d g unworthy of us both calls me ; yes , it is

His call . Oh , call me likewise ; say that you , too , are willing that your Theophane should become a mis s io ner ! “ P ! — F or ei n M is oor father the word is said , the g n n t u k s io s . o Do let your human nat re . shrin from the R u thought . ather kneel and take your cr cifix , that ’ crucifix which received my mother s last breath , and ‘ Th M . say , y God , I consent , may y holy will be done ’ Amen . “ the O my father, forgive me for having struck b ! low myself Some people will tell you I am mad , ungrateful , a bad son , and I know not what besides . M ! y darling father, you will not think so I know you have a great and generous soul , and one that has drunk deeply at the only true source of real strength and — greatness that of R eligion and Faith . I have sa d dened your heart ; my own is sorrowful and hea vy The — ! too . sacrifice asked of us is hard most hard esu s ! T But , O Lord J since hou dost will it , I will it

k . li ewise , and so willeth my father “ — c Courage, then , my dearest father ourage , and 36 A M o dern M a rty r resignation and confidence in God and in His Holy fo r Mother . Let us pray each other . Father, I kneel at your feet . Bless your child , and believe in his re s ectfu l p devotion and dutiful submission .

T Véna r d - heophane , Sub deacon .

AS h he knew before and , this letter came upon his father as a thunder—clap ; nevertheless the blow did no t h fo r e leave a sting be ind , M . V nard was a large o hearted and gener us Catholic . His answer , which we o ne o f subj oin , was consent , and a consent so heartily n given that it rivalled the sublime virtue of his so . One M day , when a friend was trying to console . Venard by assuring him that his son ’ s vocation had been abundantly weighed and proved by his superiors “ ex cla irned And before they gave their assent , he , what would become of the prophecy o f our Lord Jesus

Christ , who declared that His Gospel should be preached throughout the whole earth , if directors of colleges and heads of families were to check the as pirations o f all the young students who wish to em bark for the foreign missions ? ”

Such was the frank , loyal , generous nature of the f father o the future missioner , and his character is well shown 1 n the following letter :

T F r 1 2 1 851 b u a r . S . e LOUP , y , — MY R W - B S ON I at DEA EST , ELL ELOVED , will not tempt to describe the emotion your letter caused me . I fancy yo u had calculated beforehand the force o f

Yo u . the blow . may well say that the sacrifice is hard o Y ur ordination cost me nothing . On the contrary , it

fulfilled my fondest wishes for you , and I was quite A‘ ll content . But no w everything is changed . my ‘ Man plans are upset . Well may people say , proposes ,

Th e o ph ane Venard 37

’ and God disposes . I had flattered myself that you h would some day have a parish near me , t at I should h be able to make over everyt ing to Henry , and then come and finish my days quietly under your roof , so ! o u . that y should close my eyes Happy , but , alas hopeless illusions . “ M y child , I cannot attempt to try to turn you from your great and holy resolutions . Neither will I m sadden your heart by repro aches . I will content y o u self with asking if , at your age , y think you can really arrive at so serious a decision , and not regret it hereafter . But if you are resolved , if you feel that ‘ Go d has indeed called you , then I would say , Obey ’

. o u Him without hesitation Let nothing keep y back , not even the thought o f the poor old father whom a you leave in his sorrowful desolation , nor of the p E ternal roof which will no longer shelter you . nough ; I know that he who puts his hand to the plough must not look behind him ; I know also that he who leaves father and mother to follo whis Lord will receive an eternal recompense , and such reasons are unanswer no t able . I could reply to your letter at once, my dearest son , for poor human nature would have its way

- at first . But to day I am a little calmer, and I hasten f r to fulfil your wishes . You ask o my consent . I give o u — it to y without restriction . My blessing O my dear ? est boy , why should I refuse it to you You know that o u I belong only to my children , and that y may always All reckon on me . that gives you pleasure gives it to me likewise , cost what it will . My sacrifices began when you first went to scho ol and I was separated o u from y ; they went on increasing year by year , and now Go d ! knows where they are to end Well , I can only resign myself and leave all in ' the hands of Him 38 A M o dern M artyr

e ha s w e who, p r p , ill giv me back my Isaac , as you have compared me to the Father of the Faithful . “D O not let my letter sadden you too much . I can not put my ideas down as I wish , but you will guess d my thoughts . Let us hope that Go will sustain u s A both in this great trial . lthough your sister knew of ff your intention beforehand , she was terribly a ected by your declaration , for she flattered herself the day

ff . o u was still far o But, as y say , the time is short . Henry saw at once that there was something the t him n An r ma ter but I have told othing as yet . d poo E r little usebius , whom you were to mould and fo m , is he to lose his model and his guide ? Forgive my — saying this forgive your poor old father, who lives but in his children . I feel I have gone too far, and ’ that I shall give you pain , and you don t deserve it. “ e n i t B ar in mi d , then , that I freely g ve my consen

t . b o your plans Be at peace, and do not trouble a out Th d r w e Go . u me . hand of is eve y here I love yo n with all my heart a d embrace you tenderly . Vénar d.

So the future missioner could go to the Foreign M t n a ission Seminary wi hout fear , and i ste d of the e anger of his fath r, he was to meet with nothing but ’ l b T s ove and lessings . heophane s feeling found vent inthe following letter to his sister

MY R — ho w I DARLING SISTE , Oh , cried when I read ! your letter Yes , I knew well the sorrow I was going to o bring up n my family , and especially upon you , my ’ t n e s dear lit le sister . But don t you thi k it cost me t ar a of blood , too , to take such step , and give you all such pain? Who ever cared more for home and a home life thanI ? All my happines s here below was centred in Th eopha n e Vena rd 39 i Go d in n t. But , who has united us all li ks of the f tenderest a fection , wished to wean me from it . Oh , what a fight and a struggle I have had with my poo r ! human nature But then our Lord , who asked the s acrifice at my hands, gave me the strength to a ccom lish p it . He did more . He gave me the courage to ff o er myself the bitter chalice to those I loved . I nu d ertoo k it because I knew you all so well , and I wa s full of faith and hope ; and that hope has not been dis An . d appointed now I can only adore His mercy , and praise Him who has led me so tenderly through thi s terrible trial . “ Can it be , then , that family ties and family j oys a re no t holy and blessed ? Has Go d forbidden them ? to o s int d Or were our hearts ab orbed hem , so that Go , o n d t pu ish us , wished to with raw them altogether ? Or have we all gone crazy ? No ! no ! a thousa nd times no !

. t s t Let the world say what it will What ma ter it o us , c e th hildren of grace , who hav received e heavenly promises ? The world and its maxims have long a go ha d their condemnation from the mouth of our Divine Ah ! Th Lo . rd Himself Lord God , y thoughts are not a s T our thoughts , and hou walkest by paths of which the world knows nothing . “ e il See, my dear st sister , how He has led us unt no n sh w . o e We had a g od and darli g mother , and wa s taken from us just as we were entering upo n l f r ! Go d ife . How we have cried o her But took pity o n n n her children . He has give you stre gth and wis Th r dom to take her place in the family . en anothe

s e u s . oo acrific was asked of You , my g d little sister , ha d l do ong given yourself to Go d . You wanted to so P e altogether, but rovidenc contented itsel f with and no t your will and your submission , did exact the c u n i B ons mmatio of the sacr fice . ut Go d wa s watch 40 A Mod ern M a rtyr

ing over your poo r brother . He was conducting him o ut Oh as by the hand in a path traced by Himself . , o f ! Oh th e h th e h o f miracle grace , dept and ric es the goodness and mercy o f Go d ! He who needs not h u m to n man instru ents accomplish His great desig s , chooses the vilest , the most miserable of His creatures

do o . to His w rk I , wretched little I , receive the mis o f A sion and the inspiration the postolate . Dear o u r o — infi nitel est sister , say with me that God is go d y th e h good . Let all eart echo the words and repeat

“ o f r them in a transport gratitude and j oy . See how o u h Lo rd loves us . See how He s owers His gifts upon One o f n us . more sacrifice is asked us ; but does o t o u r Lo rd prove those He loves so as to make them more worthy o f Himself ? Must we not all pass ? through the crucible A cross is given to us . Let us embrace it generously , and thank Him . Our tears fl ff to H im w . must o Well , let us o er them up who has T e called them forth . his arth is after all but a valley ‘ o f tears ; and the Divine Master has said , Blessed are ’ An those that mourn, fo r they shall be comforted . d do then , even if we part here for a little time , it is only our bodies that are separated . Our souls are united more closely than ever in thoughts which know no o ne space o r distance . We shall meet another in f o . heaven . Yes , all us shall be together then Let us And Go d . trust in , and make the sacrifice generously then yo u have Henry ; and Go d will watch over poo r E little usebius . Let us pray and trust and hope , and remain united to each other in the hearts o f Jesus and

Mary . And no w I must add a line to my dear Y ’ father . o u don t know how proud I am to be his so n! to I long feel myself in his arms , pressed to his heart .

My father , with your great courage , firm faith , burning love— all for Go d— even your Theophane ! Th e o ph a ne V énar d 41

Dearest father , these souls that I am going to strive fo r o u r o o ff h a ll to o u to to win L rd , I er t em y , next Th l lo God . ey wi l be your crown and your g ry in the f E Home o the lect .

I am going away , but I leave you an angel of con — a — in Mél ni solation loving guardian angel a e. When r Me the time of your pilg image is over , lanie will close your eyes , will pray by your bedside , and will speak to you of your poo r little missioner ; and yo u will ? bless her and him too . But why do I speak of death

Oh , please God , you will live many, many years yet to be the joy and the providence of your children ! The little missioner will get letters from you from time s to time , and new of all the family, and that will be to od n a gr eat joy to him . I hope also spend a g o lo g for tnight with my dear ones at home and enj oy them ” thoroughly before I start .

The little missioner accordingly went home o n 1 5 h t u . Saturday , the of Febr ary He arranged to walk P from arthenay , so as to meet his brother Henry and him Th have a talk with before they saw their father . e only idea of something extraordinary about to happen was from a little note which Theo phane had written to “ both his brothers in these words : I implore you to ‘ M ’ say the emorare for me every day till we meet , that ” Yo u . o I may obtain a great grace will s on know why . But the poor children were far from guessing the u tr th . o Henry , being then eighteen , at once understo d the gravity and importance of the step which his brother As fo r E was about to take . poor little usebius , his uncertainty came to an end the next day when Theo phane called to carry him o ff for a fortnight from his a on a the studies . He had set his he rt h ving whole 42 A M o d ern M a rtyr

n family together o this occasion , so as to enj oy for the last time the happiness which such a home circle alone

can give . It is easy to understand how trying these last few days were to them all ; but to T heophane they were ff the hardest . He had to be tender, a ectionate , and

loving to every one, and yet firm and determined in A his resolution to leave them . t times he could s carcely contain himself, and he had to do incessant violence to his own heart to maintain any kind of

decent calm . But he acquitted himself marvellously . We cannot attempt to describe his first meeting with T his father . hey embraced each other closely in si tirn lence , without tears or sighs . Only after a e the “M ! ” “M ! ” words , y dearest boy y good father burst o f T from the lips each . hese few words said all to those who could feel and understand what was passing

in two such loving hearts . These touching scenes were renewed very often in

the course of the trying fortnight , especially towards e vening, near the fireside after dinner, when there the would often be a dead silence , father contenting himself with pressing his son ’ s hand and not daring Th r to trust himself to speak . e futu e missioner tr e would y to cheer th m all by droll stories , or interest A them in the countries he was so soon to visit . t last he excited them so much on the subj ect of China and Me the missions , that nothing would content lanie and T her brothers but the thought of going too . hey

made a thousand little plans , in which each was to “ ” in And o f ? share his labors . what is to become me S at last exclaimed their father , who had been ilently “ Am to listening to their fine projects . I be left like o r Z e ? R n p o old ebede to mend my nets ather tha that ,

44 A M od ern Martyr

— it the him many tears , was to the churchyard , to m tomb of his mother , whom he had so idolized , and fro

whom he had been separated at the hour of her death , so that he had never had her dying blessing— to him a

cause of eternal regret . He could scarcely tear him An self away from those precious remains . d yet the thought of this visit was most consoling to him after

wards , and he always spoke of it with tears of grati

tude .

’ The hour of departure was fixed for nine o clock in T the evening . heophane had chosen that time to avoid a crowd of anxious and sympathizing friends ; his brother and one old friend were to drive him to P Th arthenay, where he would take the night train . e

family sat down to dinner earlier than usual , the good old pastor of the village having j oined them ; and Theo ff phane, by almost superhuman e orts , succeeded in

. few making the meal cheerful , almost gay But a words from his father towards the end brought back h sad and sorrowful thoughts , and t ey all became more The and more silent . dinner was over and the time r A of departure was drawing nearer eve y moment . s

usual they said the rosary together , then read a chap

ter from the Imitation , after which they knelt for

evening prayers . No one had the courage to lead T except heophane himself , and as he went on the sobs and tears of his little audience became more

pronounced . Whatever restraint we may put upon our

feelings before men , the. barrier breaks down when we find ourselves alone with God ! Theophane with diffi

culty finished the prayer, and approaching his father , “T M he . said , hour is come ; we must part y father , o u T will y not bless your son , your poor little heo ’ As phane he spoke , he threw himself at his father s The feet , embracing his knees . poor father lifted his Th eoph a ne Vena rd 45

eyes and his hands to Heaven , and with a broken ’ th e S n o n voice, making ig of the Cross his child s “ o f head , said , My dearest son , receive the blessing who ff o u your father, o ers y a willing sacrifice to our

Lord . May you be blessed forever and forever , in the name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the A ! ” Holy Ghost . men

T T fo r hen heophane rising, knelt a moment in the ’ fo r o o ld same way the go d priest s blessing, and rap idly kissed his whole family , as he did each evening be fore going to bed ; but this was for the last time ! H enry went out to see if the carriage was ready . E ’ usebius threw himself into his brother s arms , sob n Méla ni . e bi g as if his little heart would break , kiss in “ g him and crying Only once more , fell back almost Th im f . e o ainting on her chair po r father , still and movable from excess of sorrow , leaned heavily on the

a rm h s . of i old friend , the Curé “ ” Courage ! let us be generous in o ur sacrifices ! mu rmured the poor missioner . He could bear no

- more . With one last kiss to his half unconscious u i sister, he seized his cloak and hat , and r shed nto T e the carriage . hen several friends and townsp ople

n . crowded rou d him , to shake hands for the last time “ n i - ! o d He wru g their hands , exclaim ng Good bye g o ! e u a bye we shall m et in our tr e home , and the carri ge

" P The set off rapidly for arthenay . sacrifice was over , M e in and . V nard , without wrong g his other children , “ could say , I have lost the fairest flower in my gar The den delay at the moment of departure , though S P light , made them miss the train at arthenay by five T minutes . his was a minor but very real trial to our o T po r heophane , who longed for the final parting to T be over . But there was no help for it , and so heo x r h phane a nd Henry waited for the ne t t ain , whic 46 A M o dern M a rtyr

’ t s ix o s arted at O cl ck in the morning . His brother remarked that when once settled in the railway car r ia e T g , heophane looked away , and burying his face re in his hands , cried bitterly and uncontrollably , to lieve the poor heart which had with such difli cu lty * contained itself during the long ordeal .

* enr wh o w a s a i e w en th e w ri ter r s t i s ited As s a i r emembered H y , l v h fi v , H ie s o rt o r e n thi i i id . e d d ef e th a ti cati o . E s ng ht v v ly h ly b e B fi [ d . Th eopha ne V éna r d 47

CHAPTE R V .

0 0 o I n P a ri s— Th e M l S S l o nS E tr angeres .

T HREE days after the sad parting we have j ust T P P recorded , heophane left oitiers for aris , and ar “ a t r rived the Foreign Mission S emina y . I had hardly “ the come into house , he wrote to his sister, when I ff was met with a ectionate greetings on all sides , and r eve y kindness was showered upon me . One hoisted up my trunk into my cell ; another uncorded it ; a third made my bed and showed me where my little estab lishment was to be ; a fourth took me all over the S house , introduced me to the Directors , and howed me th e garden . In half an hour I felt as if I knew them all intimately . Oh , the good their welcome did to my ! T poor , sad heart here is nothing like the love and charity o f this house and the way they make one feel ” immediately at home . This spirit of charity and mutual kindness is the distingu ishing characteristic of the Foreign Mission P Seminary in aris . Its divine fire is carefully main ta ined by the superiors as the best means of spreading its genial rays to the extremities of the heathen world . a o f n In the he rt a great city , and in a world gone dru k with dissipation and all kinds of business , these young o f men find an abode peace and quiet indeed , but n R o ascetic solitude . ather is it a home where each strives to be foremost in loving, kindly ways and con 48 A M o dern M a rtyr

sideration for the others ; and the Holy Spirit seems especially to bless this atmosphere of mutual charity o n and forbearance , and to pour His sevenfold gifts A the future postles , who are learning in that best of — ’ — * schools for it is our Lord s the school of love . T heophane was thoroughly happy here , although his new life did no t altogether do away with the bitterness of separation from those he held most dea r . “ o ne He writes , We are all like one family , with obj ect and o ne aim . We have no care or troubles and I should have nothing left to desire if yo u were by o my side . I am greatly touched by your anxiety ab ut o u me , my dearest father , but y must let me scold you Am about this a little bit . I not more than ever the child o f Providence ? Did you no t yourself give me up to Go d ? He who watches over the birds of the air no t o f and the flowers of the field , will He take care ? fo r o u me wherever I may be I cannot help longing y , and missing yo u terribly sometimes ; but love suff ers and is resigned , and the thoughts of Heaven grow more vivid as we become more detached from all on ! A co nfi earth . Only a little more trust little more dence in God ! A little more patience ! and the end will e come , and the past w ary years will seem as nothing ; then will arrive the moment of reunion , and all will be fo r amply compensated and repaid , principal and i ! thOu ! nterest . O Christian hope How beautiful art

‘ Th e wri ter h a s b een pr ivil eged to r em a in a s a gu es t a t th e Mis s ions E tr an er es in a ri Th tm s er f i o n e r i s . e a o e o t s u s e i s i s c a g P ph h h d b bl e. O ne fee s a o u t him th e r es ence o f a u r e u ns e s o e o f God l b p p ly lfi h l v . Th e r ecr ea ti ons a r e ful o f ife th e s tu ents a t times e en o i s ter o u s l l , d v b , n r th o u gh eve r o u gh ; s a dnes s find s no r esting pl a ce o n th e fea tu r es o f th es e ri t o u n m en w h o a r e re a ri n to b e a o st es er h a s b gh y g p p g p l , p p - m a rt r s . An co ns ci o u s nes s o f th e s i r it o f s e f s a cr ifi ce w i c to y y p l , h h an eminent e r ee th e l o s s es s i s enti re a ckin On h a l . t e d g y p , ly l g co ntr a r u mi it ex r es s es i ts e f s o na tu r a in t ei r w o rd s n y , h l y p l lly h a d a ct s th a t o ne w e in a m o n es e c o s en s o s a r r z h , d ll g g th h ul h dly ea li es t e h er o i s m o f p u rp o s e a nd th e b u r ning l o ve with whi ch th ey a r e a ni m E d a ted . [ .

50 A M o d ern M a rtyr

r As we should be united ete nally . you said yourself M éla nie one day, dearest , if we could live together here below , we should have cared too much for the world , and so He has divided us that our souls may S be more and more purified , and igh more and more after the moment when they shall take their flight to ‘ A o f d Heaven . great servant Go once said that if s ome gall were not mingled in our earthly cup , we o u r should be content with exile , and think less of our ’ own true country .

To E usebius he sends also a word o f loving sym “ pathy : Yo u cannot imagine the pleasure your letters ’ have given me . I know well my poor little brother s tender , loving heart , but I rejoice that you have strug gled against your sorrow , and not given way to it too ’ much . You have thrown yourself into Mary s arms as a child into the arms of its mother . What a comfort it is to be able to do that in our moments of loneliness ! M and desolation Let ary always be your refuge , my darling brother: The Blessed Virgin is much loved M and honored in the ission House here . When you o r l have any little sorrow troub e go simply to her , ff fo r o u o u r o and ask her to o er it up y to dear L rd , and there leave it without any further care o r pre T o u n occupation . hen y will have othing to fear either Y o u k from men or devils . will wal quietly in the path o f life until yo u co me hopefully to that home for which we all sigh and where we wish to be !

r After w e h a ve what told our readers , it is not to be wondered at that Theophane no t o nly w o nall hearts at the Seminary , but made rapid progress in the paths f o perfection . His humility and simplicity concealed o f even from himself the beauty his soul , but it could Th eoph a ne Vena rd 51

not be hidden from his superiors , and still less from his A holy and wise director . mong the students , two , Th eu r l M . e o . Dallet and M , so n won a high place * ff S in his a ections . But fearful lest the tie hould r become too human , they mutually ag eed to tell each other their faults , and so to make their very intimacy a means of advancing more rapidly in their heaven n T bo u d path . heophane fulfilled this compact consci entio u sl y, and it might have been thought almost se verel y, if his words had not been tempered by such extreme humility and sweetness as to disarm all As inclination to wounded feeling . far as he himself was concerned , he was his own severest accuser, and Often his humility led him to exaggerate his Short comings to such an extent that he honestly believed himself u tterly unfit for the apostolic life he had chosen and besought the prayers o f all his friends fOr his conversion . He even had himself publicly recommended at Notre Dame des Victoires , and , writ ing to a lady who had been preparing various little “ s things for his future chapel , he ays , I am not sure of u n being allowed to go . I feel myself so utterly worthy ! Not that my desire is altered ; on the con he tra r s . t y, I am more firmly re olved than ever But M a decision does not rest with me . y His holy will ! A be one all , if they think me unworthy of d _ fter r no t be the missiona y life , you must troubled ; for it n Go d is not for me you have bee working, but for ; and if I do not make use of your gifts , you will find no And iffi . d culty in placing them elsewhere , indeed , if I fo r thought you were working me , I should be in

‘ ’ T w o o f Th eo ph a ne V éna r d s fello w - s tu dents w er e y et a t P a r i s wh en m i n m na r . O e o f F r D l th e w ri ter r s t i s ite th e S e t e . e ech fi v d y h , p , F B e e r ca th i o f T e 6 w er o r r . c e e e a et o v. . 9 a s s u i ( p ) p . lp h ll d g y h an w i e a t th e M i s s i o n o u s e a i s o s iti o n s o r o no u nce ph e h l H , d p p d , th a t th e fu tu r e m a rty r w a s a l wa y s th e life o f any littl e ci r cle o f i b fo u n E m h m d . stu dents a mo ng w h o e ght e d . [ 52 A Mod ern M a rtyr gr eat distress to know how to repay you fo r your

. Go d o kindness and zeal But, thank , I kn w that it is for Him yo u labor— to Him that you have devoted fo r your life . He reserves you a glorious crown , and the brightest flower in that crown will be your co operation in this work of the foreign missions . Oh , h what a j oy would it be to me at t at great day , when the prizes will be distributed by the hand of unerring m h Justice , if I ig t hear your name and your merit rec o nized g and rewarded , and be permitted to sing ‘ Amen ’ to the solemn declaration which will adm it yo u into the land o f everlasting light and love— into the presence o f o u r dear Lord and Saviour Jesus o f M Christ , and His holy other, and of all His holy angels and saints ! ”

Theophane was to be ordained deacon at Christmas 1 851 in , and wrote with delight of the retreat which was to precede his ordination

On Sunday evening next we go into retreat till the i Saturday following, a holy and happy t me of medita o f tion and prayer , when we dwell under the shadow t the al ar , free from cares and distractions , absorbed in

God . Fancy a delicious day in spring, with a pure sk y, all nature bursting forth into leaf and blossom , h . A or the deep calm of a tomb , it is better than o n all this , for it is Heaven begun earth , God com munica in t g Himself to man , man raising and uniting ! Ah himself to God , dear friend , what happiness He ” allo ws to His creatures !

T The hen came the ordination . He writes , ordina f tion was very large , and all the dif erent communities f P o . aris contributed some members I found , kneel ing side by side with me , Lazarists , Dominicans , Fran Th e o ph ane Venard 53

i ns o f Ne c sca , Missionaries the Holy Ghost , Irish ,

r . r g oes , etc I knew none of them ; but my hea t went out to them with love and sympathy , for are we not children of the same Father , servants of the same o f ? The Master, soldiers the same King same obj ect ff unites us ; the same grace , in di erent degrees , was distributed to us ; the same Go d gave Himself to us ; M M and we invoked the same Queen , ary , other o f An . d the Saviour of the world then , as brothers , o ne we gave another the kiss of peace . Oh , how happy I was ! ”

T heophane had a special devotion to church music ,

specially to the old hymns and canticles . He wrote o f them as follows :

The hymns o f the Church have always had a

- peculiar charm for me , and the more I hear them the more I long to hear , and the oftener I sing them fo r the oftener I like to sing, they are the voice of man in his exile , and the voice of the Church , praying, hoping , loving . Would that my countrymen would go back to the good o ld days o f a purer and stronger faith , and not be ashamed to sing together the songs o f their forefathers ! Now they care only for political or revolutionary ditties ; a malediction on those who e have swept away the faith and the hope of our p ople , who have robbed them o f their peace and their tran

! . quillity France used to be so calm and happy But ,

no ; we will curse no one . Only , may God have mercy on us all ! ” But Theophane was not to see only the inside of the o n Seminary . He was sent several occasions into P the great world of aris , and of this wonderful capi tal he writes thus to his brother Henry 54 A Modern M a r tyr

At Paris we are in the midst of the extremes of vice and virtu e — vice of the lowest and most degrad t ! ing kind, and vir ue the most heroic In returning M from eudon , which is our little country house , about P two leagues from aris , I constantly pass through the

Bois de Boulogne . It is a magnificent park , splendid o ut l ly laid with wa ks and drives , shaded by fine u trees , and full of beautif l flowers . It is crowded in with people on foot, carriages , and on horseback . On leaving the park you pass through the Barriere ’ l E to ile u de , and its tri mphal arch , to an avenue which P T leads to the lace de la Concorde . his avenue is S planted with trees , and on either ide you see fine l T houses and beautiful vil as . here is even a larger The crowd here than in the Bois . gr eater po rtion are

- Do ? pleasure hunters . they find it Well , perhaps those do who care for nothing but dissipationand jol i ? i " l ty. But happiness No ; happ ness is to be foun only in home and in the domestic circle where Go d l oved and honored , and everyone loves , and hell s , ‘ The r and cares for the other . g eat cry now is , the ‘ Th e t People . word wri ten up everywhere is Fra ’ ‘ ’ rm P - te ite Brotherhood . In aris they have well nigh n a bo lished the idea of family life . If I were o t afraid of vexing some really good souls among them , I should say that Paris was nothing but a scene of con f no n usion , a heterogeneous mass , where one k ew or T r cared for or respected the other . o realize the t ue o f S o n meaning Brotherhood , it hould be written not T the walls , but in the heart . here is a beautiful reci procity o f feeling in the diff erent relations of life where all are united in the one gr eat love of Him who a s g ve His life for us , our Lord and Saviour Jesu h ! C rist If only everyone could feel this , how per feet would be the harmony of ea rth ! T h eoph ane Vena rd 55

To E You usebius he writes , want me to describe

1 o u ? Par s to y Well , let us get out at the Orleans R P ailway Station , where the rail ends from oitiers , and we shall find ourselves on the Quays which line o r the Seine , rather which restrict it within very nar o row b unds , and into which all the drains are emptied , so that th e water is anything but sweet and clear o u r T Th like houet . e Tuileries garden would be n the next obj ect of i terest to you , and I should praise it , like the Luxembourg, if it were not so peopled ! with pagan deities Now, you are in the very heart o f P the arisian world . You see splendid mansions , brilliant equipages , elegant dandies , beautiful ladies , who strut like peacocks , but who , it seems to me , need o to g to school again to learn modesty , humility , and E . o even common sense verybody l unges about , here , o r u P in the muse ms , or in the galleries of the alais R o r P o r oyal , in the Jardin des lantes , in the Bois de Boulogne , where the only obj ect seems to be to see o f and be seen . Here is a whole tribe nurses with their babies ; and the monkeys are showing o ff their tricks , and the fountains are playing, and the j ugglers

r . are t ying to make people laugh Well , have not these people really earned their dinners ? Then comes neces the evening, when everyone seems to think it o r sary to go to some theatre other , or to some ball , ff winding up with ice and co ee in the Boulevards , if not in a drawing- room ; and the gas lights up the city all night , and the world goes to bed when the sun fo r e is rising . What a day a reasonable being, let alon P a Christian ! This is aris life , the life of people in the world who fancy they have found happiness .

Frankly , the whole thing disgusts and wearies me to I o u ho w death . should never end if I were to tell y ridiculous poor human nature appears in a thousand 56 A M od ern M artyr

ways when left to itself , regardless of God , our good Go d ! h , the only end and aim of life One gives im o i self the airs a philosopher, another, of a poet ; this o ne has a passion for music, that one for pictures . All talk politics , of which three parts know nothing

. ! whatever It is really humiliating to hear them Oh , o u k y cannot thin , after I have been elbowed half a day by all these worldly people , what a relief it is to me to M ! Ho w come back to the ission House I love its co ol , m cal , quiet cloisters , the peace in its cells , the hours o f study and meditation , the gaiety of its recreations , o n the charity and g od will of its i mates , the charm o f in its chapel , the recollection of its history , the ‘ ’ describable something which seems to speak to us all day of the Apostolate and martyrdom ! One

day I went to Versailles ; I saw its enormous castle , and gardens , and park , but I could not feel enthusiastic ‘ about any of them . I kept thinking, Well , this is l f n a l that man can produce o mag ificence and splendor . ! ’ A‘ h How miserably unsatisfactory , but all earthly things fade so before the thoughts o f Heaven ! Yo u ask me about the sights , the inventions , and the balloons . Well , as to the last, the ladies themselves are the most marvellous specimens ! E ven in heathen times , I verily believe such things would have been inven scouted . I f man would give the glory of his to Go d tions , they might bring a blessing ; but we see ‘ ’

o f . nothing, hear nothing, but materialism and nature God help France and E urope ! If you ever come here yo u will be as struck as I am at the marvellous o f dissipation this place , the ceaseless turmoil , and ho w bustle, and noise , and unrest . Oh , I hate these

- never ending streets , which tire my feet , my eyes , and my ears , where the world and its views reign supreme , and the one obj ect of every living being seems to be

Th eoph a ne Vena rd 57

pleasure , and pleasure only ! In the midst of this m i pious city real saints are found , but most of those T who have eyes do not see them or know them . hey are hidden from the crowd and known only to God , and , thank Him , they are multiplying. Oh , Chris ia nit t y is not dead , as the gentlemen of the Voltaire ” scho ol are pleased to say ! After dwelling a P “ little longer on aris and its sights , he exclaims , But what is the use of my going on talking to you o f all these vanities and follies ? I went the othe r day to Notre Dame to see the splendid decorations which ’ 1 852 were used on New Year s Day, , when Louis Napo leon made his triumphal entry into the cathe u dral . Well , what str ck me most of all was the thought of how the great ones of earth were thus compelled to do homage to the maj esty of Go d and to the glory of His Church . God alone is the sov r i n e e g beauty and His works alone are perfect . If man be ever so great , it is only when he draws his inspirations from God , and when , in heartfelt humil ity, he gives to Him the glory . In Catholic countries o o f all human potentates seek the supp rt the Church , for she is the one power— fi rst and indestructible and without her aid no Catholic government can exist, for the winds and the tempests would blow and sweep it away from the face of the earth . T b his , surely, is a no le view to take of the political t 1 848 T situation of a great Catholic coun ry . In heo phane had been painfully moved by the debate in the National Assembly ; and when he came to Paris he asked and obtained permission to go to the Chambers and hear the principal speakers . He gave an account o f his impressions to his father , and his sinister pre The be visions were soon realized . political horizon wa s came more and more darkened , and the agitation 58 A M odern M a rtyr

’ Co u d é ta t 2md o f at its height , when the p of the De cember gave the signal for a fresh revolution . On “ this event Theophane wrote as follows - My dearest — It ’ P Father , is ten o clock in the morning . aris is Th declared in a state of siege . e National Assembly ” T is dissolved . hen he goes o n to relate facts “ o u r well known , and subjoins , May good God come to ! to our aid , and direct all His honor and glory fo r E Let us pray for France and all urope . We have been expecting this shock from day to day and so we n ? are o t troubled . When and how will it all end H tunan events succeed one another so rapidly and d — then pass away . Go alone is immutable let us go ! A ? to Him fter all , what does the future matter to us If the world were destroyed we should be safe in Th the bosom o f His Church . e works of men alone — remain let them , then , be works of charity and j us All o ne tice . this seems to me to detach more and more from things of earth and to fix one ’ s thoughts ” To and heart on Heaven . a college friend he writes , “ To remedy the evil , France must be converted or Go d else will permit the working classes , the men who possess nothing, to be sooner or later the instruments of His vengeance . It seems to me our business is to Go d try to become , each one of us , better , and then will As co have pity upon our country . far as I am n

o u . cerned , I assure y I am in perfect safety Our con re a tio n o P g g is looked upon with a fav rable eye in aris , and everyone knows us and is kind to us . In Feb rua r 1 848 o n o f y, , the eve of the dethronement Louis

Philippe , our community was going across the Champs E l é An ys es . immense crowd had collected and some deliberated what they should do to the students . But ‘ the majority exclaimed , Let us leave them alone . Th eoph a ne Vena rd 59

Those are th e men who are going to ma r tyr ize them ’ selves in China ! and the observation saved o u r poor missioners . “ The 4th o f December we remained almost the th e o A whole day near Bois de B ulogne . detachment o f cuirassiers had gallo ped toward Paris where the Th e fighting had begun . workmen were in the streets, Th quiet and orderly, but anxious . ey were very civil The f r to us . next day three o o u students were obliged to go through the streets where they had already Th e erected barricades . soldiers were bivouacking b mob y their fires ; a dense thronged around them , sul l en o and silent , and breathing n thing but vengeance ; but they allowed o u r missioners to pass without mo l esta tio n f , and even showed them marks o kindness and good ’ A Cou d E ta t fter the p , the agitation ceased , and . T people gradually became calmer . heophane wrote “ hopefully to his godmother : The new government seems well disposed towards religion and willing to give the Church her due . If it goes on so , God will send His blessing on this poor , distracted country and there may be some chance o f seeing things reo rga n ized His . Since our Lord Jesus Christ became man , Divine manhood must take the lead in human aff airs ; o ff for a people calling itself Christian , and throwing to M all allegiance the ost High , becomes thoroughly n ungover able , for the simple reason that corruption is greater when it shows itself in what was originally T wh o goo d . hose think they can see farther than

Th e s tu dents o f th e P a ri s Mi s s i o n H o u s e a re distingu i s h a bl e by th ei r n e e r T h e a s s o s o r e h n h r ca s s o c s a d t i r a s . c c i s t r t a t e a e a e k h b d k h v g , s o a s to fa ci i ta te r a i w a i n o n ex cu r s i o ns ein ta n r l p d lk g, l g b g ke egu r l in o h r T o s e wh o a r e s oo n e r l a y t t e s u bu b s . h to d p a t gr o w b ea r ds u r in th e a s t few m o nth s a s a cco r in to th e cu s to m o f at oli d g l , , d g C h c m i s s i o n r s th e ea r d i s ui te uni er s a l wo r n in ar - a w ou ntrie e f a c s. , b q v l y y 60 A M o d ern M artyr their neighbors are hopeful as to the future of A too . France , which makes me sanguine lthough I x may soon be far away , I shall always look an iously ’ o f r Ma for tidings my count y s welfare . y God bring A about a brighter day ! men . He ends with the b eautiful words , “ Th T O my Lord , y people know and love hee by instinct ; but they are deceived by their chiefs , who Oh betray and mislead them . , if only all the world were of o ne heart and one mind to serve and honor ” and glorify Thee ! Th eo ph ane Ven a rd 61

CHAPTE R VI .

L a s t D a s in P i s — T h e y ar Dep a rture.

We are tempted to give o ne o r two more extracts ’ from Theophane Véna r d s letters to his family during the remainder of his stay at the Paris Foreign Mission

House ; for these letters are so full of counsel , espe cia ll n y those to his you ger brother, that we have felt they might be of equal value to others in a like posi i t on . E usebius had j ust entered the Preparatory Seminary t at Mon morillon ; he was fifteen , and had a strong U desire to become a priest . nder these circumstances he writes to Theophane for advice ; and the elder brother answers as follows “ MY E A E — D R USEBIUS , You are now of an age to choose your future career , an age when people begin and to think, when certain convictions form them i selves ntheir minds and influence their conduct . In your intercourse with men , you will encounter much prej udice, many strange ideas , and perversions of the truth ; for their minds have wandered from the goo d old paths ; and society in E urope has become thor oughly corrupt . I do not mean to say that there were not plenty of bad people in old times , as there are now , for man is ever the same . But formerly there were certain social bases and landmarks which none but the very vicious overstepped . For religion was the 62 A Mod ern Martyr foundation o f society and God gives life to nations as N well as to individuals . o w all these safeguards are o o r no rem ved ig red , but you will understand this bet ter by and by . “ o u Well , y are asking yourself what is to be your ? P h future ray , simply , umbly , and fervently , to know ’ o God s will , and y ur path will be made clear . Then you will follo w the inspiration which Divine mercy ‘

o o . has put int y ur heart Sometimes a person says , I ’ ‘ ’ ‘ ’ e o r o r will be a pri st , a soldier , a landed proprietor , ‘ and then he adds , Oh , such and such studies are no t ’ necessary fo r this o r that profession ! This is the rea o f T h n s ning o pure idlers . hen ot ers go o about piety : ‘ P ! iety it is only go od for priests and nuns . Go d does ’ no t expect so much o f us ! (H ow d o yo u kno w ? ) Th ese are the argu ments o f cold and calculating na ‘ N w o u t e . o o tur s what I want y to say yourself is , I o f o e am , first all , a man , a reas nable being, cr ated to

o Go d . c me kn w , love , serve , and glorify I g from to G o to . o o d . o . Go d . I g God I bel ng My b dy is His h M M . e y mind is His . y heart is His I s all be j udg d a ccording to my works and to the way I have corre l s o nd ed to . Go d p the grace given me We l , then , help h n ing me , I will use this body , t is mi d , and this heart , fo r as much as I po ssibly can His greater glory, ’ o hon r , and love . “ E in My dear usebius , life well employed consists — a a ith u l co r r es o nd ence to r a ce a nd a o od this f f p g , g u e T no s of th e ta lents given. here is other religion r than th 1 s and the rule o f life is the same fo all . ‘ ‘ ’ o u Go d o f me ? H u But , y ask , what does ask milit to y, prayer , obedience His Divine commands and o f o u r to the voice mother the Church , and an entire e o f P abandonm nt ourselves to His Divine rovidence . Yo u answer ,

64 A M od ern M a rtyr

’ l can t be bright natura ly , strive to be bright in and

. oo for God Be agreeable in conversation , g d m o f hu ored and merry , full cheerfulness and fun , and o n An not brooding disagreeables . d now yo u will say h so I have preached enoug , and I will only add , hav ing laid down certain great principles for your life , ’ ! o f h Y forward Don t be afraid being laug ed at . o u will crown all by keeping up the tender love o f a little child fo r th e Blessed Virgin and a co nfi ding trust in A your Guardian ngel . A little later he writes to him on his vocation Y o u h tell me t at your wishes , your tastes , a secret inspira o f r o u tion g ace , draw y strongly towards the priest M ’ h o od . ay God s Holy Name be praised ! But if o u r o u o u Lord calls y , y must answer . One day little ‘ ’ o u t ! ! Samuel heard a voice crying , Samuel Samuel ‘ ’ am E D n . cce e o omi e Here I , Lord , he replied g , , u ia a t m E ! q vo c s i e. usebius you think our Lord has o u i called you . Well , then , y must answer l ke Samuel , ‘ T to ? Here I am , Lord , what wilt hou have me do With the help o f Thy grace I will do all that Thou dost ’ no t . appoint , and that grace I feel will be wanting l st — It is , then , on the of October the month dedicated to the angel s — that you are to leave your to country and your home and your beautiful valley , ! o ne go into a strange place . Courage When leaves anything for God He rewards us a hundredfold ; He ‘ ’ But o u o u has said so Himself . (y say) y are alone , ‘ ’ o u o f quite alone . Oh , no, y are the child our Divine o M o L rd and His Blessed other , the child of His L ve , the sheep o f His pasture ; have confidence in Go d .

Nevertheless , if there are times when your heart sinks o u ff within y , my dearest brother , go to the chapel , o er u r to o dear Lord your tears and your sacrifice , and Go d then , alone before , consecrate yourself anew ff be without reserve to His service . O er Him , to T h eoph a ne Vena rd 65

gin with , the trials of your college life ; throw your a o f self like boy into the arms Mary , and believe me when I say you will never be forsaken . “ to You will have choose a confessor , and for this yo u must pray earnestly to our Lord and His Mother u T to enlighten and g ide you . hen , when you have chosen one, you must open your whole heart to him , not only in the confessional , but when you see him alone elsewhere ; make him your friend and counsellor difli cu lties in all your little and sorrows , and tell him of your temptations and faults with thorough S im li i c t . T p y and openness hen be guided by his advice , T and follow it to the letter . his is the kind of spiritual direction necessary to one who seeks to advance Co nfi de towards perfection . in him entirely , and be S ure that he will keep all your little secrets as if they were told in the confessional . You are no longer a E child , dear usebius , and you must begin to walk as o f one worthy of the mercies God , and of His great n M desig s in your behalf . ake a little book in which you can write your impressions and your religious feelings , now and then , putting down the date ; you can o u dedicate it to our Lady . Some time later y will read them over again with pleasure , and they will serve to bfa ce you up when days of heaviness and weariness ” overcome your courage . T u nfo r ( heophane himself had this practice , but , tunatel y, when he was ill , he insisted on burning all that he had written . ) “ I should like to think that you deprived yourself now a nd then of some indulgence to give to the poor . You ought not to run into great expenses or attempt to imitate the luxurious habits of many of those around R you . emember your own simple home , and still more remember how many thousands there are who suff er 5 66 A M od ern M artyr

f A es o . for want of the very necessari life bove all , Go d everx thin never forget that is in g , in little things in h th e o ne o as great . He oug t to be m tive of your G o . o to o thoughts , words , and actions ften confessi n , th e hav e great devotion to Blessed Sacrament , and as s ociate yourself as soon as yo u can with some congre Oh h w a tio n o f o u r . o g Lady , happy I was when I ! Go first became a child of Mary , then , dearest b h A o f Go d ! rot er , and may the ngel guide your steps ‘ A great future is before yo u ! a grand vocation ! Think

f o n Go d . o it well , anchored the infinite mercy of ‘ P o u erhaps y will hear a voice saying, Come with ’ h o f me , and perhaps we s all find ourselves soldiers i o n the same reg ment , trav ellers the same road , bound

r . fo the same haven May His Holy Will be done , and to o no t ours . Strive fulfil with diligence and j y the vr Th f o o f e . e o w rk each day be gay , y gay life a true to Christian should be a perpetual j ubilee , a prelude n the festivals o f eter ity .

These letters abundantly Show the anxious care and T o n thought which heophane bestowed his brothers , o f who were the continual subj ect his prayers , and o f when he became a priest , his Masses likewise . On one occasion he wrote and told E usebius that he was to o n l st A going say Mass for him the of ugust , the E n o f . Feast St usebius , when , from some u known rea n i s o nd o f N so t ec . o w , he changed to the the month it happened o nthat very day that a thunderbolt struck o f M the College ontmorillon , and an electric spark o nE fo r fell usebius , who was left dead , and with great ffi E di culty recovered . usebius always attributed this escape to the intervention of his brother , who at that ve ry moment was offering up for him the Holy Sac fi ri ce. T h eoph ane Venard 67

T 0 T his elder brother , Henry , heophane writes in a diff erent strain ; but his letters are full o f suggestive o ne thoughts and beautifully expressed . On occasion he writes , “ I am not astonished that my loving o ld brother fou nd poetry in my letters but I think that his own T l n heart supplied it . a king of poetry , do you not thi k that men have profaned it more than ever in these latter days ? Poetry presupposes a soul lifted above the things o f sense ; it means the outpouring of a heart full of love for God and for our neighbor , keenly u t o f T he alive to the bea ties of na ure and grace . mys ter ies of Christianity and of the Blessed E ucharist are

t . eminently fi ted for a poet So also are pure love , de

- ifi votio n sacr ce . , heroism , self , and the rest But when

I see men calling themselves poets , and abusing their gift by impure allusions , and sophistries , and vague aspirations after dreams which have no existence ex cept in their morbid imaginations , I confess I have no no t patience with them . Poetry is meant to be merely the exaltation and feeding o f human passion by sen sual indulgence . Yet three parts of the world call this po etry . Oh , let us draw our inspirations from purer sources ! Th e literatu re of the day seems to me to run so forever either in impure or rationalistic channels , so much , that I dread lest we shall be all submerged in the foul tide ! I try to think of the exile going H e s ees a nd thinks o no thin back to his country . f g

. o n els e. We are all exiles here below Let us hasten to our home in Heaven I am very much struck with the young men I have met here outside of the

T t . Seminary . hey are such contradictory crea ures There is in them a gr eat deal of pride with considerable generosity ; a strong lo v e o f independence with a certain submission ; much impurity with a vestige 68 A Modern M a rtyr

’ of better thoughts learned at a mother s knee ; some i courage and audac ty, and yet more weakness and h foolis yielding ; an ardor for work by fits and starts , but usually inconceivable idleness ; a desultory way of o r living and acting without aim purpose ; in fact , the Old strife between th e spirit o f evil and the spirit of good . Still among these young men there are ex cep tions . I know some who are living in the world , in o f the very heart great riches and luxury , and yet are humble , pious , devout, charitable , and reverent , ‘ seeking out the poor in their garrets , religious as a ’ T woman , as the saying is . heir manners are simple T and natural , for they are thoroughly in earnest . hey ar e bright , amiable , and courteous , with faces which T prepossess one at first sight . heir lives are spent in ’ ’ doing good . I don t mean to say that they don t commit faults sometimes , for human nature is weak ; but their very failings increase their humility and o n make them lean more completely the Divine mercy . ! no t God be praised Such men are very rare , though they do not show themselves much in the streets .

There is another species , whom one sees all day long

’ - lounging at cafes or in ball rooms , never by them Th selves . ey are restless , walking in a wild sort of way, j udging and criticizing everybody and every

T no r . thing . hey neither respect esteem women T hey want to know everything, hear everything, and T fo r see everything . hey talk the sake of talking, and their least sin is that o f doing nothing Such young men swarm in the streets o f Paris and their secret lives are more pitiable than their public ones . All o ne young men , more or less , may rank in or no t the other o f these tw o classes . It does cost more S e a to id with the right , but then one must have Th eoph ane Vena rd 69

o f heart and reason calmly as to the obj ect life ,

ln Go d . a word, serve and love “ - e . Good bye , my d arest brother Write to me soon ” again . Your letters do me so much good .

But it was to M éla nie that Theophane spoke all his h Méla nie most intimate thoug ts and aspirations , poor , ’ who had never recovered from her brother s departure , A and at last had become seriously ill . fter a time she rallied , and then her brother (whom she called her “other half ” ) wrote to her as follows

M Y E E R — I DEAR ST SIST , am glad you have been ill , T and I am ve ry thank ful yo u have recovered . o ex plain my first proposition , which will appear very ex r a r dina r t t o y , I feel that you have had the opportuni y ff f r o o u r . to su er something the love of Lord Oh , I am quite sure yo u felt the advantages of your position ! Suff erings are the money with which o ne buys

Heaven ; therefore , your fortune is already begun . n As ot . for me , I have a penny I am as poo r as a to . i church mouse But I hope soon go to Californ a . No w do o u ? At y understand my meaning any rate , ” yo u know ho w I love yo u .

' Melanie had long wished to devote herself to Go d ’ in a religious life , but her brother s plans had thwarted the accomplishment o f her o wn wishes fo r a time . She had made the sacrifice generously . Never th el es s , she felt herself strongly urged in the same direction . “ T B e comforted , my dearest sister , writes heo “ phane . We are made to live together then let us do so in Heaven . Be patient until Go d opens the way fo r P you to give yourself entirely to Him . erfection does 70 A Modern Marty r

o f r not lie in one state life more than in anothe , but consists in an entire correspondence with grace in h h o d A G . the position in w ic has placed us bove all , no t o r do be discouraged , give way to sadness and th e despondency . Your holy and hidden life in bosom o f your family is quite as meritorious in the sight o f h h n ” Go d o o e. , and perhaps safer t an a more er ic But although Melanie was co mpelled to wait fo r a o o f h sh e few years to attain the great bj ect her wis es , found she could realize a portion o f them by co ns e i o u r o crating her virg nity to L rd , even while still living in the world ; and o n this she writes to consult her brother . He replies , “ Y o u ré letter o fo r has filled me with great j y, I see ho w anxious yo u are to advance in the paths o f per fec tion . I have j oined my poor prayers with yours and o f o u r o f laid them at the feet Lady Victories . Do Y u o u nothing hastily . o say y wish to obey your dir ec fo r tor , and you are quite right , obedience alone is a Y . o u sure guide are very good to consult me , my dear who o u little sister ; and I , am so far below y in t — I o u fo r every hing, thank y with all my heart this ! fresh proof o f your love . Well what answer am I to ‘ ’ o u ? Y o u no t to No give y would like me say , and I H w should like it still less . o can I advise you to r e do main in a world which I detest as you , and which I have left myself ? I know well that fo r a long time yo u have entirely detached yourself from its pleasures o f and its frivolities ; but the last act , the act entire o u no t n renunciation , y have yet sig ed and that is all r IVh a t h fo o u to do . o that is left y is t ere , then , to st p ? o u o o f y Consult your c urage , consult the voice h o h h o u no grace , consult t se wit w om y live , and if l o obstacle presents itse f , may your h ly desires be ful ’ Ma o e filled . y God s will be d ne . Cel brate your nup

72 A M odern M a rtyr

should thus have separated yourself from the world , though still living in it . Go d has inspired you and given you a great grace . I know you will receive it with gratitude and humility ; but do not forget that your first duty is still to your family and for your Go d M a r Th eo h a n . e family bless you , sister y p .

' ll o u A joy be with y in the hearts of Jesus and Mary .

T . Your devoted brother, V .

The hour drew near when Theophane was to be come a priest , and his zeal and fervor were redoubled . The atmosphere around him strengthened all these o n pious desires , and everything tended to help him ward inthe path of perfection . In one of the corners of the garden at the Paris Foreign Mission House is a little oratory dedicated to Our Lady , and filled E r with candles and flowers . ve y Saturday evening, and on all the vigils of her feasts , it is lighted , and the students go there to recite Litanies and sing hymns in her honor , after which follow the usual prayers at nine ’ o n re o clock . But leaving the chapel , and before o f tiring to his cell , each the future missioners goes M to pay a little visit to the Hall of artyrs , a large room in which are ranged along the wall no t only relics o f the confessors , but the instruments of their torture and E pictures of their martyrdom . veryone stays a few minutes here to pray in silence , and then to kiss the B o rié crucifix stained with the blood of Bishop . Theophane used to spend every spare moment in this o f room , and when the news came of the martyrdom

S cho effler T - Father at ong king, he wrote to his sister , “ f r Oh , if I might some day give my life like him o the ! o u Faith I am not afraid of saying so to y , because I know your generosity and that you would no t even w T - ish to rob me of my crown . This ong king Mission Th eo ph a ne Venard 73

fo r a lrno st is now the most enviable , it is certain mar

t r dom . e n y Whatever happ ns , I k ow I may reckon n o your prayers .

E d i very day he was getting more detache . Wr ting th e P a to Bishop of oitiers , he s ys ,

in Formerly, my Lord , I rejoiced the thought of receiving at your hands the last great grace which P God has deigned to bestow on me . But Divine rovi dence has ordered otherwise and disposed of my n future . In the midst of my regrets I can ot help loo k in . o wn g forward with j oy Yes , I that every day I get more detached from France , even when France P ta stes have means to me oitiers , and my , become n decidedly Chinese . I do not k ow what secret im pul se makes me sympathize so warmly with people of another clime, be they Indians or Chinese . Some of my friends here declare I am growing like them , that

I have a Chinese head , and Chinese eyes , and Chinese ways , in fact , that I am getting Chinese altogether . Do t not hink , however, that I have set my heart upon o f China . I have no other choice than the will my n superiors , that is , if they thi k me worthy of any mission at all , as I sometimes fear they will not . I shall always find myself too happy in the place where the Great Master will allow me to work for the wel o f fare of my brethren and the Glory His holy name . ffi Nevertheless , his superiors had no di culty in rec ognizing the eminent merits o f the young aspirant r o f after fo eign missions , in spite the humility which induced him to throw a veil over all his actions ; and so they hastened the time of his ordination (he was

- only twenty two) , and desired him to prepare himself T i He o n for r nity . received the go d ews with a mix 74 A Modern M a r tyr

o f o and ture j y and fear , writing to his Bishop ex claimed , “ M Y — LORD , Fruit which grows ripe before the proper time has no flavor ; and here am I , a young and green fruit , which yet must be ripe in a month . Ma ? In spite of this hot y sun , is it not too soon I never dreamt o f being called to the priesthood before t Chris mas , but God has disposed things otherwise . ‘ I ntr oibo a d a lta r e Dei ad D eu m u i la eti ca t u n , q fi j ve m ’ tu tem mea . Very soon , perhaps , another message a : will be brought to me , the very thought of which ‘ P ’ my heart sings for joy . ack your things , and start .

Yet when I look at myself , when I see the childish hands so soon to receive the holy oils ; the feet , fresh th from the playgrounds , which are to carry so far e gospel of truth and peace ; my whole being, in fact , only just beginning to understand what life is , and yet so soon to teach men how to live , I can scarcely help laughing and yet crying . So mingled are my feelings and thoughts at this moment , that I can only Go d to hope in , and beseech Him give me strength , n meek ess , humility , prudence , knowledge , and charity . I trust in your Lordship ’ s kindness that you will give me a place in your prayers , which will obtain for me ” the graces of which I stand so much in need .

A severe illness prostrated him for a time , but his courage and cheerfulness never deserted him ; and ff r in spite of his su erings , which were ve y great , his gaiety and patience astonished his companions , who vied with one another as to who should wait upon him r and do little things for him . He wrote gaily afte “ e new bo a s his recovery, I hav a dy altogether , which ,

‘ wi o u nto th e A ta r o f Go d to Go d w h o r e o i cet m o uth. I ll g l , j h y y Th eo ph an e Venard 7 5

n I am goi g into a new country , will be very useful , and

I hope we shall agree perfectly . It is a pity that I ’ ca n t get a new spirit and a new heart , and then I P should be altogether a new man . ray that I may be ” thus transformed on the day of my ordination . He recovered sufficiently to be ordained on the 5th o f June t — T and said his first Mass the nex day , rinity Sunday . “ He writes home on this occasion to his father , My — dearest Father , Send me your blessing . I said my

- f . o r ! first Mass to day Oh , what a glorious day me T — m rue , I cannot yet meditate very well y head is still weak and I can scarcely realize the awful mysteries

f . o which I have become , as it were , a participator Y o u But I feel a great peace , and am very happy . will m ne o o . share in my j y, which is a fa ily Would that you could have been with me o n this day ! But Go d M a ordered it otherwise . y we be strengthened in ” faith and hope ; at least we shall be united in prayer .

The new missioner was at length a priest . His c no t a n departure ould be long delayed , and the nouncem ent wa s made to him only three days after n e his ordination . He gave otice to his r latives that no t no r his destination was yet fixed , the actual day f fo r o farewell , but that they must be prepared a speedy su mmons . He told them that he had been ’ “ promised a month s notice , and added , Dearest — ! Go d friends , Courage and faith watches over us , ” and the Blessed Virgin is o u r protector .

f . . The missions o his two friends , Fr Dallet and Fr Theu r el fo r , were already fixed ; the latter was bound

- T fo r . . ong king, the former India Fr Dallet embarked f o o f A in the middle o the m nth ugust , and this was the first break in the chain which u nited these faithful friends . 76 A M o d ern M a rtyr

But the summons for Theophane Véna r d was not 1 3th r long delayed , and a letter dated the of Septembe announced his speedy departure to his family .

MY E AR E E ME E D ST FATH R , LANIE, H NRY, AND ‘ ’ E U S E B I U s — , Once more let us say together, God s holy name be praised ! ’ About a month ago five of my fel low - students received a notice to hold themselves in readiness for departure . I was left behind until my health should be fully regained . I could not help grieving very much , but let that pass , for time presses . ho One of the five , w had been compelled to return ff home for_ family a airs , did not come back on the day fixed . I have been , consequently , appointed to

replace him . I am therefore going to leave you at

- once , my dearest ones , and to wish you good bye until our reunion in Heaven . I shall not remain even this week in Paris ; Friday will probably be my last day Ant on the soil of France , as we are to embark at r we p .

The 1 9th o f September wa s to be the day of de the T parture , and in morning heophane sent a fare

well line to each member of his family .

— M Y E E AN D - E A R To - D AR ST MUCH LOV D F THE , day I

leave France . I must send you my last farewell ; we ’ start at seven O clock . On Monday we are to embark

from Antwerp ; Tuesday morning we set sail . Dear

- est father , good bye . My departure I know will be a sorrow to you ; to me also the separation is very ! hard to bear . But courage Life on earth passes so quickly and death will reunite us so soon ; for death

to a Christian is life , a life of eternal happiness in the

bosom of our God , in company with His angels and A ir . u r evo His saints , then , dearest father ; the way Th eoph a ne Venard 77

S - is hort , and the end is blessed . Good bye , I embrace you with all my heart .

MY M Y OW N ME MUCH LOVED SISTER , LITTLE

E — - LANI , Good bye . I feel it very much that I am not able to write you a good long letter . It is positive ff su ering to me , for we have so many , many things to say to each other , but I have scarcely a moment . I shall never forget you or our happy childhood to gether, or our family gatherings and home joys . By and by we shall all be reunited . I go with a heavy h eart and eyes full of tears , but we must pray together , the one for the other, and bear the pain of parting M o u . bravely . God bless y y paper must convey my last kiss to my darling sister .

o - Go d bye , my dear, good Henry . Your last letter gave me so much pleasure . Oh , no , my heart is not o f o n made stone ; the contrary, j ust now it melts like

a . wax . But we shall meet gain I am going to talk o f our Father who is in Heaven , and make Him n wh k own to our brothers o as yet know Him not , and P perhaps I shall be first at the tryst . ray for me . Prayer alone can soften bitterness and assuage sor And o u ? ro w . I , do y think I can ever forget you

- e Good bye. Let us have courage in this lif and fight

b . our battles ravely . I love you with all my heart

- i l E oo r l tt e . Good bye , my p usebius We are about to be separated but we shall be more and more closely united in thought and prayer . We must all walk r straight heavenwards , no matter how ough the way . Happy those who get there first ! My colleagu es and

I start under the best auspices , for only yesterday w e heard o f a fresh martyrdom in Tong- king and it is for A Mod ern M a rtyr

- that mission we are bound . Good bye ! I kiss you

O - on both cheeks . nce more , good bye

T Th hen came the usual ceremony of departure . e departing missioners entered the chapel after even ing prayers and knelt on the altar steps . Behind them knelt the directors of the Seminary with the student body , as well as the friends and relatives who came to T ’ see the young apostles for the last time . heophane s A relatives were not of the number . fter the prayers a short meditation was given , and the assistants sat down , the five missioners alone remaining on the o f altar step standing , while one the directors , lately returned from a foreign mission , made a short but T touching address . hen the five young apostles ap ro a ched to p the altar, and when close the tabernacle turned to their brethren , who , leaving their places , who went one by one , to kiss the feet of those were so ’ to o u r in fi soon be Lord s heralds , while the choir to ed “ u a m s ecios i ed es eva n eliea ntiu m the anthem , Q p p g a cem eva n eliza ntiu m p , g

A little episode followed , which was well described o at the time by an eminent Cath lic writer . From the midst of the crowd of visitors an o ld f man came forward , walking with some di ficulty , and f f th e An assisted by one o the directors o Seminary . inexpressible emotion was felt throughout the chapel , and the voices of the cho ir faltered as they watched

* Th e cer em o n o f d a rtu r e no w ta es a ce s e er a tim es ea c ea r y ep k pl v l h y . D u r in th e S u m m er th e a te i s ener a x e i n Au u s t a nd th e g d g lly fi d g . ’ cer em o ni es a r e divi ded b etw een th e B l es s ed Vi r gin s s h r ine i n th e a r en a nd th h As th e ch a e i s no t a r e a nd th e m a i n g d e c a p el . p l l g o i s r es er e fo r ch o i r u r o s es o n a imite nu m er o f th e b dy v d p p , ly l d b a it m a a tt n E l y y e d [ d . H o w ea u tifu a r e th e feet o f t em t a t r ea c th e o s e o f ea ce T b l h h p h g p l p , in s o f th em th a t b r i ng gla d tid g .

T h eoph an e Venard 79

him slowly advancing up the aisle towards the altar . o f th e He kissed the feet four first missioners , but h th e n in w en he came to the fifth , you g man , as if stinctivel y, bent forward and tried to prevent him .

But the poor old man knelt , or rather prostrated him hi self before him , and not only pressed s lips to his feet , but his face and his forehead , so that his soft white hair covered them as with a veil ; and then a sob sigh burst from his heart , which was more like a , a sigh which was heard all over the building, and at which everybody was moved to tears ; while the poo r s o n himself (fo r it was his father) became whiter than a sheet . Yet this was the second son which this A new braham had sacrificed to God , and it was the ! T last hey assisted the old man to rise , and he if h with d ficulty returned to his place . T e sympathy o f all present was evident , while the choir , which in fo r the excitement had paused a moment , intoned the ‘ L a u da te pu er i A fter this touching ceremony , the missioners them selves gave the kiss o f peace to their brethren and “ H mno De a r tu r e friends , and then followed the y f p , M by . Dallet . (See p. A Mod ern M artyr

CHAPTE R VI I .

Th e o a e— Antw to H o n - K n V y g erp g o g .

OUR travellers left Paris and the Seminary with To T e full hearts . h ophane , especially , the parting was very bitter, for he had become attached to the Semi nary , and to everything in it , in a way which only The clinging, loving natures like his can understand . young missioners managed to get together in the rail way carriage , so that they might console one another ; — and after a time they became calm , even joyous , so that Theophane wrote that they seemed “more like A A people going to a fete . rrived at ntwerp they P lost no time in going on board their ship , the hylo A 600 taxe (lover of order) , an merican clipper of A . s tons , and a good , fast sailer a day or two elapsed before the ship was ready for sea , they spent this time o ld dm seeing the quaint Belgian town , and a iring the Th simplicity and devotion of its inhabitants . e em a rk ti n 23rd r T b a o took place on the of Septembe . heo phane wrote home , “ W e bade farewell to Antwerp with a salute of n u . ine g ns , which was answered from the citadel I am rather inclined to dreaming, and were it not for the help of Go d my heart would fail me altogether .

You were more than half my life , and I feel the sepa ration terribly , especially from the fact that it may be so long before I shall have any letter or tidings of At a n h r you all . any rate you are c o ed in my remem

82 A Modern M a rtyr

‘ E - ! A lanie , Henry , usebius , once more good bye last

farewell to France , and to you all .

A in ccording to all human probability these were , E deed, the last words he was to send them from urope ; but a further consolation was granted to his family h through a violent gale , w ich obliged the ship to take P r r efuge in lymouth harbo , where it remained three T h a days . heophane gave his brot er an amusing c o f count the storm and its consequences ; and adds , “This evening I have been watching a beautiful sun set o u the E nglish coast while the moon rose on the f n French side o the Channel . I could o t help think E ing about ngland , this country where the Sun o f T s o — f r ruth has long been darkened , and praying o

' m h ea rt E f r . o her with all y. ngland could do so much o o wn! the go d cause , if she would only make it her If she only saw the truth ! She reigns over the seas ; but she sows error wherever her flag floats . Let us no t . pray that this state of things may continue It is , fo r E I fancy , a rare sight nglish people to see a priest fo r in his cassock ; when we went into the town , men ,

women , and children looked at us in amazement . Some o f the little ones were fairly frightened and ran away ; one o f the men was curious enough to come o n f o u r and touch e o cassocks and examine the but,

. T o u t s o tons hen they burst laughing, and that —

. to naively , that we laughed too It seems me that they are very like th e Chinese in character— curious to the “ verge of incivility and with little sense in their ” mockery . T o his sister he wrote, P LYMOUTH . E AR E T S T E R — P o o u r D S SI , eace and love and j y in P Lord Jesus Christ . rovidence has willed that we T h eoph an e Vena rd 83

o to sh uld be detained here , to repair the damage done — a t our ship in the gale least , that is the reason the world gives ; I believe it is to enable me once more to

- say good bye at my ease to my friends . What do you ? o ld think , dear little sister Do you recollect how in i t mes , when the last of the holidays came , you and

I used to take the longest road to the station , so as to prolong the time as much a s possible and talk a little more ? We never could agree as to which was to have the last word ; we always had so much to say to h And each ot er . now I am leaving you indeed , and ! probably forever Ought we not , then , to have a l ? Ah ! good ong talk , now comes the sorrow I must T have all the say to myself . here is no dear little Mélanie to answer me ; no gentle eyes to look at me ; no soft hand to hold in mine , and to keep it back , and try to make me stay a few minutes longer ! And our ? Ah good father and brother , where are they , you are all together ; and I ? I am alone ! Alone with God — alone forevermore ! But I know how you have followed me in thought ; and I like to think of this ’ letter 5 arrival at our home , and the welcome it will ? Go d get ! Am I not a real baby But O my , it is not ’ ’ wrong, is it , to love one s home , and one s father, ’ ’ — ff and one s brothers , and one s sister to su er terribly at being parted from them —to feel one ’ s loneliness ? — to try to console one another — to mingle ou r ? prayers and our tears , and also our hopes For we have left all for Thee . We wish to work but for Thee ; and we trust to be reunited one day in Thee

‘ ! Y o u s ee forever and forever , my darling sister , as usual , I cannot help opening my whole heart to you , who understand me so well . But let us look the All is over ? An thing bravely in the face . , is it not so e enormous distance is about to separate us . Nev r 84 A Modern M a rtyr

o n ! again shall we meet this earth But after all , why do we feel it so dreadfully ? A little sooner or a little later we shall be together again in Heaven . How short will o u r separation appear to us in eternity ! th e A Mother , friends , S INTS, are all gone home before ! A r vir . us . u e o they said So it is our business to

follow them and to go to them . People who are taking a journey often go by diff erent roads ; the only

question is , which shall arrive first at the place of

. o u destination Well , I am going by this road , y by that . Let the one who reaches home first encourage the other . “ e r M lanie , my sister , I leave you a p ecious charge — that o f o u r dear o ld father ! Y o u must help him to pass from this world to a better . You must be his angel o f consolation and soo the his last days on earth . o u r too Watch over brothers , ; try to make yourself one with them as you have been with me ; and link yourself with them in the bonds of the tenderest a ffec T o ne o ne tion . hree are stronger than ; help another onwards and upwards in the rugged path of life . A o r bove all , let nothing separate your interests your T affections . rue love cannot be snapped asunder ; it spreads and widens , but never diminishes . Love never dies ; for it is stronger than death . Go d Him The self has said so . strength and increase of love

is in prayer . We are little and weak and miserable but He who sustains us is strong and mighty . His arms are ever stretched o u t towards us ; let us lift ours to meet Him . “ Life has many bitter , sad , and weary hours ; often Th e it can scarcely be called existence . little rivulets , as well as the great rivers , all empty themselves into o ne — d o f source the sea . Go is an ocean love and f P mercy ; in Him alone is the fulness o j oy . atience

8 6 A Modern Marty r

r l h will beg o u dear o d friends to do t e same . Think what a j oyful surprise a letter will be to me o u t there ! I shall send my scribblings in a Chinese gu ise to make yo u laugh ; fo r we must try to be gay and bright in our correspondence and no t dwell always o n the f An n o . d o w sadder side life , my darling sister , I T o to . r must c me a stop here is a limit to eve ything, even to these closely - written pages ! My heart rests

n A - Y o your heart and my hand in yours . dieu . o u ” ? Go d o u ! understand bless y , my dearest sister

From Plymouth Theophane wrote also a few lines to his little brother :

o u r Bless Lord , and the rain and the winds and the tempests which have blo wn me into this town o f P o ne to lymouth , that I might write word more my

E ! - dear little usebius Our good bye has been said , and our lives will henceforth run in diff erent channels —unless yo u come to have a Chinese taste like me ! I o o u no t o u turn my back up n y , but my heart , y will ! ino u r understand Our thoughts will ever be united , _ r Y u prayers as in o u work . o are going back to col ! ! ! T lege . Work work work ime is more precious

o u . than y realize Learn all you possibly can , but especially languages ; fo r people fraternize a great

deal more than they used to do , and this fusion T r to should tend to the triumph of truth . y cooperate o u in this great work . I leave y to the care of your

good angel . May he guard and protect your youth ! and your whole life Dear brother , we shall see o u each other in Heaven . I give y for advice the ‘ ’ M l ni S u rs u m or d a é a e c . same words I gave , May ou o f God give y the fulness His grace , patience , A ” o ! . peace , and j y, in life and death men T h eoph a ne Vena rd 8 7

h Tw o These letters were dated the 7t of October . P days after , the voyagers left the port of lymouth , and no news was received o f them till the April fol a lowing, when letter arrived from Singapore , dated T a c February . heophane wrote a long and detailed f o count o the passage , but as all l ng voyages resemble one another , we will confine our extracts to a few personal details

T We are entering the harbor, wrote heophane “ from Singapore . So I will prepare my home letters , ’ o n T and I am glad to do so New Year s day . his Go d morning my first thought after was for you all . 1 0th On the of October , Sunday evening, we left A ‘ ’ P . A lymouth nother Belgian vessel , the talanta , left the port at the same time , with a hundred and

- h sixty passengers who were going to the gold elds . What a poor obj ect ! You may believe that no t fo r all the gold in Australia or California would I have ! left you all Our vessel is a very fast sailer , and our n captain a model of all virtues , religious from co victio n to , speaking little but always the point ; he has his ship in perfect order , and is immensely popular with his men ; his courtesy and kindness to The us could not be exceeded . days are long and monotonous on board ship ; the sight o f a few strange

fl in - fi sh birds , one or two swallows y g , and porpoises , with a shark here and there , these are the only events Th e in a long voyage . sea , I confess , wearies me to death . It is certainly fine to see great waves rolling o one over another , but I sh uld prefer seeing it from terr a r m o f fi a . We had the unspeakable consolation daily Mass for the first month and a half ; but after

- wards o u r altar breads go t spoiled . How I have longed for the possibility o f paying a visit to the 88 A M o dern M a rtyr

Blessed Sacrament , or of assisting once more at some Catholic ceremony ! When the bo dy is deprived of h food , it languis es and dies ; and it is the same with the soul , without the Bread which sustains its life . T o n ime and again I found myself dreaming deck , leaning against the bulwarks , and looking back on — m my past life y happy childhood , my darling mother , ’ o u r my father s sacrifices , my education , j oyous home gatherings , my life at school and at college . And s P f now here I am , in the hand of rovidence , full o fo r thankfulness past mercies and blessings , full o f M hope for the future . y dear father, in your last letter , consenting to my departure , you encouraged ‘ ’ Th e me by saying, hand of God is everywhere . T The his shall henceforth be my motto . hand of God is everywhere ; therefore it will be everywhere with On me . our arrival at Singapore we heard , o f o f without much astonishment , the proclamation o u r ! the empire . God grant peace to dear France In this country it s eems to me that go ld is the supreme go d . New mines are daily discovered ; but I never r heard that men found in them peace o happiness . It is charity alone which is pure gold , gold tried in the furnace ; the rest is but false money . o Our missi ners were still at Singapore , when there arrived several young Cochin - Chinese students w ho had been sent by Bishop Gaultier to the College o f ’ P The T enang . sight of them made heophane s heart beat more quickly than ever , and he wrote to Father

Dallet , “ E very evening these young men pray together in o wn o u r their language , and we put ears to the cracks f T ! o the door to hear them . heir singing is so sweet ' o ! And Such plaintive , t uching tones shall I tell you ? T all hey are real heroes that we have next to us ,

90 A Modern M a rtyr

amply recompensed hereafter . I always look upon these miseries as a kind of money with which to buy Heaven ; but then this money must bear the image of h o u r Jesus C rist , j ust as ordinary coinage bears the superscription o f the king o r queen o f the country ! where it is struck . Courage , then , courage Our King loves you and calls yo u to Himself by His own T fo r o f . r way , the royal road the Cross y to love it

His sake and to follow Him gladly, when and where o u He calls y . When we Shall meet each other again o u in the place where we all hope to be reunited , y will

be rich in glory , for you have been rich in sorrows and in merits ! ” Th eoph a ne Venard 91

HAPT E R C V III .

— I n H o n - Ko F P a g ng inal repa r tion.

From Singapore o u r missioner proceeded to Hong

Kong, where he arrived after a long and tedious pas

E - Th sage on board an nglish sailing ship . e j oy he ex “ erienced p on landing made him exclaim , I feel all the more keenly how great a rest it will be to quit this stormy sea of the world , and to repose in our good ” Go d ! - H e was a little disappointed not to find at Hong- Kong the letters which were to fix his future destination ; but he consoled himself with the thought that he was not yet fit for the heavy charge o f the A apostolate . still greater disappointment arose from finding no letters from home— no t even one from his sister ! He felt this keenly and his loneliness pressed fo r upon him heavily the first few weeks . When ti dings from his family at length arrived , he broke into o a song of j y to his father, as follows “ ! Oh , your letters did me so much good I love them as one loves the dew after great heats , as the traveller in the desert rejoices at the green oasis where he and his camels can rest and find shade and Fo r water . we poor missioners live , as it were , in a desert, and that always . When we get news of our o f loved ones at home, our country , of our friends , how happy it makes us ! I feel a thousand times stronger when I have read and r e- read your dear fo rtifi es letters , for your sympathy and encourages 9 2 A Modern M a rtyr

me . I no longer feel alone in my sacrifice ; others share in it and live , as it were , with me in thought and

- heart . God be praised for the home love in which I have been cradled and for the dear friends He has ! given me I am as a branch of a tree , and no longer dried up by being separated from the parent stem , fo r the same loving sap runs through us all . God is o surely very g od to our human hearts , which He has

formed , and of which He knows the yearnings and the weaknesses ; and then He is the same in China as in France , and what do we want beside Him on ” earth o r in Heaven !

Véna r — . d Fr stayed fi fteen months at Hong Kong. During this time he devoted himself to learning the

Chinese language , in itself a most arduous and weari ff some task, for the di erent dialects are innumerable , and though he put his whole heart into it , yet his ff health , which was a ected by the great heat , often prevented his studying . When this was the case he used to take long walks by the seashore or in the mountains , trying to become acquainted with the people and their habits ; and although their hypocrisy and vanity often disgusted him , still the modesty of the women , and their careful decency in dress and manner , often contrasted favorably with the customs of his own countrywomen . What drove him almost to despair was the bad example given to the natives E by uropeans calling themselves Christians , who , as ’ he expressed it , wherever they went , spoiled God s ” work . But his special indignation was aroused by the conduct of the E nglish engaged in the opium

trade . He writes to his sister ,

This opium is a substance extracted from the

94 A M odern Martyr energetic representations made by the French and th e E nglish ministers in favor of Christianity ; all this is

The . pure invention . spirit of Constantine and of St o f Louis is far from being that modern governments , which have all become more or less atheistical under P the influence of rotestant , rationalistic , and infidel As doctrines ; expediency is their watchword . for us ,

Go d . in alone is our hope and succor Let us pray , then , more and more fervently for the conversion of ” fi ls the in de .

Th e numbers of letters which we find written by T o ld heophane to his friend , Father Dallet , prove that their aff ection had no t been cooled by distance o r o ne o n separation . We give an extract from written 2 6th o f 1 853 : the September,

Yo u o u ask me , dear Old friend , if y live as much ! as ever in my remembrance . Oh yes , quite as much o u m I love y with a special and devoted attach ent , and yo u must no t be scandalized at it . It is surely allow able to have a warm , particular friendship , especially o ne when is so far away from its obj ect , and the ff community will no t be the su erers . I have a full be lief and confidence that Go d does no t disapprove o f it ; fo r it is in Him and fo r Him that o u r hearts have been united . It is not the evil which is in us that o u r unites us in this tender bond of love , but higher o ne and better aspirations . Let us , then , be forever , my dearest brother , united in the same work , devoted to the same cause , humble disciples of the same M aster . Our feet toil painfully here on earth , u r but o tho ughts soar above . My bishop wrote ‘ P fo r o u o u r to me , j ust before I left aris , I pray y to

dear Lord , that your devotion may daily become more T heoph an e Vena rd 9 5

perfect , that your holocaust may be complete , and that having embarked in so great a work , you may D persevere in it after the manner of the saints . o no t ’ be a n A os tle b h a lves p y , my dear child . Now I have these words always before me , and they give me courage and strength ; and I have copied them for you that you may use them too . I have been o u laughing at the idea of your beard , of which y fancy I shall be envious ; but I assure yo u my moustache is quite enough for me . Dearest o u o friend , I am afraid y are very much tried in y ur present mission . If I were only by your side to grasp ! your hand and share all your troubles , as of old I know you so well that I feel the more for your o peculiar trials . But it is always the same ; the g ld Go d must pass through the furnace . will prove and u l try yo , and having fed you with mi k , He is now ’ weaning you fo r stronger and greater things . Don t ‘ ’ ’ let us be Apos tles by ha lves ! It s a great thing to ! be a missioner Our duties are without limit , and All o u imply perfection , if possible . the miseries y picture to me I feel and see vividly, and my heart fo r o u bleeds y . I feel that my own soul is strengthened f ’ by suf ering, and that from one s very wounds arise Y ou greater vigor, firmness , and courage . tell me of ‘ all these sad things , but you add , Happy are those who can keep themselves apart , and live in the still ’ M a silence of their own hearts with Go d . y Go d po ur into your wounds the wine and Oil which alone can heal them , and make you taste the sweetness as ! well as the bitterness of His cross Well , I must

. o u stop My heart could go on forever to y , but my head and hand are tired . I repeat constantly fo r us ‘ J es u mitis et both my favorite little ej aculation , 96 A Modern M a rtyr h u milis co rd e mis erer e , In fact , I say these words so constantly to myself that they have become ‘ o u Ah a habit . I hear y exclaim , , he is going to preach ’ r n ! o fo o u . o t again N , once y are wrong I am going to give yo u any more bad advice but try to become

h ; Go d ou more umble and amiable myself bless y , ” dearest friend and brother . Theophane had many warm college friends besides Father Dallet and among these we must mention the ' A Th eu r el f A o . T bbé , afterwards Bishop canthus hese The ha ne links were never broken till the end , for op “ i Go d looked upon them , as g ven by , that each soul might be helped upwards by mutual love in the h eav

nl A - e . y race fter some weeks spent at Hong Kong,

Th r l f r T - T . eu e o Fr left ong king, leaving heophane to T follow him later . his separation with the last of his

- i o u r fellow travellers was very try ng to missioner , who consoled himself by writing certain stanzas in o f a r honor his friend . He always had g eat taste e and talent for po try , and often used to say that he had to guard himself , like Father Faber, lest it should P absorb him too much . Other friends from the aris

Seminary soon j oined him , among whom was Father T Chapdelaine , who was much older than heophane, Th h an t eo e . being about for y . p describes Fr Chap delaine as a Norman , with an iron constitution , frank , gay , and loyal in character , a capital companion , n ” a d . above all , a holy and courageous missioner “ Writing to Fr . Dallet , he adds , Father Chapdelaine o u (who sends y his best love , by the by) is only

i . wait ng till his little lodging is prepared , to start He is the healthiest , the most active , and the jolliest of us all ; and Father B a r io d might well say on his

* esu m e n u m rt a m r n u s s e a d e of ea e e c o . J , k h bl h , h v y

Th eoph a ne Vena rd 9 7 birthday that he had ‘ the rosiness of perpetual ’ A youth . fter a few years of arduous toil in the

- mission of Kwang si , this joyous , ardent spirit received

' in 1 856 the crown of martyrdom ! But w e are antici pating . Near the town of Hong- Kong a college had been established for the Canton mission , under the ill i . m n . Gu e patronage of St Francis Xavier . Fr was e the head of this college , and he asked Fr . V nard to come and teach Philosophy to the students who had P made their first studies at enang, another missionary T college . heophane gladly accepted , delighted to find o f some definite work during this time weary waiting, and especially to be under the direction of a man A whom everyone looked upon as a saint . few years Gu illemin E later this same Fr . came to urope , was R consecrated Bishop at ome , and then paid a visit to

France , bringing with him a young Chinese who had ’ E e been Theophane s pupil . usebius V nard was at that time in the Seminary and describes Bishop Guil ’ lemins visit to Poitiers as follows

It o n 3oth 1 857 was the of January , , that Bishop Gu illemin came to the Seminary to talk to us about The his mission . first day I could not get a private a conversation with him , but I made cquaintance with

Benedict , his Chinese companion , and began talking The to him about Theophane . moment I mentioned ’ his name , Benedict s face lit up with joy , and one could see that the name awoke in him the fondest " recollections ; from that moment we became like The brothers . next day I was presented to the Bishop ; he lo oked at me attentively , and seeing in me a like ‘ e A ! ness to my brother , exclaimed , Oh , my d ar bbé ’ T n my good Abbé ! and was much moved . he he 98 A M od ern M artyr

k T e began to tal of h ophane , of his zeal and devotion , o f o f his bright , gay, frank manner , his distinguished talents , of the way he was beloved , and of his ingenious charity and kindness towards everyone . He ‘ added , When I was made superior of the Canton T mission , all the students , with heophane at their head, came to congratulate me, and to recite some verses which he had composed in my honor . He had even made a mitre and crozier of bamboo , with a playful allusio n to their being a prophecy of what they most — a fo r wished , dignity to which , unhappily my poor self , I have now arrived . But this cheerful , bright dis position of his was of imm ense use to me in directing The o T the college . students id lized Father heophane , and he kept up an admirable spirit among them , which enabled them to make light of every hardship f and di ficulty . He went with me one day up a high mountain , from which he could see what he called “P ” his romised Land . did I see him so j oyous . _ Never Ah i , your brother is ndeed a perfect missioner and I have done nothing but regret his departure fo r Tong fo r king, I loved him very much , and he belonged to me first of all ! ’ He then gave me many little details o f too his daily life , long to write , but all showing ff his deep a ection for my brother , and his thorough ” appreciation of his merits . 1 854 It was in the month of February, , that Father Venard received his orders for the Western district

T - of ong king . He wrote at once to express his j oy o f M to Fr . Barran , Superior the Foreign ission P Seminary at aris .

E R R E V E RI R — T - fo r V Y . FATH R SUPE O , ong king ! China , I shall not lose much by the exchange I should have liked any mission which was awarded

1 00 A M o dern M a rtyr other left ; and there as everywhere His Holy Will is done . In spite of the violence and the universality of the persecution there , the missions are the most flo u r ‘ ishin S a n u is ma r t r u m s ’ g . g y emen Chr is tia nor u mfi We run the risk likewise of being cut o ff by pirates in the passage from Hong- Kong to Tong- king ; but that Go d T must be as permits . his mission , to which o ne — in I am appointed , is indeed a great , its organiza tion and in the number and fervor of its converts , who amount to upwards of souls ; greater still in 80 its hopes ; in its native clergy, who number priests , 1 2 00 and catechists ; in its religious communities , for 600 there are upwards of Sisters ; in its seminaries , 300 with more than students ; in its chief pastor, of whom the highest praise that can be given is , that since his episcopate , he has added sheep to his

fold . Is not that a noble escort with which to mount to Heaven ? a b eautiful crown for all eternity ? I cannot tell yo u with what impatience I am looking

forward to being under so holy a bishop , to be initiated him by into the apostolic ministry, to be trained in his S school , and to march , as a imple soldier , under the T s ix orders of so great a general . here are already missioners under him from the Foreign Mission M a ! And Seminary . y I make a worthy seventh — T then think of the martyrs , those real glories of ong ’ king, those immortal flowers gathered by our Lord s f T own hand in the garden o His predilection . hese martyrs are the patrons and protectors o f the mission ; their blood , shed in the great cause , is always pleading fo r o f us before God , and the remembrance their triumph gives fresh courage to those who are still in

the strife . Only think what an honor and what a

Th o o o f m a r r s i s ee o f ri stian T e bl d ty s the d Ch s. T heoph ane V éna r d 1 01

o T happiness it would be for your p or heophane , if ‘ Go d o u Te D eu m a u d deigned , y understand . l a mu s Te mar tyr u m ca ndida tu s la u da t ex er

o ld He wrote also to his friend , Father Dallet and o f as if martyrdom was the great obj ect his life , he “ Fr s exclaimed , Only a few years ago . Galy and B erneux were seized o n their arrival at Tong- king ; if the same good luck could only befall us ! Oh, dear o f old friend, every time the thought martyrdom ! comes across me , I thrill with joy and hope But then this better part is not given to all . I dare not b aspire to so rilliant a crown , but I cannot help feeling a longing and sighing for such a grace . ‘ Domine qui dixis ti : major em cha r i ta tem nem o h a bet u t a nima m s u a m p o no t q u is pr o a micis Y o u do r not forget o u mutual prayer . It has for me an ‘ : S a ncta M a r ia R e ina M a r inexpressible charm , g

' t r u m o r a r o no bis f P fo r o y , p fi ray , pray your po r who o u no t fo r little friend , never forgets y , no , a single day ! ”

To his brother Henry he wrote , How well I ‘ o u o u E understand what y meant when y said , usebius w e A has arrived fresh and well , so that are LMOST a ’ And complete family party . I , poor little I , on the contrary, am going farther and farther away ! Ah ! I

o u . assure y my thoughts travel back to St Loup very , very often , and the tears come into my eyes when I u o u r think of yo all and happy home , and all the joys of my childhoo d and youth . Never since my departure have I known family happiness and real love ; such

" ' - we r ai s e ee O Go d . Th e w ite r o ed a rm o f m a rt r s i es l p Th , h b y y g v r a i s to T h e p e e. 0 or d o u wh o a st s a i Gr ea ter o e t a n t i s no m a n a t 1 , d, , L Th h l v h h ” h h th a t h e l a o w n hi s i fe fo r h i s fri nds y d l e . ‘ ' ' l H ol a r u een o f a rt r s r a fo r u s j y M y, Q M y , p y . 1 02 A M o dern M a rty r

things are not to be met with every day ! But I All t . expected it . I felt hat it was inevitable I can

hope is , that after the wound will come the healing . E very age , every position has its cares , its pains , and

its bitternesses . Nothing except what comes from God is good here below ; but we have much to thank fo r Him , and especially for the grace which makes us

His friends . Do not think of me as sad ; on the h o ne contrary, I am very happy and brig t ; when is ’ fo r working and living God , one s heart is at ease . And o u y , you say , are all day scribbling on musty ff fo r papers . Well , o ice life has its charms some . For no t ff me , had I chosen a di erent path , I should have Th ’ preferred to work in the fresh air . e day s shooting you tell me of brought back such pleasant l recollections o f the go od o d times . I could have fancied myself there ! At Tong - king I wonder what

. n . o e I shall find Not much game , I fancy Well ,

‘ o u r finds good God everywhere , and He is our r T happiness and o u joy . here is no use in being

sad , so that in the midst of discouragement and ff o ne disgust , and every kind of mental su ering, must ’ try to take one s heart in both hands , and force it to ‘ ’ o u t ! Th e cry , Welcome joy all the same soul finds itself in such a diff erent state at diff erent times ; some

days , gay and calm , and at ease ; other days , sad and

- T weary, and broken hearted . his is the case with

everybody who is not a phenomenon . I believe it is the struggle between the upper and the lower parts o f o u r o u r nature . When better half triumphs , we o are at peace ; but when we let ourselves g , and to o u r yield natural inclinations , then comes a state of o f disorder , anxiety , of longing after the impossible , Of dissatisfaction with o u r lot and with the position i T n which God has seen fit to place us . his state

1 04 A Mo dern M a rtyr

him goes on his way j ust the same . Well , like , I must disregard human opinion , cultivate humility , bear t o be despised , and follow my Lord and Master every As where , always , and in spite of all . for you , my darling little sister, you have indeed chosen the better part . Guard it carefully . It is a life of reco l lection , of union with God . I fancy your sitting like

Mary at Bethany , at the feet of Jesus , listening to — His Word , gentle , attentive , loving , and caring fo r n nothing the world outside . Your life must be o t M only the active one of artha , but the contemplative M in one of ary , for both were united the Mother of Th . e our dear Lord true science of piety , in fact , consists in reconciling these two . I know you love b M best to e ary , but when duty compels you to act as M o nl artha did , do not be y Martha , full of anxiety , ‘ ’ D and careful about much serving . o the works of Martha with the spirit of Mary ; let the interior life n leave the exterior , conforming your will to the Will of Jesus . Dearest sister , imitate Jesus , imitate His ”

d u be e e . holy Mother , an yo will indeed p rf ct Th eopha ne Vena rd 1 05

CHAPTE R X I .

Arri a a t T - k n v l ong i g .

ON 2 6th M a 1 854 T Véna rd the of y, , heophane , with an older missioner who was returning to Tong

- - king, said good bye to Hong Kong, and as the wind ’ was favorable , a few hours sail brought them to M acao , where they were most kindly and hospitably

. e entertained by the Spanish Dominicans Fr . V nard , “ P speaking of this town , says , When the ortuguese M were masters of the sea , acao was an important o f place . Ships all nations were anchored in its harbor , and it was the centre and emporium of all the Th E uropean commerce with China . e numberless missioners who have watered the Chinese soil with o M their blo d all started from acao , whence they spread themselves to the remotest confines of this P gr eat empire . ortugal had a noble mission assigned P o to her by rovidence , but she misundersto d and T “ r ej ected it . his brought her downfall , and it seemed as if Go d had broken her as one breaks a useless o r

- m The o f t worn out instru ent . kings the ear h have never gained anything in their strifes with the Church of Jesus Christ and against His vicar on earth , and n P m their victory is mag ificently rendered in the sal s , ‘ E t intelli ite eru dimini u dicatis nunc , reges , g ; qui j " ' T rr M . ov te am . j acao is indeed a ruin here is a g

nd no w in s u nd er stand earn e wh o u d e th e ea rt A e . ? , y k g , ; l , y j g h 1 06 A M o dern M a rtyr

rno r e r es ti e. , it is true ; but he has no longer any p g So ldiers still mount guard but their number is mis era bl y small , and no one has any money to pay them . T here are fine houses , but those which are not Shut E o r A A up are occupied by nglish mericans . rich Portuguese scarcely exists ; but the poor actually The swarm . Chinese alone still maintain some kind — of trade . Hong Kong gave the death blow to Macao . There are a few curious things to be seen in the o ld Ca mOens be colony, among them the tomb of , buried tween two rocks in the midst of the most beautiful r scene y , j ust such as one might imagine should be the T grave of a poet . his tomb forms the principal orna o ment of a garden , which , unfortunately, is p orly kept .

It is a place much frequented by strangers , and some of them have had the bad taste to cut their names in the rock ; others (among whom , I am sorry to say , are some French sailors) have written stupid and even ” indecent rhymes on the slab above .

2nd o f o u r two M On the June missioners left acao , and we read the following account of their journey inthe letters of Theophane to his family

T - K ONG ING, Th E ve o S t J ohn J u n 2 3 1 854 e . e . f , ,

MY A B R OTH E Rs — To DE REST , you I am going to

T - write my first ong king letter . I arrived safe and sound at the mission of the Spanish Dominican

Fathers , and I write now to give you some details of n M . r our voyage Fr . Leg a d and I embarked at acao 2n d o f . on the June , towards evening We thought o u r Chinese captain would weigh anchor immediately . o f A do Not a bit it . Chinaman will never anything T directly . hey had to deliberate as to the voyage ,

1 08 A M o dern M a rtyr da s n un r a t wn y , a choring de o which is said to contain two hundred thousand inhabitants . We did not dare S to land , or in fact , to how ourselves in any way . One P of our missioners from the diocese of oitiers , Fr .

Bisch , is working here , but we could only salute him

Ha i - with our hearts . On leaving Nan , the Chinese

j unks separated , only a small number steering for

- U Tong king . ntil then the sea had been calm and beautiful ; afterwards it became windy , and I paid my usual tribute to the fishes . Two days later we

T - sighted the Shores of ong king . I cannot tell you my feeling as we neared the place of disembarkation . ff I o ered myself again to God , begging Him to dispose of me for His glory and honor , and I invoked my M M P other ary , and my guardian angel , and the atron

- The Saints of Tong king . general view of the ma nifi cent — country is g , rich plains , with grassy hills , a s o ne a luxuriant vegetation , such reads of in

R - obinson Crusoe , and the whole backed by a superb range of snowy mountains . We entered the harbor by the mouth of a beautiful river which glided through woods and gardens till we cast anchor at a place called Cu a Cam r , which is the cent e of the contraband

Chinese trade . We were no longer allowed to see the light of day , and even at night we dared to breathe the fresh air on deck only with very great precautions . This state of things lasted (fortunately for us ) not

- Th more than forty eight hours . e mandarin of the

Custom House came to inspect our vessel . We could see this august personage through the cracks of our prison , while we scarcely ventured to breathe and most carefully abstained from all noise or movement ; but the old fox returned to the shore without having Th scented the nest . e next day a Christian boat came fo r a am us , for nearly all the inhabitants of Cu C are Th eopha ne Vena rd 1 09

T Christians . here was a misunderstanding between u r and o Christians the crew ; but the Christian rowers , no t seeing that we were afraid , took courage and managed to bring us in a few hours to the flourishing M i ission House of the Spanish Do m nicans . Bishop Hilarion Alcazar received us in his episcopal p a la ce

(which , you must understand , is in these countries a simple hut or cabin) , and treated us with that generous and delicate hospitality which makes one think of th e early Christians . He has insisted on my resting here a few days to recover from the eff ects of the late ff voyage, and I am enjoying that ine able peace and joy which seems to me especially sent by our Lord to ” His missioners .

Véna rd S Fr . continues his recital to his ister a few weeks later as follows :

M T - K WESTERN ISSION , ONG ING,

Vinh - Tr i J u l 31 1 854 , y , . Y R - 4- M DEAREST SISTE , You have doubtless read my E letter to Henry and usebius , describing our voyage from Macao to Tong- king ; we heard afterwards that if we had delayed o u r landing for a few hours h a e only, t e news of our de th would hav followed that S a a of our arrival ; for three royal hips , having he rd k rumor of our coming, surrounded the Chinese jun w her in which e had taken our passage , and examined i so minutely nevery part , as well as other vessels , that Go d no esca pe would have been possible . But pre u s n served , and at that very mome t we were enj oying f A the refined hospitality o Bishop lcazar . We stayed AnA there eight days but I was ill all the time. nna mite doctor gave me some kind of tonic which enabled n You w l n me at last to continue my j our ey . il wo der 1 1 0 A Modern M a rtyr

o u at hearing me talk of doctors and medicines , as y o f probably imagine that I am in a country savages . But yo u must know that th e civilization Of the Anna i e m tes equals , if it do s not surpass in some points , that o f E uro pe ; and they possess physicians of undeniable skill and very high reputations in the r Th e o ne who count y . attended me could tell at once by the pulse the nature of my malady and said that it o o f o ar se from derangement the liver . Fr m Bishop ’ A o n H ermo zilla lcazar s we went to Bishop , a vener a n able man , like ancient column standing amidst the ruins . Nothing can equal the simplicity and piety of h this good old bishop . One day , while we were t ere , the heads o f the mission came to him with a complaint ‘ that the peasants had no t paid up what they call the ’ o f o f fo r rice the Blessed Virgin , a species tithe the o n maintenance of the altars , levied the congregations , ’ Th and put under Our Lady s protection . e bishop o o f t ok the side the poor , as the rice harvest that fi n ll ' in a a ed . month had failed , and he y g their cause a l We stayed only two days at this episcopal p a ce. ’ ’ u A Don t let the name mislead yo . bishop s residence o o here means a p or cabin , half w od and half mud , Th e o f thatched with straw . houses are all the same to fo r kind and it is easy to get used them , the h All o ne climate is very o t. needs is protection from the sun and the rain . “ n t A Th e churches are o more beautiful . straw l h h roof , sustained by wooden pi lars , w ic are hung A o n o u r o . with silk festivals , that is all splend r th e A few rough boards form the altar . If nnamite o f fo r tirne Church enjoyed any kind peace , ev en a , more sumptuous temples would be built . But now it is no t worth while to construct anything but tempo rary o ut buildings , which may be removed at the breaking

1 1 2 A M o d ern M art yr

no t last stage of our journey began , less dangerous .

We went in a j unk by night , and had to pass a cita del guarded by four hundred soldiers , stationed there to protect a rice granary belonging to the king . When t our boat was opposite the ci adel , we were hailed and Th asked who we were . e owners of the j unk replied Th that we were mandarins . e soldiers did not believe this , and very soon we heard a drum sound the a alarm , and in a moment a vessel c me after us in hot pursuit . Luckily, we had a favorable wind , and as we were some distance ahead , their boat could not reach A n . r us second ju k was behind us , carrying o u

. T t baggage and attendants his hey attacked , but our men defended themselves bravely , so that they too T u d a r i er . o e es s st escaped his will give y some idea , t ,

in w e T - k n of the way which travel in ong i g . One s goes generally by night , for greater security ; ometimes o n a u by water, rivers or canals , with contin al change o f s i n boats ; ometimes by land , like mighty lords , r s a palanquins , o on the backs of slave m species of net the e or hammock , with matting at sid which hides

- you from the passers by. Sometimes one can go only o n o in e foot, without sh es , the littl narrow paths

- fi l b e ds . etween the rice If it be daytime, one has a f e s if air chanc of e caping the d ficulties of the road , but ‘ ’ at o n clum it - night e must be content to walk p y clump , f n no - xt alling into holes o e moment, i t rice water the ne , un t n able to find a firm foo ing anywhere ; and ofte , w n o u a re hen you thi k y going on swimmingly, your fo m s e s ot slips on the greasy, da p oil , and you m a ure ’ n your length in the mud . Now , don t you thi k this ’ is a very picturesque way of travelling ? I don t say that it is not a little fatigu ing now and then , but I assure you it is very laughable at times and gives r ise to a host of comical adventures .

‘1 1 4 A M o dern M a rtyr

‘ C e ! r i co nsole myself . ourag I am always epeat ng T ’ x m o f . tho se ma i s St eresa s ,

Let nothing distu rb thee ! Let nothing aff right thee ! “ All passeth away ;

God only shall stay . Patience wins all ;

Who hath God needeth nothing, ’ Fo r is God his all .

I forgot to tell you that all our worldly goods were pillaged by the pagans , so that we are destitute of everything ; but what does that signify ? He who has

Go d lacks nothing . You will easily believe that my f fi o . i l rst visit was to the tomb Fr Bonnard . It s c ose ” to the altar of the College Chapel .

Véna rd If Fr . was pleased to find his old friend at

- Th r l T . eu e ong king, the joy to Fr was equally great . “ ima Who would ever have said, or thought , or g ” ined such good fortune ! exclaimed the latter in a “ l . etter to their mutual friend , Father Dallet How it ever improbable may seem , it is nevertheless a posi e to eth er tive fact , that here are Father V nard and I , g ,

in T - this western mission of ong king, actually in the ! same village , in the same house , in the same room To ! describe the pleasure , the joy it has given us t Yes , but then I feel as if you would break your hear t a . not being here too Nevertheless , you must take c ? e omfort . Will you believe it V nard , who has been h a ere only a month , already speaks the langu ge with

a . perfect accent . I think his little voice is made for it ‘ ll ’ A goes well . I can only wish you the joy and ” T - peace of the poo r little ong king missioners . Th eopha ne Vena r d 1 1 5

Theophane ’ s happiness in being at last fairly em o n in barked his work, and the very mission he would enthu have chosen above all others , found vent in an i i T o occu s a st c poem . his outp uring of his heart was f : the pied with the three great obj ects o his life work, s s . alvation of ouls , and death 1 1 6 A M o d ern M a rtyr

CHAPTE R X .

P e s e i ns in T - in r cut o o ng k g .

OF - all missions those of Cochin China , Korea , and Tong- king have been exposed to the cruellest perse

i n T - cu t o s . ong king, perhaps , deserves first rank , and young missioners have consequently loo ked upon it The as the vestibule to Heaven . cross has been the

o f T - fo r program ong king missioners ; , from the — first, their lives have been one long martyrdom , pre figured by a great cross found on the Annamite Shore Adva rte 1 59 6 by a Dominican missioner , Diego , in , E before any uropean had entered the country .

o f Jesuits were the founders the mission , in the o f A R person Father lexander hodes , who died in 1 660 . From them it passed into the hands of the P M aris Foreign ission Seminary , to whose priests it

ha s . always proved a land of special interest In fact , from the martyrdom o f the first missioner in 1 684

T - until the present day, the Church of ong king , always

under the shadow of persecution , may be said to have ’ grown with her head on the block , and her children s

feet steeped in blood .

o f Still , there have been moments calm between the

storms . Th e first great persecution was in the Go d eighteenth century , and avenged it by destroying f The its authors and depriving them o their thrones . dynasties of Cochin—China and Tong- king were swept

1 1 8 A M o dern M a rtyr

M - M u inh enh , which lasted twenty years , in no co ntry had Christianity made such wonderful progress as in

T - h R ong king . Bis op etord wrote at this very time as follows :

u When I ndertook to govern this mission , sixteen a o no t years g , it did contain more than a hundred

‘ thousand Christians . Now there are a l though the cholera of 1 851 carried off All r these converts , with ve y few exceptions , practise their religion in a way that would shame many E uro T peans . hey are constant attendants at the Sacra ments and most diligent in the performance of their religious duties . It is useless to add that they are all c Catholics . Hereti al ministers , with their wives and t in children , have never a tempted to approach these hospitable and unhealthful shores , or to face a perse ” cu tion o ne — which can end in only way martyrdom .

Bishop R etord was only fifty years old when Th eo

r - phane V éna d arrived at Tong king . He was still ff strong and vigorous , in spite of trials and su erings .

He had established a large seminary of native priests , w Of - fi ve in hich numbered upwards seventy , all well structed and full o f zeal for the conversion of their The l countrymen . co lege , which he had erected close n t to his house , had more than two hu dred s udents , f divided into dif erent classes , as in France ; while various smaller schoo ls had been established all over h t t e diocese . When the s udents finished their college B e terms they passed an examination as catechists .

fore receiving his diploma, however , each must have The converted at least ten pagans . theologians were t chosen from among the catechists , but were admi ted to Holy Orders only after a long and rigorous trial . T h e o ph ane Venard 1 1 9

f o d o Th e work o G pr spered visibly in this land . In the year 1 8 54 fifteen hundred more souls were added h to t e Christian ranks . Still the number o f pagans was enormous , though crowded into a small area .

T But let us return to heophane Venard . Before

in T - his arrival ong king and during his passage , he had suff ered from an attack of inflammation of the lungs , which seemed to get worse every day , in spite o f the prescriptions of the Chinese physicians . His entire recovery can be attributed only to a direct Th Divine interposition . e account of it will be found th e w in follo ing letter to his father , written in March , 1 8 55

When I wrote to you last , my dearest father , I

R - T r wa s i . with Bishop etord , at his College of Vinh At A the end of ugust , the Bishop sent me to a college in the village of Ké - Doan to study the Annamite language , and associated with me two catechists , As who could speak a little Latin . I had to pass by

K - é non , where there is a seminary directed by Bishop R ’ Jeantet , Bishop etord s coadjutor , I stayed there

ea net - for eight days . Bishop J is sixty three years

- old , and has been thirty seven years in the mission .

He is a most venerable man , kind and amiable . He was never tired asking me questions about France , ’ r that country so dear to the missioner s hea t . I was also very much interested in the seminary , and stam mered some words of Annamite which I had j ust a learned . From here I left for the college at L ng a A e Do n . month in such study as this went lik the ven lightning . On second Sunday in October I r h tu ed to preach a short sermon in the little churc . ’ 1 20 A M o dern M artyr

The chiefs of the village came to congratulate me , t not that they could unders and much of my allocution , A but being nnamites , they are very civil and courteous ;

- o f and though I had made such a hash their language , i they thought it right to compl ment me . “ Some days later I fell sick o f a pestilential illness

which declared itself in the college . I was o ne of

its first victims . My catechists nursed me with great B R B care and attention , and p . etord , p . Jeantet , and

Pro - - Fr . Castex , Vicar General of the mission , sent r h h f me all so ts of medicines , w ic , with the grace o A Go d . s , cured me soon as I could stand , I went by o f boat for a change air to another village , named

Ké - Dam A , where an nnamite priest has his principal R in a boa t acr s s th e residence . emark that I went o elds fi , because every year at this time there is a flood o f caused by the overflow of the rivers , the result the Th e tropical rains in the western mountains . who le o ne country becomes like vast sea . The villages themselves are all under water and the only means of communication is by boats . I found myself well ’ o n All lo w enough Saints Day to say a Mass . The evening before , all the village gathered around the to o n T church congratulate me my recovery . he to chiefs , dressed in their best clothes , came conduct o f me solemnly to church , to the sound native music Y o u and repeated hurrahs . see , dearest father , that A fo r h r the nnamites care t eir missione s . But the evening o f the Feast o f All Saints was the reverse of the medal . I had hardly gone to bed when they o came to wake me , and to ann unce the arrival of a T mandarin fo r a domiciliary visit . hey were in a great fright and implored me to go on to another T village . hough the news was not very certain , I l i h com w t , thought that I had better p y _ their wishes

1 2 2 A M od ern M a rtyr ceive the visits of congratulation from the Christians Th e h o wn of the district . bis op sent me his physician , a very clever man , whose medicines did me some

his good , but after departure I fell ill again . Fr . Castex took every possible care of me and was ex tremely anxious on my account . I was obliged to give Of up confessing , saying Mass , or fice , even reading and writing, and I was scarcely allowed to speak at

t . all . A last Fr Castex advised me to make a novena

and to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary , insisted f on sharing it with me . We began on the day o the Purification and at once I felt myself getting better ; since then all bad symptoms have disappeared a nd my T o strength has nearly returned . the Sacred Hearts

o f o . Jesus , Mary , and J seph be the praise “ About this time th e political horizo n darkened ; a revolutionary party broke o u t in T o ng- king ; a new o o u r edict , emanating from the king , den unced holy religion ; evil —disposed perso ns betrayed to the man darins the residences o f the missioners ; the College

Ké - o R of Vinh was broken up ; and Bish p etord , with

o f several his missioners , had to keep himself in

The Ké - T hiding . mandarin of Cho , the capital o f ong

to Ké - N king, laid siege the Seminary of on , but Bishop

Jeantet had already taken flight to the mountains , ‘ whence he wrote to Fr . Castex and me : I have been o ld looking up my haunts , and the caves where I lived

o f - — at the time of the persecution Minh Menh , not that it is very easy for an o ld man like me to scramble up and down rocks and precipices . I sometimes won ’ der how I manage to get o n at all . “ The mandarin found only an Annamite Father and o h a deacon , whom he released s on after , althoug not T h eoph ane Vena rd 1 2 3

Th e without the payment o f francs . College

- o f Ké No n is at least still standing . “

As fo r . Fr Castex and myself , after having been o ne to chased from village another , we have finally

o f - DOn taken refuge in a convent near the town But g , where we have lived as hermits with two catechists h h fo r . the last two months Very soon , owever , I ope o o u r we shall be able to sh w faces again , as the storm seems to have subsided . Yet we must be prudent , o for the den uncer of Bishop Jeantet , having failed ff a to catch him , has o ered his own he d to the mandarin if he cannot deliver a E uropean into his hands before E the end of the year . veryone , therefore , keeps him d o n . Go self guard What will happen , knows ; in any R case it is better to hope than to fear . Bishop etord ‘ writes to us , Jesus and Mary will not abandon us no w P any more than they have done before . ray W do no t then ith great confidence , and let us be dis

r r t f co u a g ed o give way o sadness . If any o us win ’ S i r the martyr s palm so much the better . cu t fu e it ’ n u i a t vo lu ta s t a s c . , fi T

The rebellion goes o n spreading ; it wants to r e

o u h establish the ancient dynasty the t rone, and the revolutionists say that they will so on present the new king . On the other hand the misery is very great . ’ Last year s rice harv est was bad enough ; this year T o f in many places it is simply lost . housands people

f to o ne are dying o hunger . It is enough move any

P E the to compassion . eople in urope have no idea of The common misery in this unhappy country . feasts o f the New Year , which are generally so gay, have this season passed in sadness and mourning, and it is

‘ ' B e i t o ne a cco r din to wi i d g Thy ll . 1 24 M o dern M artyr

not probable that the end of the year will be brighter . A Now , dearest father , I must stop . dieu . Do not

h t G d k i w ell k t. be anx ious about me . W a o eeps s ep Stay well ; pray for me ; and may the j oy of our Lord ” Jesus Christ fill you r heart foreve rmore .

1 26 A Modern M artyr

o r oo fi sh Christians ever have any fine fruit , extra g d , a or any vegetable larger than usual , they t ke the h ff greatest delig t in coming to o er it to the missioners . o u e th e A n I assure y , M lanie , I love n amites very much , and I thank God every day that He has consecrated All n l r . o t co o u d e me to their service is , certainly ,

r os e . , but there will always be thorns in every path “ One to o f T — word as these nuns ong king, about Th whom yo u make such eager inquiries . ey are natives living in community under the authority o f an abbess they do no t take vows and are received very T young . hey work in the fields , prepare the cotton

’ f o r o r s ell ills w ill a sto nish linen cloths , p , which you , and probably make yo u laugh ; but it is by this means that they gain access to pagan children who are ill and h baptize those in danger o f deat . T o hey live po rly , pray a great deal , give them th e selves discipline , and fast far more than ordinary to Christians . When necessary they act as couriers r o ne h car y letters from mission to another , in w ich capacity they are often invaluable ; there is nothing in this occupation which shocks the feelings o r customs o f their country . On such occasions they always go T o in pairs . hey often carry great l ads , but they are to o e A accustomed t il and fatigu , as all nnamite women ‘ ’ Th h e S i ters . e s are C ristians always call th m , and they are universally loved and respected . “ to h e It is very pleasant ar the nativ e prayers , especially when they are said well to gether ; their o o harm ny has often touched me m re , than the most E T h e e beautiful uropean music . peopl hav e so me o f Ou r o ne o f very pretty litanies Lady , especially the m o f Im aculate Conception . But their acts thanks giving after Communion are th e most to uching ; when Th A . e I hear them , it moves me almost to tears nna T h eoph ane Vena rd 1 2 7 mites do no t know ho w to pray in silence or in a lo w o v ice ; and even if there is only one communicant , his h o he intones thanksgiving aloud , eit er al ne or in The company with the choir . catechists sing the plain i chant very well , and somet mes chant High Mass ; h but t en there is always a musical accompaniment . T th e heir instruments are violin , harp , drums , fife , and T no t cymbals . hey have much variety in their music , and during High Mass will play a single tune over o ne and over till is satiated with it . But after all , Go d is , perhaps , as much praised and glorified by this S imple , devout congregational music as by the most fi r — o st . magnificent harm ny , executed by class artists o f o f It is the vibration the heart , and not the chords , o which is acceptable t Him . “ And o u my Latin scholars , y ask , are they very ? f fo r learned It is di ficult them to be , since they hav e At o f no dictionaries . the end their studies they o f T understand the Catechism of the Council rent , and of late years Bishop R etord has started a class o f P Y o u hilosophy which is conducted in Latin . may well imagine that we do no t trouble o u r heads to teach o r Ovid , Horace , heathen mythology to these poor

Annamites . Hence the controversy as to the classics ” must be j udged by itself . In a letter to an o ld friend abo ut ‘ this time we find ' a to uching passage sh o wing the simplicity and na i vete o f these people in their religious rites “ I am quite sure that yo ur first experience in performing a marriage ceremony was widely diff erent

T - no from mine . In ong king there are marriage Th . e processions and no bridesmaids , as in France married couple receive the sacrament as they do the E o Blessed ucharist with ut any demonstration . Well , ’ ances my fi having been to confession , and thus A M o d ern M a rtyr

x prepared themselves , the day was fi ed . I went very M early in the morning, and sang ass for the whole

T - population (they keep early hours in ong king) . Then my catech ist made a signal for the young couple — each was about eighteen years o f age— to go up to The the altar . young girl mounted the steps ; but ? A where was her betrothed He never appeared . fter m waiting some ti e in vain , the poor child was quietly e told to go back , and com again at the same time

- . R Th to morrow esigned and gentle , she obeyed . e next day the future husband made his appearance at

the proper moment and I blessed the marriage . In

- the course of the day the newly married couple , con

ducted by the sister of the bride, came to pay me a

visit , and to thank me . I ventured to ask why the young gentleman had not made his appearance the i first day . He answered with perfect s mplicity , that ‘ ’ he did no t wake in time .

We cannot better describe the people and the life

of the young missioner , than by his letters , which are graphic pictures of his daily trials and their 1 855 T consolations . In September , , heophane wrote again to his family :

M I hope that my last letters , written in arch , have

reached you . Since then it has pleased God to throw Ash me again o n a bed of sickness . On Wednesday

- I went to Father Castex , Vicar General of the mission ,

f a - The who was at the College o Ho ng Nguyen . distance was not more than a quarter of a league but

the road was full o f mud and water . I took a violent

chill and fever , and from that moment I got worse and

worse . I was also obliged to flee by night several

- times from the mandarins and hide in the rice fi elds .

1 30 A Modern M a rtyr

e unhappy p ople like so many leeches . I really believe there is no such thing as an honest man among the Th e mandarins . Christians are a capital bank for h h t em ; t eir religion being proscribed by the king, it is the easiest thing in the world to accuse them at any ‘ ’ o f moment treason and rebellion against the state . From the village mayors up to the mandarin go v c u o f r ors the provinces , every man will have his share h in t e plunder . In a village which is half Christian and half pagan , the Christians pay a heavy ransom to have liberty o f conscience This year we have had no martyrdom . I have heard o f a doctor and his two brothers who were thrown into prison by the a n mandarin d who are still in captivity . I know this physician ; he is a most fervent and excellent man , and has already been a Confessor fo r the Faith in the

- T Minh Menh persecution . hanks to the interposition f R o a friendly mandarin at court , Bishop etord has been able to retu rn to his college ; and Bishop Jeantet has also gone back to his seminary . So after the

Go d . storm comes the calm , and protects His own Since January I hav e no t had a line from any o f yo u and am getting rather anxious for tidings . May

Go d and His Holy Mother preserve you , my dearest father , and sister , and brothers , from all evil , now and forevermore ! ”

' A little later he writes :

o u t to I am dying like a candle, and holding life by o h a mere thread . I think the doct rs av e given me up Per but I can still rej oice in whatever Go d appoints . h aps this is the last note yo u will receive from me . P fo r h ray me , that , though my poor body peris es from a to ma d y day , my soul y be saved through the merits T H E V E A R D H O M E T O N A S T . L U P .

where the ma rt r w a s bo rn y .

1 32 A M o dern M a rtyr

At this time the Cri1 nea nwar and the proclamation o f the dogma of the Immaculate Conception occupied E A the minds of men of every class in urope . lthough sixteen months had elapsed since Theophane had r e ceived any letters from home , yet the news of these two great events reached o u r missioners and rejoiced T their sad hearts . heophane wrote to express his to : j oy his sister , and adds

Since my last letter the persecution has been re n o ne o f o u r o ewed and native priests , Hu ng, has been T n t R martyred . his did o prevent Bishop etord f rom preaching his Lenten missions , and , thanks to Our ’ to Lady s protection , we have not had take many more A . s precautions than usual far as I am concerned , I had the pleasure o f accompanying His Grace in o ne of his diocesan tours , where the work was arduous and fl‘i incessant . He celebrated the O ces o f Holy Week and E aster at Ké - Vinh before an immense congre a tio n o ff g , and everything passed well , and in compar h ative peace , if suc a word can be used in connection Y h with people in our position . o u will per aps wonder ‘ ’ h o w o n u i vive , being continually the q , and in hiding, o u r o f with a price put upon heads , we can think n f keeping feasts a d talk o peace . But it seems as if a special protection o f Go d and the Blessed Virgin ‘ o so rested up n us , that we may serve Him without ’ e fear . Besid s , when we do get a little liberty , we set it against the continual vexations and constraints to which we are generally subj ect . We are like rats o u t f r o f coming o a little bite , regardless the cat , and hastening to regain o u r holes on the first alarm o r ” sound of danger . Th eoph a ne V éna rd 1 33

' ’ At a s t last , after a nineteen months f , the poor T missioners received their letters from home . heo phane then wrote !

“ P R On the feast of St . eter , Bishop etord called in all his missioners and his coadj utor , Bishop Jeantet ,

Ké - to meet him at the College of Vinh . We made a retreat in common , and passed fifteen days in the most perfect calm and peace , in spite of the emissaries of the mandarins who were spying in the neighbor hood . We sang heaps of French songs and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly . Just before we parted , a

- courier arrived from Cochin China , bringing news E ’ from urope of the allies success , the proclamation o f P peace , the birth of the rince Imperial , and the rejoicings of the people at the new dogma . We were told also of the embassy sent by the E mperor An to negotiate with the namite king , so as to stop the o f persecution Christians , and especially of the French r missioners , whose blood this king, a wo thy successor

u . of his father , has so cr elly shed We were about to disperse to o u r respective missions and had already o ne taken leave of another , when a tremendous inun o f dation came , worse than any in the memory the oldest inhabitant , and it compelled us to stay where The we were . flood lasted a whole month and the waters covered four large provinces , besides breaking

The - down the dykes in many places . newly sown rice was completely lost ; that which was alm ost ready for the harvest was submerged , and the greater por tion rotted ; many villages were destroyed , and thousands of persons drowned , or killed by the falling M o f the mud walls o f their houses . any took refuge in the mountains ; others huddled close to the dykes u which had resisted the r sh of waters , and remained 1 34 A Modern Martyr

o u r there without food for days ; others again , like

in h o selves , were kept prisoners t eir h uses , obliged

- o to battle with the ever rising flo d . O ften it was necessary to take up the flooring and make a tem po ra ry standing- ground in the upper story o r close o h to to under the r of , w ich had be pierced give air . “ In the villages where inundations are an annual occurrence, there is a system of boats , which are kept

o f o u ready in case need , but in other places y can ! a imagine the misery Besides , the g rdens are all destroyed , trees killed , and cattle and domestic animals

As . e drowned for ourselves , the stud nts of the college , by working day and night , contrived to build a dyke suffi ciently strong to protect the church ’ o u r and place of refuge, but the bishop s house was f o f f full o water . In the midst this I fell sick o a o f violent fever with an attack asthma , and it was in one o f the worst fits that your letter was brought to o n me and acted like the dew the parched ground . ’ Dont fancy that this is a figure of speech . I do assure you it is a fact that the sight o f your hand

o n writing, and the joy that I felt , reacted my whole system , and the fever was sensibly diminished . How ever , j ust as I was beginning to rej oice in a kind of convalescence , I caught typhoid fever , which again

: R brought me to the very gates of death . Bishop etord

- fo r and my fellow missioners said Masses me to St . P T r o f A . o u eter lcantara (to whom , St eresa says , o t Lord refuses nothing) , and I g better from that Th f . e o f o time end all this succession fevers is , that although I am about again , I am still very weak ; but as my appetite has returned , I hope to be able to work M soon . y left side no longer gives me so much pain ;

1 36 A M o dern M artyr

’ o ne M o n o f a when onday, at eight o clock , e the vill gers Eame in hot haste to tell us that the mandarin of the southern province had surrounded the village and R was coming to seize us . Bishop etord was forced by the students into a subterranean hiding - place ; Father Charbonnier and I were stuffed into a place between two walls , where we remained for four hours At without seeing the light of day . the end of this to time , some one came to announce us that the

domiciliary visit was over , and the mandarin gone ; but that he had carried o ff with him the director of T o ne the college (a venerable priest named inh ) , of c o f Th the atechists , and the mayor the place . e truth was , that in the neighboring province certain Christians had been forced by blows to reveal the ’ oo bishop s residence ; and a p r woman , who was the bearer o f some E uropean letters to o ne o f o u r missioners , was seized , and, being put to the torture , t fo r confessed in her agony , that hey were destined

- the College o f Ké Vinh . But this was only the begin f M ning of a series o misfortunes . In arch the man darin returned with two hundred soldiers to destroy both the church and the college ; but we had received r wa ning in time , and had all taken refuge in the The mountains . next day we returned to find every ln n w thing rui s , and as we ere surrounded by spies , it was thought best to leave the place fo r a time . I o ld went by night , secretly, in a boat , to my quarters

a - e R at Ho ng Nguy n , while Bishop etord and Father Charbonnier returned to their hiding- places in the Th eu rel mountains . Father Castex and Father , the o f a superior the college , were at Ho ng when I

" arrived ; but the former was soon seized with rheu o matic fever , and became dangerously ill . Bish p R etord , hearing of this , came down from the hills to T heophan e V ena rd 1 37 administer the last consolations to o u r dear friend o n o f T and brother , who expired the eve rinity , after ff great su erings . His death was , however , perfectly To peaceful , and he slept the sleep of the j ust . me , who had lived in great intimacy with him fo r two years , the loss is very great , and I have scarcely R courage to face the future . Bishop etord has given me his post , for which I feel utterly unworthy . May I only imitate the holiness o f my predecessor and win as many souls for o u r dear Master as he did ! “ Ou r T a s good old priest , inh , of whom I spoke o ff a having been carried by the persecutor , made o f be glorious confession faith , and was instantly The headed . Christians had no time to help him in o ne his last moments , but he was who kept his lamp Th e f always burning . sword o the executioner broke Th in halves during the operation . e mandarins f thought this a bad omen , and in consequence o fered pagan sacrifices to appease the dead ancestors of ’ P Tinh s the victim . oor three companions , having i also generously confessed the fa th , were condemned to perpetual banishment in a distant , unhealthful A mountain . few months later , a pagan prefect , having taken a spite against Bishop Diaz , a Dominican , denounced him to the mandarins , and his Lordship was seized at his residence in the village o f B ifI - Chu and no w dragged to the prefecture , where he is imprisoned and rigorously guarded . We expect every day to hear T that he has been condemned to death . he great mandarin has a special hatred fo r all Christians j ust no w o f , and has placed crosses at the gates the town , so that everyone going o ut o r coming in shall d The trample them un er foot . unhappy Christians h to ave been subj ect domiciliary visits day and night .

Fortunately , however , they were warned in time , and 1 38 A M odern Martyr

h o the greater nu mber have taken flig t . In C chin h China the state o f t ings is still worse . “ o u E I told y , in a previous letter , that the mperor was going to send a plenipo tentiary to plead the f th e h A o . cause C ristians with the nnamites Well ,

M . de Montigny arrived in due time , but with only tw o little steamers and a small warship , and with S o no real powers to treat . the king refused to hear him and the Frenchmen had to weigh anchor Th e o . wh and g people , Christians and pagans , o had been rej oicing at the pro spect o f being delivered no from the ty rants , seeing the complete failure , were t o o only thor ughly disc uraged , but began to despise do a power which could nothing , and this shame has o n o fallen heavily us p or missioners . If France to meddles at all , she ought do it thoroughly, so as n to . o t carry her point Still , all hope is gone , as the Chinese war has brought a large fleet into these

. w a s waters M . de Montigny , unable to help he wished , threatened the king with the account which he would have to render fo r the French bloo d shed in The o . his d minions king , seeing the interest which

M . de Montigny took in the Christian missioners , s fo r imagined that we had ent him ; so that when M . de Montigny went away he left us in the claws o f n a tiger mo re than ever irritated against us . In co s e u ence q , they seized a Christian mandarin with thirty ff of his neophytes , and after having made them su er

o . h rrible tortures , condemned them to be beheaded Then the poor mandarin was dragged thro ugh all the o f streets the capital , and at each corner his sentence o u t t was read , while he received thir y blows with a ’ T o f stick . his sentence was full blasphemies against ‘ o u r Lord such as these : Th e Christians pretend that those who suffer tortur es are sure o f Paradise after

1 40 A Modern Martyr and the edifice yo u have reared with such pains and ! As labor crumbles away for me , I have no hope but Go d in and in His Immaculate Mother , whose Con ce ti n so p o has j ust been gloriously proclaimed . Under o the yoke of the ppressor , we are like the Jewish ‘ ’ u m B ni S u er ina a b l o s . o o n captives , p fl y But I l ok this proclamation as a rainbow , which is to announce ” to us the end o f the storm .

1 857 In September , , he wrote again to his sister

MY E E E R —Y 0u D AR ST SIST , will have seen by my last letter that my health is improved , and that Bishop R etord has given me a new district . I have upwards o f twelve thousand Christians here , divided into four o r large parishes , with six seven native priests under to me . My duty is to go from parish parish , seeing that all is in good order ; establish peace if there should be discord ; give the necessary dispensations confirm , in cases where the Bishop o r Vicar Apostolic cannot come to perform that sacramental function ; give r e to treats and missions ; in fact , strive augment in all Go d fo r hearts the love of and the zeal His Church . As to the pagans , I have never counted them , but there must be from to It needs ten

St . Francis Xaviers to bring all these people to the At diffi knowledge of the Gospel . this moment it is cult fo r us to do much in the way o f co nversion o n account o f the violence o f the persecution . Still from time to time souls are garnered . When the children Th . e are ill , the mothers bring them for baptism other day a young widow brought her little o ne who was

dying . She herself was in the greatest misery , having eaten only five times in twelve days . I baptized her o u r child , and then entrusted her to the care of one of Th eoph a n e Vena rd 1 41

Christian women , who is now preparing the mother f r likewise o that holy sacrament . “ After the Feast o f the Assumption I went to a dis ri O t ct almost entirely pagan . nly about two hundred

Christians were scattered here and there . It was close E to the residence of the mandarin . No uropean had ever penetrated so far into the interior ; so I had to keep myself as hidden as I possibly could . But the be children whom I had confirmed , unintentionally ‘ trayed me by chattering and saying A little E uropean has come into the village , very small , but very white fo r and pretty you must know , my dear little sister , E fo r that we poor uropeans pass great beauties , and one who is considered dark in France appears white among these people , who are burnt a mahogany color ? T . h by the tropical sun Well , what was to be done e hare was started and the dogs o nthe scent ! I resolved in not to lose courage ; but putting my whole trust God ,

I worked day and night in this , His neglected vineyard , o ne w during hole week ; meanwhile the Christians , who were in a terrible fright , acted as sentinels , and refused all visitors whose curiosity prompted them E to wish to have a look at the uropean . Having

finished my work , I departed secretly by night , favored by the darkness , and came to another place , where o o r the villagers , amounting t four five thousand souls , o were all Christians , and the neighborho d , though pagan , was favorable to Christianity . “ My goings and comings are easy at this season of the year, as the inundations last for four or five The months . country becomes an immense sea , in T which float green villages . here are no roads . E veryone goes in boats ; but fortunately there are o ne plenty o f these in all shapes and sizes . I have which holds j ust one person . It is very light, and 1 42 A Modern M artyr

woven o f bamboo ; every evening, sitting like a ff tailo r in my little ski , I paddle myself along to my ff o ne di erent penitents , often meeting or the other on to who the way , and then having races see shall be o no t the quickest , in which man euvre I need say that h yo ur po o r brot er is always beaten . I make a point o wn of visiting my flock in their homes , which gives them immense pleasure . In fact , it is impossible to find a better - disposed people than these poor Anna r r T O o . mites , to meet more fervent pious souls his year (and last) the inundations have been extrao r di o o f nary , and more than a f ot water came into my o house . I had fishes , frogs and t ads , crabs and ser pents , swimming about my room very happily , while I myself was perched on some planks about three or o four inches above them . But what I disliked m st was o n that the rats insisted upon taking refuge my mat , o ne o ne and night I squashed while I was asleep . It o n was a disagreeable discovery , but waking, I found e a poisonous vip r , with black and white stripes , which o o n had likewise c iled itself up my poor bed , as if to fo r ask hospitality , and was hissing just as I stretched

S o . o r my toes . I forgave the rat H wever , I dete o mined , under the circumstances , to raise my h use . I o t to o f g the Christians bring me a quantity earth , and r F r o u then to lift up my house four o five feet . o y o o must kn w that this h use , like all the rest , consists o f w o r o only t o three wo den columns , interlaced with tr ellice o f o f bamboo , outside which is a thin plaster o f mud , covered with a coating lime that is supposed ‘ ’ Th to look gr a nd . e height is never more than ten

o r o o f v . fifteen feet , and the ro f is made dry lea es Th e o wh le edifice is easy enough to transport , as it is S O very light , and a man can lift it in his hand . now

I am high and dry , and away from the water . I

1 44 M o d ern M artyr

And o u now , dearest sister, God bless and keep y and all near and dear to us . I recommend myself especially to the prayers of all who care for your unworthy brother, h h n T eop a e. T h eoph a ne Vena r d 1 45

CHAPTE R XII .

U nder Fire .

T H E T e Ma letters written by heophane V nard in y, 1 858 , did not reach their destination , and to follow the course of events preceding his martyrdom , we must o f R have recourse to the report Bishop etord . “ Ou r position , the Bishop wrote at this time , is terrible We are like birds on the branch of a tree , always on the alert , always receiving messages saying that we have been discovered by the spies , that we have been denounced , that the mandarins are sur rounding our mission , and that such and such Chris o n tians have been pillaged , tortured , and put to death

o u r . o u r account In order to spare them , we hide in o r o r little boats , in caverns , in tombs in the moun n ru . tains , where we the risk of being buried alive One day we had to remain in o ne of these tombs for eight hours , being able to breathe only through a u t bamboo tube . When we came o we were all like

. b idiots , and only half conscious But the odily pains o u r we endure are nothing to the anguish of souls , lest any neophytes Should deny their faith under The torture . searchings of the mandarins are so

l . thorough , that it is a most impossible to escape One o f ou r native priests was seized last week and thrown into prison , from which he was released only by martyrdom . His companions and pupils , who had b e een arrested at the same time , wer condemned to 1 0 1 46 A Modern Martyr

A perpetual exile . mong them was a little child ten

o ld who h o u years , rat er than ren nce Jesus Christ , bore o f th e o the strokes bastinad , and after being sep a ra ted a nd from his parents home , was sentenced ’ to h A wear till deat the malefactor s chain . nother priest and a catechist were arrested the next day and n ’ gai ed the martyr s palm . “ T w o new edicts fulminated against us have greatly o f kindled the zeal and fury the pagan governors .

e o u r Our chap ls are destroyed , houses demolished , o u r o u r mo ne w a sted students dispersed , and y in vain o u r T attempts to redeem converts . here is no t o ne o f my poor missioners who has no t his personal Th eu rel . e troubles besides Frs . and V nard , sur rounded by their trembling, weeping flock , have been obliged to take refuge in subterranean caverns , where l h the mandarins as yet have been unable to fo low t em . T it u o o Fr . a d saw his church and h use destr yed before i ffi his eyes , and hid h mself with di culty in a wild t o f solitude , exposed to the a tacks all kinds of

The . venomous creatures . same has happened to Fr i t M a thevo n S a e . . g Fr , hard pressed , nearly fell into o f who the hands the enemy, had already seized his

catechist and his guide . It suddenly occurred to him to throw himself between two o r three o ld mats and o he thus escaped detection . Bish p Jeantet has had to sto p his theo logical class and hide in the mountains ;

Go d knows wh en he will be able to return to his post . E to ven Fr . Charbonnier and I , who hoped have

t o f - T ri escaped the storm in my li tle retreat Vinh , hav e had to seek shelter (wh ich men denied us ) Of the bears and tigers who have their ho les in the N r n o . é o r cks . Frs Galy and , who are at the extremity o f r the mission , have enjoyed a ce tain immunity until

Th eoph ane Venard 1 47

o f now , but I expect every day to hear fresh dis asters . Then follows a recital o f the tortures to which the o to t Christians were exp sed , compel them to apos a m ’ z r es u e o f . ti e. We give a brief these The most ordinary instrument of torture is the ” ' f r . o o cangue It is a species ladder , four five feet o long, and varying in weight from ten to forty p unds , the two sides o f which are united at a width o f six The f inches by four iron bars . head o the martyr is passed through the middle bars , and the two heavy T sides rest o n the shoulders . o bear this day and Th e o f night is abso lute misery . flesh the neck and shoulders becomes raw ; and when the inhuman j a iler s ff drag the su erers from side to side , the agony may be imagined .

In the prison itself , which is a species of hell upon o T earth , a fresh torture is res rted to . his is a kind of stocks , in which the feet are caught j ust above the to o ankle ; very often these are tight , and enter the

flesh . What makes the stocks more insupportable is the fact that innumerable bugs live in the cracks o f o f the wood , and constantly suck the blood the T o victims . hese st cks being immovable , the unhappy prisoners are compelled to remain in the same position o r r day and , either sitting c ouching, without ‘ night being able to move in the least . The o ne third torture , and universally employed , is ” n o r . the rotin k out , which is inflicted most brutally o n h Several victims are laid flat t eir stomachs in rows , o f o ne one after the other , the feet being fastened to o f the hands the next , and all so stretched as E almost to dislo cate their joints . ach blow inflicted produces blood , and gives an involuntary start to all like an electric shock , so that those who are not 1 48 A Modern M a rtyr struck suff er nearly as much as those who are ; and a s a certain interval is left between the strokes , the fo r f torment lasts several hours , each suf erer r e ceivin r g fifty o sixty blows . The instrument used fla ellatio n for this horrible g is a flexible whip , about ’ o f the thickness one s little finger , and nearly four Th . e feet long lash is split into four bits , firmly tied with twine steeped in gum , which renders the blow heavier and prevents its being softened in striking . A fla ellation fter the g come the pincers , either cold o r o f heated in a forge , the bellows which are always h o t. A going, so that the pincers may be red portion ’ o f the martyr s flesh is seized with the iron , then o ff o f dragged and torn with a rapid twist the pincers , T while the victim is tightly bound to the ground . his operation is renewed on the same individual five o r ix Th e o S times . ag ny inflicted by the pincers when e cold is more intense , but the wound is more asily healed than is that produced by the red hot pincers . In the latter case the flesh around the burn generally s festers , and the whole proces apparently poisons the blo od ; but the pain is less , because the burning deadens the nerves . A fifth torture consists in forcing the confessor to o n o f o f kneel a piece wood full nails , the sharp points o f which pierce the flesh and penetrate to the Th bone . e unhappy victim sighs pitifully during this u protracted tort re , while the mandarins laugh at his to contortions , and add his agonies by their fearful blasphemies against o u r Lord . If the martyr has survived the infliction o f all thes e th e o S o f horrors , persecut rs try a ixth method o h o f him t rture , w ich consists dragging by his “ cangue to the cross , while they scourge him , striving

1 50 A Modern Martyr

I fear that he may have been assassinated at sea like T ita u d Th e r l e S a l o t. . u e Fr . g Frs , , and V nard , finding themselves surrounded by th e enemy in their

m o h h little ba bo uts , escaped by nig t and took to the n tw o o h m o u tains . It is more than m nt s since I have f o . had any tidings them Bishop Jeantet , after wan

n o fo r deri g ab ut in the hills a long time , took refuge with some faithful peasants ; and being o bliged to escape in the night , was nearly drowned crossing a river . “ i A v n f . a I ha e o news whatever o Fr S g et. s for h M a thevo n Frs . C arbonnier , , and myself , who have

B fi t- S On 1 3th o f been at since the June , we have been ’ — o ne living as best we could , day in a peasant s cabin , o r o r the next under the trees , in the bushes , scram to bling over impassable roads , exposed a burning sun f o r to rrents o rain . We are half dead from hunger , with scarcely any clothes to cover us, overwhelmed no t o ne with fatigue and sorrow , knowing from hour

h to o f o r to another w at is become us , where we are

o u r . to lay heads Indeed , our tribulations have been F r incredible , and almost unbearable . o more than four months we have been unable to say Mass , having no o r no vestments altar , and cabin where we can o r be quiet in safety for half an hour . Hardly any of o u r native priests can say Mass either ; and what o is w rse , the sick die without receiving the last Sac r a m en E r ts . verything is destro yed o burnt ; all are scattered , everyone is in hiding . Hardly a person no o ne knows where I am , for I have to whom I can entrust a letter ; and the co mmu nica tio ns fro m to o f others me are lost , as the people , afraid being compromised , generally burn them . We are , in fact , reduced to the last extremity . T h eoph ane V enard 1 51

T O 1 858 his sad letter was written in ctober , . In e December Fr . V nard continued th e recital in a l o ng to letter his young brother , which we will transcribe literally .

M Y E AR E E U S E B I U s — I O D ST , received in ctober last your letters and those that all my dear family wrote o 1 857 1 858 Y o u t me in and . may fancy the j oy they i . o u gave me I wish I could , in reply , g ve y some ! consoling intelligence , but , alas nothing but misery, o A m tears , and agony has flo ded this unhappy nna ite f r mission o the last nine months . I wrote yo u in

1 858 o f - May , , that the mandarins Nam Dinh had vented their satanic rage against the Christians by

- o f h inflicting unheard tortures , and that t ey had pub lished o a fresh edict against us , more bl ody than At any that had preceded it . that time the district where Th eu r el and I lived was comparatively quiet ; but the seizure by the mandarins o f some letters

o f a m - which we had written to the Christians N Dinh , was the signal fo r the outburst of a more violent The persecution than we had before experienced . o f bearer our letters was put to the torture , and in S his agonies disclosed everything, betraying the ites ’ R o f - T r i Ké - No n of Bishop etord s new colleges Vinh , , ' - A he sa m a e . t t e and Ho ng Nguy n time , the devil o f o ne o u r entered the heart of disciples , who , like no t another Judas , revealed to the mandarins only i o f o u r the inter or organization the diocese , but all hiding- places and o u r means o f escape from perse Th eu r el cu to rs . . Fr and I , though very anxious ,

flattered ourselves that , by being perfectly quiet , we might remain where we were ; but the spies were too well informed . “ 1 0th n On the of Ju e , in the middle of the night , 1 52 A M o d ern M a rtyr

a Christian woke us hurriedly , to say that the troops wer e marching to surround o u r house and make us to prisoners . It was necessary pack our traps and no T . w E flee . his was easy matter We were t o uro A o r peans , three nnamite Fathers , ten fifteen cate chists o h hu ndréd , m re t an a students , and we had all the mission furniture besides , which was to be put f u r A in some place o safety . But o nnamites are so

a - accustomed to these sudden flights , that in couple ff o f hours everything was hidden in di erent corners . ’

On . the morning of St Barnabas Day , the man ’ o f darin s troops arrived to the number two thousand , while upwards o f fifteen hundred young pagans o f the neighborhood were told o ff to watch all avenues to the college . In a few minutes they had surrounded no t in only the college itself , but three villages , the T habitants of which were nearly all Christians . hey o f thought themselves sure their prey . Happily , we had been warned in time , and had placed our poor students in distant villages ; there were only two who had delayed their departure and these were caught in the very act of escaping ; they were instantly hon ‘ ’ The ored with a cangue . soldiers had been prom ised a rich plunder but found nothing, only bare walls and houses which looked as if they had been aban do ned fo r ages . In their rage they scattered all over the surrounding country , and came upon a village where the greater part o f our students had taken T refuge . hese would certainly have been seized , if they had no t received an early intimation of their T danger . here were only about ten laggards , whom the soldiers caught as they were fleeing across th e r fields , and whom they to tured as they had the former A captives . mong these was an old deacon over seventy Th . e years of age mandarins , being unable to discover

1 54 A Modern Martyr

o ld apostatize , but both refused , and the woman ‘ o h to k said , Who would be fo l enoug wal on the ’ o f h o r h ? T he h head his fat er mot er j udges , as amed o f b o ld being defeated y a simple woman , sent her h e back to her village with t child . “ —th e s As to the rest , three priest were beheaded ; the two catechists and the po or o ld deaco n died under torture ; and the others were exiled to an unwhole some and wild mountainous district , where many hav e preceded , and where many will follow them . May o u r Lord support and strengthen them ! They ’ are fools fo r Christ s sake . Yet theirs is the only tru e wisdom . What they have sown here below in ff su ering and humiliation , they will reap above in glory and in joy. “ Ou r churches , colleges , and houses have been n Th And o t . e burnt to the gro und . this is all Chris tians have been exposed to the most unj ust and rapa H o w o u cio ns extortions . can I describe to y what ffi leeches these Annamite o cials are , from the highest to the lowest ? Th e first thing a mandarin does when ‘ ’ he visits a province is to ask if the king s orders have ’ ‘ been executed . In other words , he says , B ring me ’ some money . When he leaves it is the same thing . T r The underlings are worse . hey qua ter themselves no t upon the Christians , and if these do at once give all they ask , they denounce them to the authorities , ho T he w throw them in prison . people give them ‘ ’ - flies the nickname , mandarin horse . What makes these o fli cia ls more vexing is the continual movement o ne among them , each looking upon his province as a place from which he must suck as much blood as possible in a short time . I have neither the time nor the heart to relate to yo u the turpitudes and villainies o f o no t these pe ple , and that to the Christians only, who e but to all may be und r their rule . Th eoph ane Venard 1 55

The fate of o u r college of Hoang- Nguyen has

o f Ké - h - T r i been equally that Non and Vin , but the f last has su fered most . I cannot tell yo u all the de o u r u n tails , as comm nications have been i terrupted , and patrols placed o n all the roads to prevent the Christians from meeting, o r to compel them to trample n the Cross under foo t . But I k ow that o u t o f nine u h ndred souls , thirty or forty of the principal people have been thrown into prison and mo st h o rribly tortured ; yet they have stood firm , and a large number n have been condem ed to death . “ ’ It is no t only B ishop R etord s diocese that has ff Th e su ered so terribly . persecution has swept over Th the whole country from Cambogia to China . e Spanish Dominicans have been even more cruelly Th e treated than ourselves . order has come to seize h all C ristians , and to put them to death by what is ‘ ’ — o ff called lang tri , that is , slow torture , cutting first n o the a kles , then the knees , the fingers , the elb ws , and so o n till the victim is nothing but a mutilated A trunk . Bishop Melchior , the Dominican Vicar pos

T - ff tolic of the eastern district of ong king, su ered A o u this horrible death last ugust . But y will ask me , ‘ How did yo u manage to escape the fu ry o f a storm ’ ‘ ? o f Go d like this I can only reply, By the grace , who has me in His holy keeping , and considers that my hour has no t yet come . Our Christians guard my cabin and the only thing for me to do is to keep myself in a little corner without speaking o r making E o r the least noise . ven a sneeze a cough might in betray me . We consider ourselves fortunate if , o fo r these retreats , we can have a little h le light , so as to be able to read o u r office and some co m i fo rting boo k . In this weary but voluntary mprison ’ o ne ment has to learn patience , and give up one s life 1 56 A Modern Martyr

T h a to P . t e freely Div ine rovidence hen , if mand rin l to s e h seems inc ined arc the house , we take advantage f h to to h h — o t e darkness escape anot er iding place . o Sometimes in a temporary lull , or a fav rable moment , we are able to get a little fresh air , and m to stretch o u r cramped li bs . “ Th e great misery o f this state o f things is that we d o f o u r cannot a minister the Sacraments , and many converts have to die without any spiritual consolation . Another misfortune is that we nearly always co m h t promise the C ristians who give us hospitali y , so that we often prefer trusting ourselves to the loyalty o o f and g od faith pagans , who are less suspected . Th eu r el Fr . and I stayed two days and two nights in o ne o f these houses ; but we did not meet its w ho no t owner , hid himself , that he might see a

E uropean face . One night we received a sudden notice to leave this asylum and only a quarter o f an hour afterwards the troops o f the mandarins R o arriv ed . Bishop et rd , seeing the way in which e we were hunted , adv is d us to take refuge , as he o th e and Bishop Jeantet had d ne , in mountain . We

. went , but the apostate before mentioned got an ink o f h h ling t is , and surrounding the cavern w ere the h o h a d o Bis ps lately been c ncealed , placed guards at all the mo untain passes . But Go d watched over His servants and they escaped to the forests before the Th enemy had completed preparations . e mandarins o ff searched all the caves , and carried everything o o s they c uld find , which , in fact , was all that we p

sessed ; but no o ne was taken prisoner . “

R . Bishop etord , Fr . Charbonnier , and Fr Mathe e o o h e von wand red baref ot through the w ods , alf d ad h th e with hunger , t eir feet wounded at every step by ’ A ca ts ea rs pointed stones which the nnamites call ,

1 58 A Modern Mar tyr

o f A to be nursed in the house a pious Christian . fter r M h n o u o o . a t evo o h ly Bish p had expired , Fr t ok shelter in a less unhealthful place , where he remains Th r l T i As fo r . eu e . ta u d m concealed . Fr , Fr , and y too to i self , we had cl mb the mountains , walk with ’ bleeding feet o n the ca ts ea rs and install ourselves as hermits in the forest . We remained a fortnight in perfect peace , and each day added some improvement r R to o u obinson Crusoe life . We collected rain to o u r o water to drink , and use in cooking provisi ns ; then we made a little straight avenue where we could o u r f E o walk and recite o fice . very m rning the in habitants o f the village o f DOng - Chiem bro ught us provisions ; and we had j ust begun to dig the gro und o ne o n h a d and plant some vegetables , when m r ing we an unexpected visit from six pagans , armed to the

o f - teeth , who came in the guise tiger hunters . We v o received them with great ci ility , and a few m ments o f o u t after , under pretense going into the adj oining o to f rest get some wood , we escaped rapidly down th e mountain - side to a boat which we kept on the f T ‘ ’ riv er alwa ys ready o r emergencies . hese hunters o were in reality spies sent by the mandarins . Fr m that moment we resolved to live in o u r boat among n ne A th e e o w o . re ds , in place , now in another faithful and devoted yo ung Christian came every da n o f o o . y, the pretext going fishing, to bring us f od

Ou r - o n fo r life as sea birds went some weeks , when o we found that we were again disc vered and watched . S o o to we were c mpelled to separate , and seek shelter ff t o l d in di erent ho uses . I returned o my district and fo r e o f lived three w eks in the house a catechist , but o o s B fi t amid c ntinual alarms . I then t ok lodging at n T h DO o e . g , in a c nv nt , where I still remain is vil h o f lage is half C ristian , half pagan ; and in case alarm

1 60 M o d ern M a rtyr

f l o . a the country to the other Strangely enough , though the French squadron has been fo r three months ” - and a half in Cochin China , we have heard nothing . T h eoph a ne Vena rd 1 61

CHAPTE R XIII .

th e C v In a es .

I have j ust heard that six more of our Christians ’ have won the martyr s palm . Four were priests . One o f our young students— o f a noble family— who had had the misfortune to apostatize under torture , over whelmed with remorse , gave himself up again into o f the hands of the cruel mandarin Nam Dinh , who , ’ in his fury , had him crushed to death under elephants feet . Bishop Jeantet says he was quite a little fellow , ‘ o ne and in of the youngest classes . He adds , Our o r lder students were superhuman in faith and fo titude . One o f them , covered with blood , said , smiling, to ‘ the torturers , Your pincers and scourges are nothing ’ to us ; try something else ! “ L r i f . a e o s Fr Legrand de la y , one our missioner A R in the eastern district , writes for dmiral igault de who o Genouilly, c mmands the French squadron in

- the Chinese waters , imploring us to seek refuge on bo ard his French steamer until the necessary meas ures are taken by the French army to deliver the Ah Th e namite Christians from oppression . admiral is excessively alarm ed at the dangers with which we are o u r o f threatened , and wishes to put lives out the U reach of the persecutors . nfortunately , his proposal is impossible to us poo r missioners of the western dis trict too n ; we are far from the sea , and jour eying in the country is too perilous to be attempted . I have 1 1 1 62 A Modern Martyr

’ answered Fr . Legrand s kind letter and enclose this o ne o h no t in his , alth ugh t ere is fear that they will reach their destination . I pray the Holy Angels to guard and conduct in peace the two devoted women who will be the bearers o f my epistles ! Women are o u r letter - carriers everywhere and manage it much A ” better and with greater facility than men . dieu .

T 2 1 1 858 his letter was dated December , , and a i M h 1 8 59 G d re ched its dest nation in arc , , o having o watched ver the faithful messengers , so that they th e T o u ra nne reached French squadron at in safety . 1 8 59 r In July , , similar letters were despatched by o u missioner , but they were intercepted and never touched

o f . 1 860 the soil France It was not till March , , that Th h n eo p a e again put pen to paper . But already his father had gone to announce in Heaven the coming of his son . His three children , grouped around the Méla nie bed , had implored his benediction , and , ’ faithful to her promise , held before her father s dying “ f ne o o . eyes the portrait his absent Dearest father , h h n ” T eo p a e is also here ; you must bless him with us . Th S e poor father gave a deep igh , and murmured “Ah ! ? ” faintly , , that dear child where is he T t f hen , gathering all his streng h , and raising himsel “ in his bed , he exclaimed , Dear children , receive this , o f o f the last blessing your father , in the name the f o n o f o o S . Father , and the , and the Holy Gh st ” A o n men . His uplifted hand fell heavily back the T bed . hen he looked upwards with a fixed expression him for some minutes , and those around felt that he S o must have seen a beautiful vision . this good man Go d fell asleep sweetly in , and his pure , honest soul Th passed without struggle to its rest . e death 2 6th o f A occurred at noon on Friday, the ugust ,

1 64 A M o d ern M a rtyr thing I can get— o nwhich I shall try to paint for you — I have nothing but a brush— a description o f o u r life here , in as good language as a poor missioner can who command has nearly forgotten his native tongue . “ T - I write to you from ong king , and from a little dark hole , where the only light comes through the crack of a partially opened door , j ust making it no w possible for me to trace these lines , and and o then t read a few pages of a book . For one must

. do be ever on the watch If the g barks , or a stranger e passes , the door is instantly closed , and I prepar to hide myself in a still lower hole , which has been T excavated in my temporary retreat . his is the way fo r I have lived three months , sometimes alone , some in Old times company with my dear friend , Bishop Theu r l A Th e . , now coadj utor to our Vicar postolic e , convent which formerly sheltered us has been destroyed by the pagans , who got wind of our being there . We had barely time to escape into a space about a foot wide between two double walls . W e could see through the chinks the band of persecutors , s ix with the mayor at their head , garotting five or o f n the oldest nuns , who had been left behi d when T the younger ones took flight . hey beat these poor o n women with rods , laying their hands everything they could get , even a few earthenware pots which hung on the partition behind which we were co n l An cea ed . d we heard them vociferating, howling to like demons , threatening kill and burn everybody and everything unless they were given a large sum ‘ ’ o f T money . heir agreeable visit lasted four hours ;

and we were so close that we almost touched them . no t We did dare to make the smallest movement , and held o u r breath till o u r pursuers were invited by the principal people o f the village to go out and eat and Th eoph a n e V éna r d 1 65

. T get drunk with them hey did not go, however , without leaving guards to surround the house ; so it was no t till co ck - crow in the morning that we could u r make o escape , and take refuge in a smoky dung o ld heap belonging to a pious Christian widow , where we were j oined by another missioner who had had equal diffi culties in making good his retreat . “ do o u What y think of our position , dear old — o ne o f friend three missioners , whom is a bishop , lying side by side , day and night , in a space about a yard and a half square . Our only light comes through three holes the size of a little finger , made in the o ld mud wall , and these a poor woman is obliged to U conceal by some fagots thrown down outside . nder our feet is a brick cellar , constructed with great skill by o ne o f o u r catechists in this cellar are three bamboo tubes , cleverly contrived to have their open ings to the fresh air o n the borders o f a neighbo ring T lake . his same catechist has built two other similar hiding- places in this village with several double partition walls . “ o u r o ld We stayed with poor widow three weeks , during which time I am afraid you wo uld have been r rather scandalized at o u gaiety . When the three holes gave no more light , we had a little lamp , with a shade to prevent its tiny rays from penetrating r outside through the chinks o f o u prison . One day we found ourselves surrounded , in fact completely v blocked , by sentinels posted at e ery corner of the house , so that there was no possibility of passing An from o ne house to the other . apostate who knew that we were in the village , had betrayed our hiding

Go d . place . Well , defeated his plans From morning ' a nd r e a s sed till night , the pagans passed p us , upset T everything in the house , searched every corner . hey 1 66 A Modern Martyr

broke in the walls behind which we were concealed , and I thought o u r hour o f martyrdo m had come . But vain are the eff orts o f men when Go d opposes ‘ ! P o u their designs erhaps y will say , In such a place o r ho w ? without air , light , exercise , can you live r Your question is pe fectly reasonable ; and , what is ’ T o u . o more , y might ask why we don t go mad be shut up between two walls , with a roof which one o u r can touch with his hand ; having for companions , — spiders , rats , and toads ; obliged always to speak in ‘ ’ A a low voice , like the wind , as the nnamites say ; receiving every day terrible news o f the torture and

o u r - death of fellow missioners , of the destruction f o missions , the exile of our students , and occasionally ,

- to worse still , of their apostasy under torture , live thus and not be utterly discouraged and cast down , we require , I admit , a special grace , a grace fitted

o u r . to state , I suppose “ A o u r s to health , we are like poor plants in a o u r cellar , stretching lanky , unhealthy branches toward the light and air . When I can put my mouth close to the door which guards our retreat , I own occasion ally to a feeling o f envy for those who can enjoy as ’ much of God s fresh air and sunshine as they please . One o f my brethren writes to—day that fo r eighteen months he has not seen the sun , and he dates his ‘ ’ A n d . s o letter from the lan of moles for me , I live without being too bilious ; the weak points about me are the nerves . I want something strengthening, like wine , but we have barely enough to say Mass , so one must not think of it . I have some pills now which an Annamite doctor has made up for me instead . Not many days ago , I managed to pass into a neighboring house , and was very much astonished i to find myself tottering l ke a drunken man . I had

1 68 A M o dern M a rtyr

alludes to other blasphemies even worse , and contin “ The ues , government has established in each canton ‘ a new functionary , who is called the Shepherd of ’ the flock (yo u may imagine he should rather be called the and in each mayoralty an offi cer ‘ ’ o f styled the strong man the village . Both these men are employed in hunting down the unhappy ‘ ’ Z a to , or followers of Christ , who, being beyond the o f pale law and justice , are exposed to every species ff o f of ignominy , su ering, and wrong , without hope T redress . hen there is a curious law in this country which makes a whole village suff er for the offense o f T one member . herefore if a priest is found in a E place , especially a uropean , the town is razed to the ground , hal f the inhabitants put to death , the rest o r scattered to the four winds , while the mayor chief functionaries will be exiled and degraded if they have o r s um concealed the white man , will receive a large of money if they have betrayed him . Who could resist such a temptation ? “ A o n o f o f o u r c l gain , account the destruction o h lege , more than twelve undred young men are o r no t t without home occupation , daring o return to their families (if they have any) , and wandering from one Christian missio n to another till they almost o f inevitably fall into the hands the persecutors . Scarcely one of these has yielded to the cruelty o r o f h blandishments his tormentors , and the C urch may indeed be proud o f having engendered such noble

o o f . o u c nfessors the faith But y see , dear friend , ho w o f impossible it is for us , pastors the flock , to o u r ff o r console poor , su ering children break the bread o f life for them . We are compelled to hide An ourselves and leave our lambs to the wolves . d then in this country the more insolent the nobles Th eoph a n e Vena rd 1 69

who are , the more cowardly are the people , become T . h e too practically slaves women , , are treated as children without souls ; and although they are mo dels o f h o f th e h so c astity and zeal for faith , t ey are frightened that they almost lose their senses . It is l th e on y nuns , who have had a longer and more n m careful Christian traini g, who can cal ly brave the persecutors . When the French squadron appeared in 1 859 , the officials here persuaded themselves that the missioners had sent fo r it and that we were in league with th e rebels to upset the reigning dynasty and to T help on the revolution . hey therefore seized the principal Christians in each village and threw them o o f into prison , a terrible blow to the p or the congre a tio n g , who had no longer any protectors whatever o f against their cruel oppressors . Out sev enty

Annamite priests in this district , ten have already ’ earned the martyr s palm ; seven others are waiting in prison fo r the moment when death shall put an end to their torments . More than a thousand priests and laymen are exiled in the mountains . “ I began this letter in a little hiding- place in the o f midst a fervent Christian population . In vain o f the mandarin , who has the hatred a demon against

Christ , has employed every possible agent to destroy r o weaken their faith . He has failed because the whole population is o f o ne mind and he cannot put T all the people to death . o revenge himself he sends n bands of young pagans to annou ce his arrival , to seize and gag the young girls , and to commit every n o f . ot species atrocity When he does come, they o n o f m are released only payment im ense sums . So o u r Christians are always o n the q u i vive; to escape e these horrors , men , women , and childr n flee to the

- fi elds o n e rice , and remain night and day c c aled in 1 70 A M o d ern M a rtyr

mud and water . Sometimes the poor girls have been brought back to us half dead with the cold from this One kind of exposure . day the mandarin announced o n his visit , and his satellites were carrying their

o work of pillage and brutality in every h use . Suddenly

o ne o f - they discovered our hiding places , which , T happily , was empty . hey made a great fuss about this , and next morning, sent masons , with spades and hoes , to dig in every Christian house until they could P find us . But rovidence watched over us and we

. o f made our escape I am now in the midst pagans , T not knowing what is going to happen next . hey appear kind and benevolent ; but God alone can read o f T to the bottom their hearts . hey have a high idea of hospitality , and would hardly wrong a stranger to P who has come so far seek it . erhaps God has chosen such protectors so that the light o f Gospel l truth may Shine upon them . Dear o d friend ! as I o f write this , the thought all our misfortunes nearly overwhelms me , and I can hardly restrain my tears . Before this terrible persecution our mission was so flourishing ! so many souls were being - harvested ! And now I feel like Jeremiah groaning over the u ? ruins of Jerusalem . Will these ruins ever be reb ilt E ’ It is like zekiel s vision o f the dry bones . Can they ever be resuscitated ? I have given you a Sum mary of our misfortunes , but they are aggravated by a multitude of little circumstances which I should ‘ M na s t velu t only weary you by enumerating . ag e

”' ma r e contr itio tu a ! j “ - fo r But as myself , dearest friend , I have confidence in God that I shall accomplish my course , preserving

Gr ea t a h r T s t e o cean i s thy s o r o w .

1 72 A M o d ern M a rtyr

At the morning . last he was beheaded , and thus ful filled a curious prophecy which had been made con P 1 848 cerning him at aris in . “ e Theurel Fr . N ron has left us , writes Bishop , and has passed from the battle - fi eld to the rank of e martyr ; Fr . V nard is taking the same road and will Th soon be with him in Heaven . e heroic close of ’ this : young apostle s life must form the subj ect of r another chapte . Th eo ph a ne V éna rd 1 73

HAP C TE R X I V .

Arr es a n a rt m t d M yrdo .

T H E letter contained in the preceding chapter was M a 1 8 60 written in y, . Of the events that followed, Theu rel Bishop says , “ Véna r d Fr . was living in a pagan village , preaching and teaching with great success , although the people s aid that , to declare themselves Christians , they must wait till the persecution had ceased a little . But when the chief of the province intimated that he e o n considered him as his prisoner , Fr . V nard went

K - B to the Christian village of é éo . He found super stitio ns re of all kinds rampant in this place , and ‘ - to— mained , desiring, as he said , a hand hand fight with ’ the devil . God crowned his labors with wonderful success ; after a few months the whole character of o u the place was changed , and a fervent Christian p p lation replaced the timid , superstitious flock which he A had found on his arrival . fter this , he spent twenty

Kem - l a days in the village of ng, strengthening and consoling the terrified Christians , and incessantly teaching and administering the Sacraments . He went

B fi t- SOn on then to , one of our noted missions in this ’ terrible thirty years persecution . In this village he found a devout native priest , and with him worked wonders among the people . Bishop Jeantet joined Vén r . a d him here ; and a few days after, Fr , leaving the venerable bishop in safety in this almost impreg 1 74 A Mod ern M a rtyr

Ké - B Th e . e nable fortress , went back to o good ff o f e ects his previous visit were still apparent , and e h Fr . V nard thoug t that he might remain in peace , to complete the good work . But he promised his Lu On catechist , g , that he would return very shortly

o f B at- a to the safer refuge D ng , as everyone was x T e tremely anxious about his safety . hese were indeed critical days . “ ’ 30th o f On the November , about nine o clock in o r the morning , five six j unks , carrying about twenty ’ men , appeared a few yards from the missioner s A . s o house it was an isolated building, and the flo ds covered the whole country , these j unks were able to T l . a n o d guard every avenue hey were led by _ chief

- DO of a neighboring hamlet , named Cai , the same 1 854 o f e who in had contrived the escape Fr . N ron

- no w o n from the custom house , but who came a ff totally di erent errand . Leaving his j unks , he marched with five o r six o f his men to the mission e house . Fr . V nard , instantly realizing the whole plot , Th had retired between the usual double walls . e ‘ o ut chief , arriving at the house , cried , Let the ’ A E o . t ur pean priest come forth these words , the ’ h ho én r w . V a d s catec ist , Khang , was busy hiding Fr ‘ property , came forward boldly , and said , It is I h o o w inhabit this h use , although I have only lately o u arrived . If y will leave me in peace I shall be ’ * h ll I s a . The thankful ; but if not , be resigned chief , t making a signal o his men to garotte the catechist, o marched straight into the h use , and giving a great ‘ kick to the th in double partition wh ich concealed the e missioner , seized Fr . V nard , and dragged him brutally to the j unks , with his servant . It was a very

fine capture acco mplish ed with no risk whatever . By the time the faith ful villagers of Ké - B eo heard a

1 76 A Modern M a rtyr

Th no t . e me , but I do fear grace of the Most High M M will be with me , and my other ary will protect her poor little servant . I hope I Shall be allowed writing c materials ; but I profit by this o casion , which a goo d pagan has given me, to send you love from my prison . The people o f the household o f the sub - prefect are o f n t ff full kind ess and at entions toward me , so I su er very little . They come and visit me continually and allow me to speak freely . I take advantage of the opportunity to instruct them in the Christian faith . Many have owned to me their entire belief in our o f Creed , and say that the religion Jesus Christ is th e o ne to only conformable reason , and that if it were no t fo r fear o f the king and his terrible edicts they w ould gladly become Christians . ‘ o f Well , here I am in the arena the Confessors f r Go d o th e o o the Faith . Certainly ch oses po r and weak things o f this world to confound the mighty ! I have confi dence that the news o f my fight will be o f o fo r no t o n equally that my vict ry , I do lean my o w n o n t o f strength , but the streng h Him who has f n overcome the powers o death and hell . I thi k of o u dea r est fa th er y all , my , my beloved sister , and o f o h brothers ; and if I obtain the grace martyrdom , , then still more shall I have you in remembrance ! A o u r ! dieu , my best loved ones , till meeting in Heaven ’ In a moment I shall be adorned with the confessor s _ ! ’ chains . Once more , adieu “ ” Th e Theu rel mandarin , wrote Bishop at this trying “ e time , was far from pl ased at the arrival of the pris P oners . Like ilate , he protested loudly against o taking innocent bl od , and declared that the sin and o n o f the odium would fall the heads the captors , that fo r himself h e kept th e prisoners only because he did

to . not dare to let them go . He was most civil Fr T h eoph a ne Vena rd 1 77

e b o V nard , and changed his ambo cage for a far more comfortable one of wood , higher and wider , so that the prisoner could put himself in any position he pleased . He also had a very light chain made for him , weighing only two pounds and a half ; and this valued chain is now in my possession ; our dear The prisoner wore no other till his death . prefect carried his condescension to the length of asking the missioner to dine in the audience chamber like a A free man . fter this a detachment of fifty or a hundred soldiers arrived to escort the prisoners to the capital , and the prefect sent with them a long letter explaining the circumstances o f their arrest by the D ” O o . chief , who formed part of the conv y

A Véna r . d rrived at the capital , Fr found means to write again to his family . We give this letter in full

“ n 2 J a u a r 1 861 . y , MY E E E E R B ROT H E R s — I D AR ST FATH R, SIST , AND , o u write to y at the beginning of this year , which will o u be my last o n earth . I hope y go t the little note which I wrote announcing my capture o n the Feast Go d A . of St . ndrew permitted me to be betrayed by

' no ru a d e. traitor , but I owe him g g From that village I sent you a few lines of farewell before I had the ’ o n criminal s chain fastened my feet and neck . I n u have kissed that chai , a tr e link which binds me to

Jesus and Mary , and which I would not exchange The for its weight in gold . mandarin had the kindness to have a light one made for me , and treated me , during my stay in his prefecture , with every possible consideration . His brother came at least ten times and tried to persuade me to trample the Cross under ! fo ot . He did not want to see me die so young 1 2 1 78 A Moder n M a rtyr

o n When I left the prefecture to go to the capital , an immense crowd came to witness my departure ; o f o ne in spite the guards and the mandarins , man , a young Christian , was not afraid to throw himself n on his k ees three times before my cage , imploring my blessing, and declaring me to be a messenger sent from Heaven . He was of course made prisoner . “A e fter a couple of days I arrived at K cho , the

o f o f T - u ancient capital the kings ong king . Can yo fancy me sitting quietly in the centre of my wooden n cage , bor e by eight soldiers , in the midst of an o f innumerable crowd people , who almost barred the f f O . o passage the troops I heard some them saying , ‘ What a pretty boy that E uropean is ! ’ ‘ He is gay and ! ’ ‘ ’ bright , as if he were going to a feast He doesn t ‘ ’ loo k a bit afraid Ce rtainly he can t have done any ’ ‘ thing wrong ! He came to o u r country to do us ’ to ! o . go d and yet they will put him death etc , etc . We entered the citadel by the eastern gate and I was brought at once before the tribunal o f the judge M his of criminal cases . y catechist Khang, bearing terrible yoke , walked behind my cage . I prayed ’ God s Holy Spirit to strengthen us both and to speak ’ by o u r mo nth s according to o u r Savio r s promise ; and I invoked the Queeno f Martyrs and begged her to help her faithful child . “ To i o f beg n with , the j udge gave me a cup tea , T which I drank without ceremony in my cage . hen he commenced the usual interrogato ry : ‘ ? ’ ‘ Whence do yo u come I am from the Great ’

r o f . West , from the count y France ‘ ‘ What have yo u come to do in Annam I have come to preach the tru e religion to those who know ’ it not .

1 80 A M o d ern M a rtyr

E o f uropeans ; what was the use , then , coming here to be killed ? It is you who have excited the E uro 1 8 i t no t ? th peans to make war upon us , Speak e h ’ o r t e . truth , I will put you to torture ‘ o u To Great mandarin , y ask me two questions . the first I reply that I am sent as an ambassado r from who Heaven to preach the true religion to those, scorn no h it not , matter in w at kingdom , or in what place . o n We respect the authority of kings the earth , but we o f T respect more the authority of the King Heaven . o your second question I answer that I never in any way invited o r excited the E uropeans to make war ’ on the Annamite kingdom . ‘ ? In that case will yo u tell them to go And yo u will then obtain your pardon . ‘ Great mandarin ! I have no power and no a u tho rit su ch ‘ ma tter s y in , but if His Maj esty sends me I will beg th e E uropean warriors to abstain from o n A no t making war the nnamites ; and if I do succeed , f ’ I will return here to su fer death . ‘ ’ Y o u no t ? do fear death , then ‘ ! do no t Great mandarin I fear death . I have th f come here to preach e true religion . I am guilty o A no crime which deserves death . But if the nna h o mites kill me , I shall s ed my blood with great j y ’ fo r them . ‘ Have you any spite o r ill - will against the man ’ who betrayed and took yo u prisoner ? “ Th h o None at all . e C ristian religion f rbids us to who to entertain anger , and teaches us love those ’ hate us . ‘ Chief o f the Christian religio n ! Y o u must de clare the names o f all the places and people that have h ’ sheltered yo u up to t is hour . ‘ Great mandarin ! They call yo u the father and T h eopha ne V éna rd 1 81

f mother o this people . If I were to make such a declaration it would involve a large number o f persons o in unt ld misery . Judge for yourself whether it ’ r would become me to do this o not . ‘ T rample the Cross under foot , then , and you shall ’ not be put to death . “ ‘ How ! I have preached the religion of the

Cross all my life until this day , and do you expect me to abj ure it now ? I do no t esteem so highly the pleasures o f this life as to be willing to buy the ’ preservation o f it by apostasy . ‘ If death has such a charm in your eyes , why did you hide yourself when there was fear of your being taken ? ’ ‘ Great mandarin ! Our religion forbids us to o n o u r presume strength , and to deliver ourselves to the persecutors . But Heaven having permitted my arrest , I have confidence in God that He will give me sufficient courage to suff er all torture and be con ’ stant unto death . “ T o f his is a summary the questions asked me , and The of my answers . mandarins then proceeded to question my catechist and inflicted ten strokes of the flin hin . c knout upon him He bore them without g , Go d giving him strength all the while gloriously to confess the faith . “ Since that day I have been placed in my cage at ’ the door of the prefect s house , guarded by a

- A company of Cochin Chinese soldiers . great many persons of rank have come to visit me and converse T with me . hey will have it that I am a doctor, an astronomer , a diviner , a prophet , from whom nothing is hid . Several visitors have begged me to T tell their fortunes . hen they question me about

E . urope , about France , in fact , about the whole world 1 82 A Modern M a rtyr

This gives me an opportunity to enlighten them a little o n points about which they are supremely ig no ra nt , and on which they have sometimes the most h comical ideas . I try above everyt ing to slip in a little serious word now and then so as to teach A them the way of salvation . But the nnamites are ’ a frivolous race , and don t like serious subj ects ; o r On s till less will they treat on philosophy religion . e do the other hand , their h art is good , and they their best to show me both interest and sympathy . M ff fo r y soldier guards have an a ection me , and though they have been blamed two o r three times fo r o u t letting me go , they still open my cage from

tirne . to time , and allow me to take a little walk no t e Sometimes their conversation is very prop r , but I never let pass words of that sort ; and I do not hesitate to speak to them strongly . I tell them that they lower themselves in the eyes of everyone by Impure th oughts and libertine discourses ; and that

e if th y can talk in that way without blushing, they deserve nothing but pity , not to say contempt . My T lessons make an impression . hey are far more care e ful in their language now , and som have gone to the length of begging my pardon for having made use o f indelicate expressions . Still I cannot say that eve ry thing is sweet and pleasant ; although many are kind to me , some insult and mock me , and use rough l M a Go d ! anguage to me . y forgive them “ I am now only waiting patiently fo r the day when God will allow me to off er Him the sacrifice of my o blood . I do not regret leaving this world ; my s ul r M thirsts for the waters of ete nal life . y exile is

over . I touch the so il of my real country ; earth A Go d . vanishes , Heaven opens , I go to dieu , dearest

father, sister , brothers , do not mourn for me , do

1 84 A Modern M a rty r

T received . hey made me sign a written declaration of o f the circumstances my arrest , countersigned by my catechist Khang . I have taken care that it shall co m

no o ne. a m promise I pretty well treated , and some o f h — h the Coc in C inese soldiers are noble fellows . But o o f as I am kept at the d or the prefecture , I write Th with difficulty . e great mandarin allows three pence a day for my food and I am in fairly good h ealth . My heart is as tranquil as a lake which r e s no Th flect the blue sky and I have fear . e mandarin

f - who o Nam Xang , spends his life tormenting the to Christians , came see me the other day , and I told “ him that Jesus was stronger than he ; that it was in o u r vain he struggled with Lord , and that he would ' ield T have to y to His power in the end . he gaoler Tu 1 859 o u . , who seized four priests in , asked after y “ I told him publicly that his was a vile trade ; and that his diploma as mandarin of the ninth class , the o f price treachery and blood , would fade as a wild ” At flower in the Spring . this the mandarin , judge , and all the guards laughed and applauded . I think they like and respect me , and the great mandarin has ’ twice invited me to dinner . “ ‘ On the 3r d o f January he wrote again : I have A h ! received your loving letter . t ousand thanks I f profit by the absence o the great mandarin to answer . fo r no w He used to allow threepence my food , but he has stopped it . So I should have gone supperless to

- M ai bed to day if the chief , who is also in prison , f The had not sent me a bowl o rice . new mandarin of justice came to see me yesterday and put me through a fresh interrogation . When he said that o f the happiness the next world was doubtful , while o f the joys the present were certain and positive , I ‘ As replied , for me , great mandarin , I find nothing Th eoph a n e V éna rd 1 85 on earth which gives real happiness ; riches create envy and bring cares ; sensual pleasures engender end too less maladies . My heart is large , and nothing ’ which you call happiness in this world satisfies it . As On the whole , he was not uncivil . he said that he had given orders to have me well treated , I replied n that I had nothing to eat . He pretended o t to un

r to - th d e sta nd me . So morrow e captain of the guard o says that he will g and renew the demand . In h spite of his fine speec es , this mandarin has doubled u o ne my g ard , and sends some constantly to see if A my cage is closed . mong the gaolers is an excel lent Tién ff fellow named , who shows me the most a ection o ne o f ate respect . He alone , with the captains , is o f not afraid , in addressing me , to make use the ex “ ” pression B a m l ay —a term o f reverence used only r e to address mandarins o p rsons of high position . On New Year ’ s Day the captain of the guard brought fi r st— T e me a cup of class tea , and as the gaoler i n was him passing at the time , I invited to share it with me , which he did with a delicacy and a simplicity which o only the heart could teach , and which hyp crisy could no t counterfeit . But my letter runs on without a word as to my feelings . I wrote a long letter to my family o n o u very bad paper , which I hope y received and will kindly forward to them , filling up the details which Ah ! no w may be wanting . I am come to the hour so much desired by us all . It is no longer , as in the “ ” “ ” o f P erh a s but Hymn Departure , p some day, Very s o on all the blood in my veins

f r T — h o . o ! Will be shed hee My feet , what j oy ” Ar e now loaded with chains .

‘ In the long, weary hours in my cage I think o f 1 86 A M o dern M a rtyr

T eternity . ime is , after all , so short when thus meas

u re . . d You will repeat the words of St Martin , “ ' D mi ne s i a dhnc o u l o tno s u m neces s a rius non o , p p , m P r u l a bo r e . ec s o ; Twhile I can exclaim with St aul , “ J a m d elibo r ; et temp us r es o lu ti onis m ea e ins ta t;

viver e Ch r is tu s es t mihi mor i lncr mn. O ! na m (tibi) , q g lo rios nm es t r egnu m in qno cu m Ch/ris to g a ndent

’ ’ n Andim vo cem B e ti m r o mnes s a cti . a o tm ” T o 1: hese are w rds which , in spite of the per ’ secu tio n to o n All , we never failed sing Saints and 'All ’ Souls Day , and which always touched us to tears . I do not know if I shall ever be allowed to

- ! write to yo u again . Good bye I should have been o n very happy to have gone working with yo u . I do

T - ! no w so love this ong king mission But , in place of o f Th . e the sweat my brow , I give it my blood h h sword angs over my ead but I have no fears . Our go od God has taken pity o n my weakness and filled vn , e e o me with Himself so that I am happy and _ j y ’ to ous . From time time I astonish the mandarin s household by singing ,

O beloved Mother , P lace me Soon in o u r true home Near Thee !

Noble Tong- king ! land blessed by God ! Thou glorious country of the heroes of faith !

fo r . I came to serve thee . I gladly die thee

A . S o . be it , O Lord men

o r d if a m s ti needfu to eo e w i no t r efu s e to a r L , I ll l Thy p pl , I ll l bo .

I o no w th e m o m i s o u io n i s a t h n F o r o u o ive I g ; ti e f y d s l t a d . ( y ) t l h r s fo m h o w o r i o u in m i s i t r e to di e i s a in. 0 s i s th e o C ; g , gl k gd w h h a ll h r o w h r i t h a r e i n i c t e s a ints ej i ce ith C s . I e d a vo i c B l es s ed a r e th e d ea d

1 88 A M o dern M a r tyr

! child I sent for her , and called her back as gently as I could ; but when she did return she was so fright no t h M n ei ened that she could open her mout . o s g o u — a t neur, y must work at this the education of h er o woman , to raise her from present servile p sition , to establish schools for young girls , to teach them o f the beauty and grandeur Christian womanhood . “ Tu ns to tu s Let us say together once more , eg o ' ” ’ m et mm m a s u nt s u o a ea tu . , T

o f e Just at this time , in the prison K cho , was A t a an nnamite pries , named Kho n , who is there T still . I was hoping that heophane might be allowed to see him ; but as their meeting seemed impossible , I o T o f sent the g od Father inh , vicar the parish of o u r M i e . K cho , to comfort dear prisoner Huong o , that faithful head of the patrol whom I have before to mentioned , undertook introduce him into the man ’ f e a o . darin s palace , and even to the c ge Fr V nard . The o n 1 5th o f meeting took place the January , in presence o f the guards and o f a whole crowd of wh o . people , the suite of the mandarins , filled the hall no t Your brother , pretending to recognize Father ‘ T o f inh , asked the chief the patrol , Who is the gen ? ’ ‘ tlema n that came in with yo u j ust now It is the ’ - M i T tha ca o . y , replied Huong ( his expression sig r f P nifi es either a priest o the head o a family . ) oor Father T inh felt his heart sink into his shoes at this Mo i who word . But Huong , laughed at danger , o to made j kes with the people around , so as hide the ’ confusio n o f the priest and divert the people s atten

. . e tion Fr V nard , being formally introduced as to a o u t o f o stranger , was let his cage , and all wed to walk h h e in the garden , w ere instantly made his confession ,

' ‘ I a m all T h in a n l n m e ine e d a l t a t e o s to i s . J , h b l g Th Th eoph a n e V éna r d 1 89

f n o . one the guards having followed him When Fr . Véna rd M oi came back to his cage , Huong made a and ff fresh a successful e ort to amuse the assistants , T during which time Father inh approached the cage ,

fo r o f as if the purpose examining it , and said a few e to . abso words in a low voice Fr V nard , giving him

i n T . l u t o . hen he walked quietly away Your poor brother gave them all some tea afterwards , and took T T h leave o f Father inh . e latter had brought the

Blessed Sacrament , and left It with the devout widow h S e . of whom I have spoken . carried It to Fr Venard in the evening, concealed in some bread . He there fore could enj oy the presence of our dear Lord till midnight , after which he communicated . In a letter 2 0th to Bishop Jeantet , written on the of January,

Theophane says with emotion ,

T o u Father inh will tell y of his visit , when I f g ave him some tea in the midst o all the crowd . He o n brought me , the other hand , the Bread of the trav “ M i J es us D eu s ! T eller , , in my cage hink ’ ‘ ! T o n r e of that hen he goes to say , I have not f ceived a single stroke o the knout . I have had o ne very little insult , and much sympathy ; no here ' Th wishes me to die . e people of the household of the gr eat mandarin are kindness itself to me . I have suf f r e ed nothing in comparison with my brethren . I have only to lay my head quietly on the block , under o f the axe the executioner , and at once I shall find “ o myself in the presence of Our L rd , saying, Here am ” o ! Th ! I , O L rd y little martyr I shall present my

M es u s m ? y J , y God . 1 90 A M o d ern M a rtyr

! palm to Our Lady , and say , Hail , Mary my Mother ! ” And h and my Mistress , all hail I s all take my place in the ranks o f the thousands killed for the holy name o f Jesus ; and I shall intone the eternal Hosanna ! A ’ men . “ o u I enclose the last letters , written to y all , which o f are the same date as mine . It is impossible , I hi t . nk, for any one to read them unmoved

‘ J . M . Jq

M Y A E KDCH O FROM C G , , “ J a nu ar 2 0 1 861 y , .

MY E A E N R E AN D M U CH D R ST, MUCH HO O D, L VE A E R — As O D F TH , my sentence is still delayed , I

o u o ne o f will send y more word farewell , which will T probably be the last . hese last days in my prison pass quietly ; all who surround me are civil and re f l spect u and a good many love me . From the great mandarin down to the humblest private soldier , every one regrets that the laws o f the country condemn me

to death . I have not been put to the torture like my

A - brethren . slight sabre cut will separate my head

‘ from my body , like the spring flower which the Master o f f r a r the Garden gathers o His pleasure . We e

all flowers planted on this earth , which God plucks o wn a in His good time , some a little sooner , some o little later . One is as the blushing rose , an ther the

th e h . virginal lily , a third umble violet Let us each strive to please Our S o vereign Lo rd and Master a c co rding to th e gift and the sweetness which He has ' o h u h o u s . o best wed up n I wis y , my dearest fat er , a

‘ ’

es u s a r o s e . iJ , M y, J ph

1 92 A M od ern M a rtyr

t letters were my streng h , my joy , and my consola h tion . It is then only fair that , in this last our , your h o u to brother should t ink Of y , and send you a few

n - final words Of love and ever dying remembrance . A It is midnight . round my wooden cage I see o nothing but banners and long sabres . In ne corner h r of the hall , w ere my cage is placed , a g oup o f

‘ s oldiers are playing at cards ; another group at ‘ h ’ dr a ug ts . From time to time the sentries strike ‘ ’ o f o n o r to m - the hours night their drums toms .

A - bout two feet from my cage , a feeble Oil lamp throws a vacillating light o n this sheet o f Chinese paper and t h enables me o trace t ese few lines . “ t P Fro m day o day I expect my sentence . erhaps

- to . morrow I shall be led to execution Happy death , which conducts me to the portals o f eternal life !

According to all human probability , I shall be be — a o f headed , glorious shame , which Heaven will be ! At o u the price this news , darling sister , y will shed — o f o ! T O f tears , but they should be j y hink your o f t brother , wearing the aureole the mar yrs , and bearing in his hand the palm o f victory ! Only a few h short ours , and my soul will quit this earth , will

finish her exile , will have done with the fight . I r shall mount upwards and reach o u own tru e home . ’ T o f Go here , in that abode d s elect , I shall see what the eyes Of man cannot imagine ; hear harmonies which his ear cannot dream o f now ; enjoy a happiness which it has never entered into his heart even to conceive ! “ Of But before arriving at all this , the grain wheat — o f must be ground , the bunch grapes must be trod

- den in the wine press . May I become only pure bread ’ fo r ! fo r and wine , fit the Master s use I hope this , R through the mercies Of my Saviour and edeemer ,

1 94 A M odern M a rtyr whom the greatest intellects humanity has ever known h o have served , wors ipped and ad red . He is the great Go d Go d who and merciful , the helps us to do right, and keeps us from evil— the God who alone will reward o r punish us eternally . “ R ead these words often ; it is your best friend , T w ho your poor brother heophane , has written them . o u o f o u r I leave to y the care dear father and sister . so n h Be a good and a good brother ; a good C ristian ,

! - in life and in death Good bye , dearest brother .

Come and meet me in Heaven . “ o u One who loves y , “T M A e . heophane V nard , issionary postolic

M J . . J . “ J a nu a r 20 1 861 y , . — MY - VE ON E I f no t o u MUCH LO D , I did write y a fo r o wn l o u o ea l few lines your very se f , y w uld be j Y o u s . o u to o , and , I admit , with reason deserve it , ,

for your many lengthy and interesting letters to me . It is very long since I have heard from yo u no w ; and ? — perhaps yo u are already a priest and who knows ? th e perhaps a missioner However that may be , by time yo u receive this letter yo ur brother will be no to tu inm li n o i s a o s tus . longer in this bad world , g p He fo r o ne o u will have left it a better , where y must hi h ’ strive to rej oin m some day . Your brot er s head o o f will have fallen , and every dr p his blood will have o u t fo r o d ! been poured G . He will have died a martyr T o f ! hat was the dream my youth When , as a little to o n man nine years Old , I took my pet goat browse

o f - Air o the slopes Bel , I used to dev ur the life and o f the death the Venerable Charles Cornay , and say ‘ to l And to o - An o T . d myse f , I , , will g to ong king I , ! ’ too , will be a martyr Oh , admirable thread Of Th eoph an e V éna rd 1 9 5

P Divine rovidence , which has guided me through the labyrinth o f this life to th e very missio n o f To ng king and to martyrdom ! Bless and praise o u r go o d Go d E fo r and merciful with me , dearest usebius , having taken such care o f his miserable little servant .

A ttr a x i t me mis erons mei ' , fi

E Dear usebius , I have loved and still love these ff Go d Annamite people with an ardent a ection . If had given me a long life , I would gladly have sacri

fi ced o f o to every moment it , body and s ul , the build

T - Th e ing up of the Church in ong king . people are ! so good , so fervent , so loyal If my health , feeble no t as a reed , did enable me to do great things , at least I had my heart in the work . But man proposes , and Go d disposes : life and death are in His hand .

As fo r us , if He gives us life , let us live for Him ;

a fo r . if de th , then let us die Him “ And fo r o u y , dearest little brother , still so young e o u e in y ars , y will remain long aft r me , fighting a mong the waves of this troublesome world . Guide your ship well . Let prudence take the helm , humility Go d the rudder ; let be your compass , Mary your o f And anchor hope . then , in spite of the disgust n and bitter ess which , like a howling sea , will some o u times overwhelm y , never be cast down . Have ’ n Go d co fidence in , and , like Noah s ark , swim always above the waters My lamp gives no more

- E light . Good bye , my usebius , until the , day when o y u come to rejoin me in Heaven . Your most f a fectionate brother , “ T M A . . e . J V nard , issionary postolic

a vi n m er c o n m e H e h a s dr a wn m e t o im s elf ! H g y , H . 1 9 6 A M o d ern M a rtyr These letters were accompanied by a note from o Theu r el O f Bish p , detailing the consummation the sacrifice , as follows

V éna r Th l st . d e of February , Fr wrote another w hi s little message , hich reached me only after mar r do m sa t . y He id ,

‘ The days of my pilgrimage lengthen strangely . The prefect is astonished that my sentence should be All so long delayed . the despatches from the king pass before my cage and each time o ne arrives I o f E ask if my sentence death is come . ach time the ‘ ’ - bo . post y answers , No I hail every morning as the o f dawn eternity , but evening comes , and I am still o t here . My reason and my heart ann unce o me daily e v the approach of death , but som times I ha e pre sentiments that the answer will no t be death ; I try o f to put this thought from me as a snare the devil . A Still the suspense is trying . dieu , dear and loved — - who ? Bisho p . Will it be my last good bye knows ’ o f ! May the will God be done , and not mine “ T t his farewell was really o be the last . During the night o f February the 2nd the desired sentence ar e A . t rived a t last ; but Fr V nard knew it not . two O ’ clock in the morning he breakfasted as usual and Th was allowed to go into the garden . e widow e lo w Nghi n , having followed him stealthily , said in a ‘ ’ to - And o u . voice , Father , y are be executed to day o because your brother doubted , since he had been t ld ‘ that he was to be taken to the king, she added , It is

A . quite certain . lready the elephants are ordered and the soldiers are ready ; in a few moments yo u will be ’ e o . to led to executi n Fr . V nard hastily returned his f cage to distribute his little e fects among his friends . A o ld t this moment an lady named Xin arrived ,

1 9 8 A Modern Martyr no u nced , he took up his parable , and made a little h T l speec . his was a formal dec aratio n that h e had

o T - to h th e c me to ong king only teac true religion , o to fo r and that he was g ing die the same cause . He ‘ to the One d a w e ended by saying j udges , y s ha ll ’ meet ea ch o th er a a in a t th e tr ibu na l o Go d Th g , f . e ‘ o f mandarin j ustice rose hastily and exclaimed , I will ’ have no inso lence ! T he convoy was ordered to start o f tw o at once . It was composed elephants and two o hundred soldiers , c mmanded by a lieutenant colonel . e Fr . V nard began to sing Latin psalms and hymns as o h o o The the pr cession passed t r ugh the t wn . place o f ’ execution was about half an ho ur from the mandarin s h ouse , and when they had arrived , the soldiers formed to a great circle keep back the crowd , which was enormous ; but the co urageous widow Nghien broke through the ranks and at last Obtained permission to o remain with the missioner t the end . “ e Fr . V nard , with a calm and even j oyous coun tena nce , looked all over the crowd , hoping to see h T v Fat er inh , and to recei e a last absolution . But o no t fo r this p or priest , knowing that the order exe i n cu t o . had been given , could not arrive in time Your “ to brother , having given his sandals the faithful

o n . The o o ff widow , sat quietly his mat soldiers to k his chain , and with a hammer loosened the nails which fastened the ring about his neck and ankles . T hen they pushed all , even the poor widow , outside the circle . “ Th e executioner was a hideous hunchback , called T ff o ue . , once a soldier , now a bu o n He had already o f o u r o n 2 5th o f decapitated four priests the March , 1 860 h a d to h , and begged to be allowed perform t is ’ horrible Office that he might have th e martyr s clo thes . e o f . He began by asking Fr V nard , as of an ordinary T h eoph a ne Venard 1 9 9

l h h e to crimina , w at would give him be executed ‘ o a n Th d . e Th pr mptly well answer he received was , e l o n er i t l a s ts th e better i t will " h h g be . Seeing t at t e ’ o o missi ner s clothes were new and clean , his wh le to h anxiety was get them wit o ut any stains o f bloo d . h o He t eref re begged his victim to strip ; and , as this o first invitati n remained unheeded , he added , with ‘ ’ Y - , o u be la n tr i barbarous ingenuity are to v g , that is , to have all th e members cut o ff at the j oints and the trunk sawn into four parts . Our dear missioner, o r either because he believed the lie , because he wished to experience more fully the humiliation of o u r

Saviour , who before His crucifixion bore similar to treatment , perhaps also because he was anxious get , o f o rid the importunities Of this vile hunchback , t ok Off all his clothes except his trousers . His elbows were then tightly tied behind his back , forcing him to e hold up his h ad for the fatal stroke , and he was fastened to a stake badly fixed in the ground . In this e o . positi n , at a given signal , Fr V nard received the first stroke— but it was simply a trial blow o nthe part o f the merciless executioner and did no t enter the Th e o flesh deeply next stroke , more vig rously o ff applied , cut the head nearly , the stake and the T o . victim falling t gether hen the executioner , finding his sword blunt , took another , and hacked at the neck , while indignant murmurs rose from the crowd . “ Finally , seizing the fallen head by the ear , he held it up to the lieutenant colonel w ho presided at the T f torture . his O ficer , having desired the municipal authorities to keep watch for three days , during which time the head was to be exposed , instantly sounded the retreat and marched his troops back to their All e quarters . this time the poor widow Nghi n and many other women were bewailing as if at the death 2 00 A M o d ern M a rtyr

fi rs - NO O f their t born . sooner had the troops left the ground than these wo men and a crowd o f sympa thizers precipitated themselves o n the spot to soak ‘ ’ their handkerchiefs and papers in the martyr s blood ; and they showed such ardor that not a blade of grass The was left in the place . execution had not occurred Th in the usual spot . e great mandarin desired to have the missioner decapitated on the edge of the river , so that the head might be thrown into it with greater ease after the exposition . For this reason many of the curious , and likewise of the faithful , had taken the wrong road , among the rest a good pagan who had arranged for the burial of the body ; hence , although the execution was at eight in the morning, at midday the body still remai ned extended o n the T sand , covered with a mat . hen , a bier having been o brought d wn the stream , everything was prepared fo r the interment . Besides the family of this faithful

Hu On - e pagan , named g Da , the widow Nghi n , who had not left the remains for an instant , was present . “ The body was also guarded by a former Christian

L - mayor , named y Vung, and a devout Catholic boat

- Th e man from the southern district of Tong king . latter had the delicacy to wrap the martyr ’ s body in his Th o ff . e own coat , which he took for that purpose whole was afterwards enclosed in a cotton sheet , tightly bound with three linen bands , and , placed in a ffi co n , was buried only a foot deep so as to be the more The readily disinterred . head had been put in a The little wooden box at the top of a pole . mayor

L - y Vung had a box made exactly similar , hoping to

substitute it for the other , and thus to get possession of o the precious relics . But it was found imp ssible to

cheat the vigilance of the guards . We had then to Th . e resort to another expedient gaoler , charged with

2 02 A Modern Martyr

incorrupt . I took the little white bag in which Ly o h Vung had envel ped it , and in w ich it had been for nine days ; from the right ear I took out the fi sh - hook which Huong- M oi had fastened in it and which had i remained with about an inch of the l ne . It had made a wide opening in the ear as by a violent The wrench . condition o f the flesh around the ear showed ho w it had been hacked by the inhuman exe i n r ff f cu t o e . o o I cut some the hair with my scissors , o r fo r keeping five six locks his family . I tearfully

- turned this much loved head in my hands , and finally replaced it in its urn , and deposited it in a neighbor o f ing house at the earnest entreaty the inhabitants , finding it impo ssible at present to do with safety what

I had wished , namely , to reunite the head to the other ” i fo r f o . members . For this we must wa t a time peace m B ishop Jeantet , under the i pression that the mar ’ to tyr s father was still aliv e , wrote comfort him , de cla r in T g that heophane , by his great merits , had well ’ deserv ed th e martyr s palm and adding that the Blessed

Virgin , to whom he had ever been so tenderly devoted , in had thus glorified him the eyes of the whole world . Bishop Theu rel added in conclusion : “ M y dear friends , shall I say that we are rej oiced ’ ? o r a fll icted at your dear brother s glorious end In o ne sense we all rej oice at his triumph , blessing and o d fo r praising G for His choice ; but my own part , I ca nnot help feeling deeply the separation which has n taken place . I am still quite you g, being Of the same age as o u r dear Theo ph a ne ; o u r warm friendship o f a ll and entire conformity views on points , made him a powerful auxiliary in all my labors , and a sharer in all the cares and anxieties Of the future . Your brother was at least o ne- half of my strength and of my h a d courage . He the greatest prudence and wisdom , T h eoph ane Vena rd 2 03

united with a burning love and zeal . It seemed as if he and I to gether could do great things in this Tong ho w o n? king vineyard ; but alone, shall I get His departure has cast me down terribly and has upset all

. fo r my hopes and plans I have cried him bitterly , and shall cry still more, whatever people may say ! I fo r have said that he had an immense zeal souls ; also , though his health was more delicate than that O f any other missioner in the diocese , he did more work than o anybody else , passing half the night , and s metimes the whole day besides , in the confessional . His co n fi dence in Go d was boundless and made him bold a l most to a fault in his undertakings . While he was

d Ké - B eo working so a mirably at in June , I wrote him fo r that he must take greater precautions , the heavens were big with clouds . He answered me with that o ne o f holy boldness which was his characteristics , that not a hair o f his head would fall unless by the

o f . u o u r o will Go d In tr th , L rd had determined the o f m hour his artyrdom , and his happy fate was fore 1 851 told him in . “ He was a wonderful linguist and had completely f A mastered the di ficult nnamite dialect . He translated ‘ nt E vn li ’ the Conco rd a ia a g e ca of M . Migne into good A A o f A . nnamite , as well as the cts the postles He had j ust completed the translation o f the E pistles and o f the Apocalypse ; and was in the midst o f an abridged P Commentary from that of icquigny , when he was T two arrested . hese last translations , of which no one had a copy , have , to my great despair , been burned , no t by the chief who took him prisoner , but by the

Ké - B eo Christians of , whose fears had really troubled A o f o u r their reason . nother Christian missions has been more faithful to the memory of our dear brother .

- DOn for I mean that of But g , where he lived eighteen 2 04 A M o d ern M a rtyr

i T S a et. months with Fr . g his whole parish has been for more than a year in open war with the mandarin ,

- vehe Nam Xang , whom your brother reproached so T mently from his cage . his functionary came himself to But- Dong to force the people to trample the Cross under fo ot ; but the whole population having unani sl mo u y refused to apostatize , he was forced to yield to the resistance of eighteen hundred men ; and a l though since then he has issued edict after edict , he has done nothing but lose both his time and his trouble . Bishop Jeantet had expressed the wish that when

m re- the ti e came for the establishment Of the seminary , P T Theophane would become rofessor of heology . ‘ ’ ‘ I hoped so much , writes His Grace , from his wonderful piety , zeal , and science . But the Sovereign “ Arbiter Of all things has decided o therwise— Fia t ” vol u ntas The e faithful widow Nghi n , con “ tinu es Theu rel Bishop , brought back the clothes and chain o f o u r dear brother and handed everything A P over to us . little later we hope to send to aris the fi shhoo k chain , the little bag, and the of which I have o r spoken , together with the hair , one two autograph o f letters the martyr , and the linen soaked with his blood . “ The ring which went about the neck is wanting to the chain , having been appropriated by the brother f o n f o e O . the mandarin , as was also the foot rings o u E I will forward to y , my dear usebius , as well as to f M . e o o Henry and Mdlle . M lanie , your porti n his

o f . hair , and the linen soaked with his blood I do

to - not send these things day , as my parcel is already A too heavy ; I must wait fo r the next time . little later I ho pe also to send yo u each some little remem ff brance chosen from among his e ects . Bishop Jeantet

2 06 A Modern M a rtyr

contained in three little packets , sealed with the in episcopal seal , and marked with the following ’ scr i tio ns o wn — H a ir p , written in the Bishop s hand of én r d Linen m M T V a . i bu d with his l . . e b S ma ll ood .

bo nes ca r tila es na ils , g , ,

“ Th e ea o f eo h a ne Vena r i s in o n - in a n O ec o f a r d n h d Th p d T g k g , bj t e t o o n o th e na ti e r is ti a ns I t w a s ex dev ti t v Ch . p o s ed fo r v ener a ti o n wh i l e th e B ea ti ca ti o n w a s ta in a ce a t R o m e i n 1 909 Th r o u th e r ea t fi k g pl . gh g ~ in nes s o f a i s o i n T o n in a o r ti o n o f th e neck - o ne i s to - d a k d b h p g k g , p b y t r ea s u r ed in the Am er ica n o r ei n M i s s i o n emina r a t a r no F g S y M yk ll ,

s inin New o r . O s g, Y k T h e h a i r a nd linen r efer r ed to i n th e no te o f th e family w er e a t

s s u nti th e d ea t o f Fr . E u s e iu s in 1 9 1 3 i e a i . tt itt e h o w A l h b L l by l l , e er h e h a d dis o s ed o f a r ea t a r t o f t es e r e i cs to c ients o f h e v , p g p h l l t m a r t r a m o n o t er s to th e itt e o w er o f es u s th e o u n Ca r y , g h L l Fl J , y g m elite o f L i s i eu x wh o s e d evo tio n to Bl es s ed Th eo pha ne w a s o ne o f her i ns o io ns dy ng co l a t . T o s a ti s f hi s im o r tu na te fr i end fr o m Am er i ca w o s e etter s y p , h l w er e i e te e r a i c i s a tc es th e o o o ld r i es t wa s twi ce r e l k l g ph d p h , g d p p a i ed u o n to a r t w it s o m e s m a o r ti o n o f t es e r eci o u s tr ea s u res v l p p h ll p h p , t o u i m u b confes s e h d id s o r u in eno u a l h gh t st e d e g dg gly gh . ’ Th e cha in wo rn du r ing th e m a r ty r s ca ptivity i s in a ca binet devoted to eo a ne ena r in th e a o f M a r t r s a t th e M i s s i o ns E tr a n Th ph V d H ll y , e r i Th o r o n cr t u n er th e em ina r a e r es a s . e d e s es i a g , P b y p yp d S y Ch p l , n r n e a nd i s indi ca ted by a ta bl et pl a ced a t th e l eft s i de nea r th e e t a c . E r Th e i s s i o n o u s e no wn in a r i s a s th e M i s s i o ns tr a n e es , i s M H , k P g r ea c ed fr o m h R u d B a N o 1 2 8 Th e a r c e d o o r w a w ic t e e u c . h , , h d y , h h , i t m a b e w e to r em em er fa ces th e B o n M a r c é a w e - no wn d e y ll b , h ( ll k a rtment s to r e i s u i te inco ns i cu o u s s ince it i s cr o w d e etween p ) , q p , d b co mm er ci a es ta i s m ents th e emina r its e f a s w e a s th e c a e l bl h , S y l , ll h p l , b eing l o ca ted a w a y fr o m th e b u sy th o r o u ghfa r e a nd b ehind th es e u i in s b ld g . Th e a o f a r t r s i s no t a w a s o en a nd t er e i s no inc ina tio n H ll M y l y p , h l o n th e p a r t o f th e S emina r y Dir ecto r s to enco u r a ge th e mer ely cu riou s

i s ito r T o th o s e w h o a r e inter es te in th e m i s s i o n ca u s e h o w e er , v . d , v a nd w h o a s s u c w o u r o a a r eci a te th e r i ce es s so u eni r s o f , h , ld p b bly pp p l v m o der n m a r t r s a w e co m e i s a w a s i en a nd e er o s s i e co u rtes y , l l y g v , v y p bl y extend ed es ecia if t e a re stran ers from afa r , p lly h y g . Th eopha ne V éna rd 207

CHAPT E R XV .

F s t Annivrs a a nd R tr os ec ir e ry e p t.

’ T H E o fli cia l news o f Theophane Véna rd s martyr no t dom did arrive in France till the end of December, 1 8 61 , nearly eleven months after the event . The Bishop o f Poitiers at once resolved to hold a feast in hono r of o ne whom his hand had led into the sanc tu a r y, and who had become the glory of his diocese by the heroic confession o f faith and the shedding of r blood fo Jesus Christ . The 2nd P feast was fixed for Sunday , the of ebru P o f ary , the urification the Blessed Virgin , and the Th e anniversary o f the martyrdom . bishop came to

o f . o preside at the ceremony in the church St L up , f u r o the native parish o o her . He was accompanied no t o f o wn only by the members his chapter , but by about a hundred priests , friends or companions of T A — heophane , including the bbé Dallet who had been compelled from bad health to return to France for a few months— and the superior of the Seminary O f

Foreign Missio ns at Paris . A fter the Mass , the bishop preached with such fer vor and emotion that the whole audience was in tears . As Yet there was nothing sad about the festival . a “ priest who was present said, In each martyr , grace 2 08 A M o d ern Mar tyr

u ff Th ass mes a di erent character . In eopha ne it was an indomitable serenity , a j oyous calm which nothing o f could disturb . One may say him as the E nglish ‘ o f - do one of their poets , He was born with a rose bud on his lips and a bird to sing in his ear so graceful was his imagery, so melodious his words . His natural sweetness spread a charm over everything and every o ne E with whom he came in contact . ven at the last moment of his life he poured it o ut o n those who o n pressed around his cage, the instrument of his to r

o n - n ture , the very earth which was to dri k his blood . We feel a s if the fatal blow which severed that dear and venerated head were only as the pressure which separates from its stalk the fair flower that is to ” T ’ adorn the altar . his j oyous calm in the martyr s character , so well known to his parents and towns in people , had colored the festival held his honor . Nothing spo ke of death ; but everything breathed hope and life . His father ’ s house was decked with flowers that day as fo r a marriage feast ; and at the breakfast o given by his brothers , the ro m was hung with fes ’ r toons and garlands , the ma tyr s monogram being twined with palm branches and crowns .

M Me e s . dlle . lanie V nard assi ted at the feast She ’ had now followed her heart s desire , so often talked over with her martyred brother , and had taken the o f veil in the Convent the Holy Family , under the “ name o f Sister Theophane . T A owards the end of dinner , the bbé Chauvin , a curate Of St . Jacques de Ch tellerault, read a hymn in o f e honor the martyr , the graceful and tender po try o f which provoked murmurs of approbation from the bishop and all the assembled company . Between the ’ o f T Old services , a large number heophane s friends

T heoph ane Vena rd 209

- A r made a pilgrimage to the grassy hillsides of Bel i , where the first inspiration for the foreign missions had come into his childish heart . The wax taper carried by the bishop on that occa sion was left , at his request , as a memorial in the parish church , and by its side hangs in a square frame a o f an utograph letter the martyr , written with a u paint br sh in his cage .

And now that we have followed Theophane Venard o u r from his birth to his death , is interest in him entirely at an end ? If o u r minds have been for a short time turned from frivolous tho ughts to the contem

la tio n so so - p Of a life pure , so holy , single minded in o f the dedication all its gifts and powers to God , will ff o n it not have some influence , some e ect our future conduct ? We feel confident that our Lord will not allow so h eminent an example to pass un eeded , and that already this martyr ’ s words have kindled in other souls a like burning love and zeal fo r the conversion o f the Th e heathen . Scarcely had eophane V nard reached Tong- king when his letters began to fire the ambition of o friends and compani ns , determining them to share o f r o in his ap stolic labors o the f reign missions . We trust that o n those who read this little book a like im pression may be made that if all cannot actually take part in the missioner s life , they may at least help others to do so by propagating the works o f the for eignmissio ns to the utmost of their power in the circle of their o w n homes . At the Congress o f Malines a noted Catholic A o . orat r , M ugustin Cochin , after having pronounced 1 4 2 1 0 A M o dern M a r tyr an eloquent discourse on the progress O f science and o f uo arts from the religious point view , q ted a letter e his u of Theophane V nard to enforce arg ments , and to induce the eminent men who listened to him to O f th e j oin in a series resolutions , of which first was , “ To labor incessantly for the p r op ag a ti on of th e fa ith n o n m n th e h ea th e . a o g He went to say , I cannot u nderstand that any true Catholic should refuse to work energetically fo r the maintenance o f those model men amongst us who go forth to regions where the Go spel is unkno wn and seal the truth with their T blood . heir words breathe a faith and an ardent charity Of which their lives and their deaths are the

proof . “ I was struck the other day by an unexpected coin cidence between the letters o f two men to their sis

ters , both delicate and sincere , both written in pres o f o ne ence the tomb , by a brother to his sister who

is dead , the other to his sister by a brother about to Th to o d i e. e former was from a man but well known , fo r who , searching in his heart what was purest and ‘ ’ ‘ o o f best , could speak nly refined doubts , delicate ’ ‘ questions , tears mingled by the women Of Old with ’ ‘ A ’ the waves of Biblos , the mysteries of donis , and thus he writes to her whom he calls his ‘ good ’ genius ! Th e other was written at midnight by a pr i s

o n o n oner from his cage the eve of martyrdom , the 2 0th o f January , only two years ago, at the very

moment , gentlemen , when some of us were probably ” at a ball . He then read aloud the letter to M e d “ lanie , and ad ed , Gentlemen , between these two R e T e letters Of nan and heophane V nard , between the two two doctrines which they inspire , between the h states of mind w ich they reveal , my choice is made ;

2 1 2 A Mod ern M a r tyr

T - o r . buried alive drowned In ong king, the man darins , foreseeing that liberty would soon be pro o ff claimed , cut completely the supply of foo d and o f caused many to die starvation .

A o f T - period peace followed in ong king, with occa s io na l 1 882 threatenings , until , when Father Bechel was beheaded with his catechists and his flock . The royal council then considered a general massacre of Th . e Tu all Catholic priests and people king , Duc , the same under whom Theophane Venard was sen n te ced . , opposed the movement Shortly afterwards

- fi ve — a he died , after a reign of thirty years , reign that had been often criminal and always unhappy . A 1 885 nother frightful massacre took place in ,

o o f - covering the whole regi n Indo China . In the mis

T - 1 63 sion of ong king churches were burned ,

Catholics were killed , and died of hunger and misery . TO - day France is in peaceful possession of Tong Th king and the great persecutions have ceased . e Of following statistics , supplied from the latest report P o f the aris Seminary will be interest to the reader , who cannot fail to see here again exemplified the “ - T ma rt rum well known axiom Of ertullian , Sanguis y ” “ semen Chr istia no ru m Th e blood o f martyrs is the ” seed of Christians .

T - n 1 9 1 2 ong king i . Catholics Churches or chapels Bishops Missioners (E uropean) Native priests

Seminaries Th eopha n e Vena rd 2 1 3

Students Community o f men R eligious Communities Of women R eligious Adult pagans baptized Children o f pagans baptized in danger of death Children o f Christians baptized Schools Pupils Orphanages and Infant Asylums Children in the same Workshops Children in the same Dispensaries Hospitals

The writer is now in occasional correspondence with a young missioner whom he met at the Paris

w h T - Seminary and o has since been sent to ong king . Some months after his arrival this young priest wrote : “ It is a little more than a year since I announced to yo u my call to the priesthood and my approaching Th departure fo r the missions . e mission chosen fo r me is familiar to yo u through the life o f Theophane e o f V nard , whom we spoke so much during your stay P ” E e . at the Missions trang res , aris o s o Well , I am in the missi n where many martyrs

— T - o . o r have labored , the mission of ng king My j oy , rather ou r jo y (fo r there are two o f u s— Father De Coo m a o n y and myself) , was all the greater our ar a rival , because we had been long time sighing for no t the day . In fact , the voyage was a very happy n — —it o . e In place of thirty days , the usual passage , 2 1 4 A Modern M a rty r

- fi ve to T - took us forty days to get ong king . We had tw o accidents to the machinery during the trip , and j ust as we were entering th e Tong—king R iver o u r boat struck o n a hidden ledge . “ Happily the sea was calm and th e day following h o T the s ipwreck a boat came t rescue us . here were h no deat s to deplore , but a considerable portion Of r o f h e o o u baggage is at the b ttom o t sea . I l st nearly o f all my books and many little souvenirs home . Co o ma no o Father De y was more f rtunate than I . Go d evidently wished us to practise detachment from o the things Of this world as so n as we arrived here . v We are thankful to ha e escaped , as the boat went to pieces soo n after we left it . “ On the bo at were eight missioners ; two fo r

- th e o o f T Cochin China , and six for three missi ns ong

M T - king . I am in the mission of aritime ong king, with Father De Co o ma y for my companion . “ At P hat Diem , where the Bishop lives , I was ’ T Véna rd s much pleased to meet heophane catechist , that is to say , the native who taught the language to m Old o f the artyr . He is very and bears the signs T h his religion . hese are the marks w ich the pagans made o n the countenances of Christians at the time The o f Old Of persecution . only occupation the good man is to prepare himself for death . He is always

en . wrapped in sil ce , meditation and prayer “ o f T o - a r e In this mission Maritime ng king , there

Christians . In the parish where I am , there are more Christians than pagans , and they are fervent

Christians , too . “ On last Corpus Christi we had a beautiful pro Th cession . e Christians had worked many days to prepare a fitting passage , and with triumphal arches , o r ifla mmes , etc . , nothing was wanting for the cere

2 1 6 A M o dern M a rtyr amply compensated by the opportunity which I shall have to make a pilgrimage to the scene of his mar t r do m to o u y , venerate his head , which , y know , was

T - left at o ng king, and then to celebrate Mass on the day o f the solemnity . Have I no t reason to believe that I have drawn ? the best lo t of all And may I no t hope fo r the o u r powerful intercession of dear martyr , to whom I o w e my sweet apostolic vocation and the special favor ? Of being sent to Tong- king Am I presumptuous in no t expecting his constant intercession , and if the o f crown Of martyrdom , at least the crown Heaven , the reward promised to the conquerors . “ More than ever do I need fe rvent prayers; that I may be a missioner such as were those Of past — o f generations who , worthy martyrdom , have made the Society and religion illustrious by the shedding Of

- their blood . Fifty years sixty years , after these , to o n we come , their imitators , gather the harvest h the soil which t ey prepared , sowed and watered . Ma y we have fruit as abundant ! “ Th e missio n to which I am assigned is a new 1 9 00 f o o . Out o f undati n , established in two million Th e inhabitants there were Catholics last year . thirty missioners o n the ground baptized pagan — a no t infants and adults , fine sheaf , is it , to present to the Father o f th e family ? “ The extraordinary number Of pagan infant bap tism s is due especially to an awful rice famine in which numerous families perished from hunger . “ In conclusion , I beg your prayers , to soften the o f grief my family caused by separation . My beloved o Th father and m ther are o ld . e day when they would have realized their most precious dream— to see their T heoph an e V éna r d 2 1 7 children priests— will see them depart with no hope o f r T a eunion until we meet in Heaven . heir hearts are already bruised by th e departure o f my brother A who o n l 1 th o f lfred , left the September , and in two weeks more , the sacrifice will be repeated . May God t give me streng h and courage . h Wit sincere regards , I am , as ever , Ou r Yours in Saviour and Mary Immaculate , A H U CT I N AR B SIL , M . . ,

T - Of Maritime ong king . P — I . S . 1 9 h was with my family from Oct . t to

l Th - . st. e a o Nov good bye is ov er , eight days g . My su fl er ed father and mother keenly when I was going, but they had accepted the sacrifice lo ng before and ff Go d fo r fo r generously O ered it to His glory , their o w n o fo r o salvati n and the salvati n Of souls . May the Blessed Virgin soften for them the grief o f separation . It is to her mo therly protection that I r have confided them . I am simply waiting now fo o u r P departure from aris . “ ! I ho w Oh how happy am , and proud to have received this beautiful mission Of Tong- king ! I could not reaso nably be otherwise when I consider the links which bind me to Theophane through his venerable brother . “ To give yo u an idea o f the jo y which filled the E e soul Of Fr . usebius V nard when he learned that I fo r T — was destined ong king , I will say that he could r Th e hardly express it in words o by his letters . best pro of o f his satisfaction is that he wishes to be present at my departure . In spite Of his advanced age he does no t fear to make the journey . “ to fo r I am going ask , with insistency, prayers

o f T o - fo r the young missioner Maritime ng king, his s a nctifi ca tio n work and above all for his . 2 1 8 A M o dern M a rty r

The l choicer and more beautifu my inheritance , the gr eater is my Obligation to care fo r it with zeal P h and love . ray t at I may be a holy missionary priest . o u r f r God and blessed Mother will do the rest o me . “ o n Be assured that my part I will not forget you . I will unite my prayers with those Of my Christians for all who are included in your intentions . Afl ectio na tel o y in Our L rd and Mary Immaculate , S H U CTI N BA IL ,

M . A p .

TO- day other young apostles are walking in the T footsteps Of Theophane Venard . hese will follow o u t fo r the path marked them , and , if necessary , they too will cheerfully bend their heads to receive the sabre - cut o f the persecutor ; and when the tidings of their martyrdom shall have reached the Mission

House which nurtured them , a j oyous hymn of praise will be sung, and that night in the dark silence of O f u the sanctuary , scores yo ng aspirants will pray r a i with renewed fe vor , each sk ng as a special grace , to o or tu na te that he , , may be f enough to win the ’ martyr s crown . The age o f martyrs will never pass in the true r Chu ch Christ .

Th eoph a n e Vena r d 2 1 9

CHAPTE R X VI .

T h e A rw o r fte d .

“ T H E rea der will naturally wish to know what be m o f e ca e the several members of the V nard family, ’ to each Of whom in tu rn the martyr s letters were addressed . In the editor ’ s preface mention has already been Of E e made usebius , who was for many years the b E n loved Curé O f Assai . Fr . usebius died o February 24 1 9 1 3 , . In the course of the narrative it has been n e re lear ed that M . V nard , the father , died before ’ ceivin O f Méla nie g news his son s martyrdom , and that “ — — shortly afterwards entered a religious order , Les ’ a n R eligieuses d E spé r ce.

’ M éla nie T s econd s el , heophane s f, as he Often called

A . her , died in the convent at miens , in France Henry s married , but after a few years lo t his wife and only U child . ntil his death , a few years ago , he shared E A with Fr . usebius the humble presbytery at ssai . T heir housekeeper , a gentle townswoman from the l T O d . home at St Loup , remembered heophane when , ’ bo t as a y Of fourteen , he pas ured his father s goats

- Air too de on the hillside Of Bel . She recalled his

e - partu re for the missions . In this simpl household , 2 20 A Modern M a rty r aglow with the memory Of a martyr and adorned o th e with many s uvenirs Of his life , writer spent T happy and profitable ho urs . owards the end Of his E no t th e h life Fr . usebius did enj oy best Of ealth , but only a few years before his death he pro duced a successful martyr - play in honor o f his brother— the labor o f many months . This drama was enacted by the villagers o f Assai in the spacious churchyard and drew a great assem A r blage from the surrounding country . letter e E eived . i c at the time from Fr usebius , acknowledg ng o — in s me photographs the results , good , bad , and ff O f di erent , a forced attempt made by the writer during o ne Of his visits to Assai— will thro w light o n this interesting Curé , while it gives information about the little drama in which he is so deeply inter e T h e sted . reader will remark that the saving sense o f humor is no t lacking in th e brother Of Theophane

Venard .

A A rv e ssai (by i ault) , Deux S vres , France . “ 2 3 1 9 Oct. 05 , . R everend and dear Father : “ I hav e safely received your masterly efforts at

“ no t photography , and I am waiting to see if I do get a Fo r second package . a first attempt these are not a h poor showing . We mig t even call them a success , especially the one in which I am posing at the door of my presbytery . o H wever , as a rule , the views Of the surrounding a country are more pleasing than the portr its , which are a trifle dark . “ All who have recognized themselves have been K is ' h o h e delighted , even éb j alt ugh is seen from

’ ‘ ' M nr d o e s . j . H y g

222 A M o d ern M a rtyr

reference to his beloved brother . He used to call L e Venera bl e him , rather proudly , , and later , more B nh eu r eu x L e ie . proudly , (the Blessed) P From time to time he visited aris , staying at the Mission Seminary to arrange some o f the many de f tails incidental to the process o Beatification . He was always a w elcome gu est and an Obj ect of great to O f T respect the students , all whom loved heo phane .

o Occasionally , too , he drove over to St . L up to inspect the Old home and to talk with the Curé about the days to come , when St . Loup would be a centre of pilgrimages and the relics of his beloved brother , guarded by friends , would be venerated by multi tudes o f the faithful . A E Before returning to ssai , Fr . usebius would always walk out through the village , over the bridge

T - Air f . that crossed the houet , to the hillside O Bel Here a simple monument still marks the spot where T heophane Venard received his call to be a martyr . A i few yards from this monument , on a sl ght ele fo r vation , there has stood many years , the stone E apse Of a memorial chapel . Good Fr . usebius o ut pointed to the writer this unfinished work ,

o f confessing , with a sigh , that the generosity friends had failed him , and the chapel of which he had dreamed as a place Of pilgrimage must wait fo r o r better times , look to some other land for its realization . T hat evening as we sat in his poor dining room at A‘ ’ ssai , a gleam of hope came into the Old priest s eyes , and he said “ Perhaps America will learn to love T heophane . Th eoph a ne V éna rd

Cl o s in R fl n g e ectio s . T 1 9 03 hat was in . Two years later the first edition of this life appeared and before E usebius went to his reward he had the satisfaction of knowing that seven thousand copies had been printed and circulated , and that five and A perhaps ten times that number of merican people ,

- young and Old , Catholic and non Catholic , had learned to o to love his blessed brother . He knew , , that several young men and young women had been drawn to the religious life through the inspiration received from these letters and that the first vocations to the American Foreign Mission Seminary could be traced to the same influence . America is beginning to know— and to know is to — T e — T é love heophane V nard , and not heophane V Of nard alone , but the noble army heroes and heroines o to wh se company he belonged , and who , in our o wn u generation , are str ggling bravely for the Cause of Christ in fields afar . E nglish - speaking Catholics here in the United

States and elsewhere have been accused , perhaps ff T j ustly, Of indi erence to foreign missions . his accu sation is met with the excuse that we have had too e much to do at hom ; but the true Catholic , whose

- o f heart is all embracing like that Christ , knows that the solid development of the Church at home will be helped rather than hindered by our interest in its spread throughout the world , nay more , the one must depend upon the other . Love for the Church is like a flame , which if confined will die . T here is , indeed , much spiritual and material work m T to be done at ho e . here always will be ; but if we wait until every home need has been met , we must wait till the end O f time . Whatever may be said of 224 A M o dern M a rtyr

the past , we are certainly now in a position to con a t tribute least a breath Of prayer , a mite of alms , and some missio ners — even though it be a proportion — o ately small number to the f reign missions .

We should remember that as yet , notwithstanding n the clear command of Christ , uttered ni eteen cen “ tu r ies a o — g , Going, teach all nations , preach the ” ther e a re a t thi gospel to every creature , s moment ’ ’ more tha n millio ns o u t o th e ea r th s o u la ti n , f p p o o million who d o no t know s u h r f , J e s C is t. R emarkable progress has , it is true , been made in f the last century towards the conversion O the world . This progress may be traced to the copious shedding O f blood fo r Christ by men like Theophane Venard o f and their converts , and to the establishment sys tema tic o f fo r means support the missions , notably fo r P As the Society the ropagation of the Faith . a

result Of these influences , spiritual and material , the

- Catholic Church to day counts in the mission field , about priests , Brothers , and Sisters , O f as against all told , at the beginning the last

century . T his progress , however, can hardly be credited to

E - On nglish speaking Catholics . the contrary, we in the United States must confess with our confreres E “ in ngland , that as yet we have no heart for the

heathen , and that zeal for the honor of God and the salvation Of souls is less in proportion to numbers among us than among certain E uropean Catholic peo a s it ples , upon whose shortcomings we are so re dy to in

These last words refer to our unhappy co - religion ists h ' r r in France , and t e ea de will more easily under

* v Th e R e . o s a o n Th . J ck s a t th e Annu a l C o nfer ence Of th e Ca th olic r u t o ci et e a t a c u rn n a n in 1 905 T h S y, h ld Bl kb , E gl d, .

T h eoph a ne Vena rd 2 2 5 sta nd the allusion when he recalls that a t th e p r es ent time mor e th a n one ha l o a ll Ca th o li c mis s i o ner s a nd f f , o ne hal o a ll moni es s u bs cr ibed to their s u o r t f f pp , ma be a ttr i u t d t the ener s it h F r y b e o . g o y of t e ench o ff p e ple. If we must criticize the indi erence O f

French Catholics , let us admit that the divine note of Catholicity in the true Church is due to—day largely

- o f to self denying sons and daughters France , whose sacrifices on th e mission fields have wo n the plaudits of an admiring world , and will yet , we believe , by ’ m God s grace , enable France to triu ph over present trials .

T Go d E - hank , among the nglish speaking people of the wo rld there are signs o f an awakening to the mis Th e f h sion needs . apostolic zeal O t e late Cardinal Vaughan has blessed E ngland with her Missionary College at Fr eshfi eld and her Seminary fo r Foreign

M - issions at Mill Hill , so that to day this Society which the Christlike heart of Cardinal Vaughan in P spired , has missions in the unj ab and Madras , India ; Z P in Borneo , New ealand , and the hilippine Islands o f A and in Uganda and the Congo frica . It counts m P among its me bers three Bishops , two refects A o c tw o post li and nearly hundred priests . It is true that many o f its missioners are no t Of E nglish - speak E ing origin , yet they have been trained in ngland . Mill Hill stands to- day as a witness to the aspirations O f a far - seeing hierarchy and an encouragement to o f the missionary spirit Catholic youth , while it holds

’ before all classes the high and inspiring ideal o f the apostolate , a most valuable asset in the life of the

Church . In the United States we have until recently been without such a national Seminary and the religious orders that supplied foreign mission recruits from 1 5 2 26 A ‘ M o dern M a rtyr other countries seemed to lose sight of this phase Of ff Catholic e ort in the . presence of our many and varied n home needs . Had we bee asked, a few years ago, to direct some young aspirant whose heart was prompt “ ” o the whole wa — ing him to g y , to give up home fo i' and country Jesus Christ , we should have been at a loss to know where to guide his steps , unless

M r away from our own land , to ill Hill or to one o th e o f E other of the seminaries on continent urope . And in some of these he could not be accepted if he were not already familiar with the language of the country . - 1 905 fi rst Of A M o d rn In , when the edition e M a r t r da y appeared , we expressed a hope that the y was not far distant when this urgent want would be O f A supplied , when the doors an merican Seminary fo r Foreign Missions should be thrown open to

- Catholic youth with world wide hearts .

T - the d rs a r o n A O oo e e . t day , thanks to God , p M * aryknoll , high above the noble river along which

Fr . Isaac Jogues , martyr for Christ, once sailed , a little group Of pioneer American students are pre fo r paring the foreign missions , blazing a trail that we have reason to believe many will follow in the years

to come .

* Th e F o r eig n Mi s s io n S emina r y at M a rykno ll w a s o p ened to s tu dents m 1 1 2 I t o ccu i es a s en i s r etch o f a n — o in e te er 9 . t a u t S p b , p pl d d l d b — ninety - th r ee a cr es o f fa rm a nd fo r est thi r ty m il es no r th o f N ew Yo r k n n nd r t n N ew it a nd ies a r t in th e to wn o f O s s i i a a i a s t e. C y , l p ly g p ly C l T h e el eva ti o n i s 550 feet a nd fro m thi s hei ght a n eigh t mil e s w eep o f n i w T h o s t- o ffi ce a r es s s s s inin e i . th e Hu ds o n R iver i s i v e . p dd O g

n e em er 1 n w emina r o ened a t cr a nto n P a its I t 1 9 3 th e e , S p b , , S y p S o o r s t r e a r a to r s h I t i s ca e th e V ena r A o s to i c c . fi p p y c o o l . ll d d p l S h l ns a nd wh o B o y s wh o h a ve a s p eci a l inclina ti o n fo r th e fo r eign mi s s i o er e Th e S emina r h o es a r e r ea dy fo r high s ch o o l w o rk a r e r eceived h . y p n o f th l ater t o es ta bli s h p r ep a r ato r y s ch o ol s in sever a l o th er s ecti o s e ni e ta t s U t d S e .

22 8 A M o dern M a rtyr lowed fo r centuries ; and if o u r preference must mani if o ne fest itself , we shall hardly be blamed we turn to o f o u r o wn who faced and conquered the trials day , fo r h — A M o d er n and who died C rist , Martyr .

2 nd 1 9 09 T e On May the , , heophane V nard was de ’ h s cla r ed Blessed . It was his brot er s pain taking labor h which prepared the facts leading to t is declaration , E the and a letter from Fr . usebius to writer , prepared R o n in ome the day of the B eatification , expresses his jo y o n this solemn occasion . Th e great day had just come to an end and I wish to tell yo u my j oy and my happiness and ho w o fo r much I have th ught of and prayed yo u . “ to - o Yesterday and day , I have had em tions truly o delicious and beyond all expressi n . Yesterday , the o f P entire deputation from the diocese oitiers , in ’ o which St . L up (the martyr s home) was notably Po P represented , was received by pe ius X . in a very s pecial audience . “ h Before t is audience , the Holy Father wished to receive - me alo ne and to give evidence to me Of his fatherly tenderness . He asked intimate details about dear Theophane and spoke to me with much satis

o wn - co ns e faction and praise about my life work , crated as it has been to the glory o f my blessed o br ther . “ TO - o f day was the great day the Beatification , a h Th e ceremony grand and to uching in t e extreme . d chanting was very beautiful . I a mired especially T e the Deum , during which I was many times suf fo ca ted by so bs and tears Of happiness . “ ’ T h o his evening at fiv e O clock , t ere was an ther ’ P h th e P to gathering at St . eter s , w ere ope came T h eophan e V éna r d 2 2 9 venerate the relics Of the newly Blessed and to assist the at Solemn Benediction . “ Th e assemblage was immense , the great Basilica to All P filled overflowing . the apal court was present to participate in the ceremony and there was a splendid illumination which bro ught o ut the aureoles o f the martyrs . “ P When the ope and his court had left the Church , from the tribunes next to mine there rushed towards o f o me an avalanche of people , most them unkn wn f m to me , who O fered congratulations , shook y hands and kissed them with visible j oy . In treating me thus , they believed that they wer e in relationship with — T . heophane himself , as if he were living “ I was happy in all these proofs o f aff ectio n given to the Blessed One in my person and the impressio n they made was indelible , although my fatigue was extreme . ff Very a ectionately yours in Christ , E E . AR L . V N D, ’ A Curé d ssai .

A few months after the Beatification, impressive

o T - cerem nies were held at Hanoi , in ong king, where ’ H . . u ctin the martyr s head is preserved Fr Basil , a E e parishioner Of Fr . usebius V nard whom we have already mentioned in these pages , sent to the writer a description of this celebration and added an account ’ o f T of his pilgrimage to the scene heophane s death . “A t St . Loup the pious pilgrims could follow the road leading to the hill of Bel - Air ; but I have fo llowed h the road w ich led to the martyrdom and triumph .

Sunday , after Vespers , in company with another o ut o ld Father , I set from the site Of the prison , ’ now demolished . Opposite is the Grand Mandarin s 2 30 A M o dern M a rtyr

former residence , with the j udgment hall where the to martyr was examined , bidden trample the Cross , h r o tin threatened wit the , and for a time imprisoned . h We examined all t ese scenes , and a little prayer r rose from o u hea rts to our lips . “ We proceeded on foot amidst an indiff erent crowd, talking little , and only to stimulate memory . From the city gate we went in the direction O f R ed

R . iver, a little distance away It is hard to discover the actual spot of the execution , for in the past forty ff eight years the river has shifted , submerging di erent

islands and claiming more land . We stood silently among people who had no suspicion O f the pilgr ims e— prayers , and mentally reviewed the scen the great circle O f two hundred soldiers formed around the young martyr , radiant with happiness ; the removal o ff of his garments , the same ignominy Our L rd su ered o n before being placed the Cross . It seemed as if I could hear the sound of the hammers and pincers loosening the nails that fastened the rings at neck T and ankles . hen , after the terrible preliminaries , came the picture Of the hideous executioner perform o n ing his sad work , and the head rolling the ground , deluging and fertilizing the Annamite soil with its pure blood . “After all these thoughts had passed through my mind , I made a fervent prayer to the dead martyr , our protector and model in heaven— a universal fo r prayer , his venerable brother , for my family , d frien s , and benefactors , for the missions , for the conversion O f the heathen and the spread Of Chris ” tia nit y. Blessed Theophane Venard has already become to not a few , a special intercessor in Heaven . In the beautiful life of Soeur Therese (which appea rs in

2 32 A M o dern M a rtyr I HYMN OF S IST E R T H E RE S E

(Th e Littl e Fl ow er o f Jesu s )

B l es s ed Th eo h a ne Vena rd M To p , a rtyr .

an l a e b L E m T s d S . r t y . ery .

T ! O heophane , angelic martyr blest All th e elect to sing thy praise aspire ; ' nd ! A thee to hail , behold there stand confest n The o . seraphim , with love divine fire o n I , a poor exile still this dull earth , Cannot with them my j oyful so ng combine ;

Yet will I take my harp , and sing thy worth ,

And claim thee as a kindred soul to mine .

Th y brief , bright sojourn here was like a psalm f O heavenly melody , all hearts upraising ; Th fo r o y love Jesus brought f rth flowers like balm , T o o hr ugh all thy life thy dearest Savi ur praising .

Writing thy farewell thy last earthly night , T hat farewell was a song Of spring and love ,

I , little butterfly , the first take flight ,

o u r . Of all loved ones , to our home above

T ! o f hou , happy martyr in the hour death Didst taste the deep delight o f suffering ; T ’ hou didst declare , e en with thy dying breath , T f fo r hat it is sweet to su fer the King . When the stern headsman made thee Offer fair Th to ho w : y torture abridge , swift thy word ’ Oh , blest am I my Master s cup to share ! Long let my suff ering last with Christ my Lord Th eoph ane Vena rd 2 33

! u Virginal lily life had but beg n , ’ When Jesus heard thy loving heart s desire .

I see in thee a flower whose race is run ,

Yet His hand plucked it but to lift it higher . And no w o , no longer , exile dost th u know ; T hy ecstasy the Blest rejoice to see ; T R o f hat ose love , the Virgin white as snow, R ej oices in thy heavenly purity .

Soldier Of Christ ! thy armor lend to me ! ’ Fo r sinners souls I long to give my life ; Fo r to them give my tears , my blood , like thee . P fo r rotect me then , and arm me the strife ! Fo r them I fain would fight till life is done , ’ God s kingdom take by force their souls to save . ” ’ No t to so peace earth I bring, spake God s Son , “ ” But fire and sword I bring . Oh , saving glaive !

H o w no w dear is to me that pagan horde , Th e Obj ect Of thy burning love below !

If Jesus would to me that grace accord , Ah ! , thither with what ardor would I go

Before Him space and distance fade away , This earth is but a plaything o n the breeze ;

M ff to - y actions , my small su erings day ,

Can make my Jesus loved beyond the seas .

o f t to o Oh , were I but a flower spring ime , That soon the Lord would gather to His breast ! o o Come d wn fr m heaven at my last hour anew , T ! O heophane , thou youthful martyr blest o f Come , with the virginal flames thy pure love , o C me , to burn from my soul all earthly clay , T ’ hat I may fly to heaven s courts above , And join thy cohort in unending day . 2 34 A M o dern M a rtyr

NT OF DE P ART R E CH A U .

n a t the P a ris S emina r or For ei n Miss ions 2 s s u g y f g .

F R . D A L LE T . u s i c H o r s C . U N W d by M by GO OD.

t z hé ra n la Par e , ts bon ne

’ jo ur ap pe - 1 6 pa r vo s vce ux; R i endé s or- mais nenchaine vo tre

2 36 Modern M a rtyr

’ u un s uf e e re x venn nfl Q o fl h u u i e e er votr e voile, A mis , volez sur les ailes des vents ,

Ne craig nez pas , Marie est votre étoile , E lle saura veiller sur ses enfants . R O ! s especte , mer leur mi sion sublime ,

- o ux Garde les bien , sois p ur e sans écueil , ’ E t u u n zél sous ces pieds q si beau e anime, ’ flots l o r u il De tes abaisse g e . P c. artez , amis , & !Th eopha ne V énard 2 37

Hatez vo s pa s ver s ces peuples immenses Ils s t a on plongés d ns une froide nuit, S a ns vérité, sans Dieu, sans espérances ;

' f ! ’ In ortunés l enfer les engloutit .

S du h ! - oldats C rist soumettez lui la terre , u e i Q tous les lieux entendent votre vo x, P e ortez partout la divine lumi re ,

’ ‘ P l étenda rd ix artout de la cro .

P r a &c. a tez , mis ,

E m ress - s a s la sa n carri r p ez vou d n i te e e, a vo s Donnez Dieu peines , vos sueurs , ff et entiére Vous sou rirez , votre vie ’ é cou lera S dans de rudes labeurs .

P - e l e vos v n s eut tre aussi , tout sang de ei e vo s ux Sera versé ; pieds , ces pieds si bea ,

- h in Peut etr e u n j our seront chargés de c a ec,

E t vos corps livrés aux bourrea ux.

P t &c. ar ez , amis ,

ar e r e car nos reres succombent P t z , pa t z, f , Le a s temps , la mort , ont décimé leurs r ng Ne faut- il pas remplacer ceux qui tombent Sous le couteau de féroces tyrans ? ! Heureux amis partagez leur Victoire , Suivez toujours les traces de leurs pa s ; et du la re Dieu vous appelle , sein de gloi les Nos martyrs vous tendent bras .

r a &c. Pa tez, mis , 2 38 A M o d ern M a rtyr

' Soyez remplis du zele apostolique ; x s La pauvreté , les travau , les combat , ’ La mort ; voila l avenir ma gnifi qu e

Que notre Dieu réserve a ses soldats . il ’ a Mais parmi nous n est point de coeur l che ,

A son appel tous nous Obéirons , et et Nous braverons la cangue la hache, ’ Oui , s il faut mourir, nous mourrons .

P &c. artez , amis ,

BientOt bientOt s s , , nous courron sur vos trace , Cherchant partout une ame a convertir ;

Nous franchirons ces immenses espaces , E t ré ch er et nous irons tous p mourir . ! le o u r le R o i A Otres Oh beau j , quand des p V le oe iendra combler désir de nos c urs , R x et o écompenser vos travau les n tres , E t nous proclamer tous vainqueurs !

P c. artez , amis , &

E n s e nos e s nous quittant vou d meurez fr re , P a ensez nous , devant Dieu , chaque j our ; R e estons unis par de saintes pri res , R s o n estons unis dans divin amour . ro i O Dieu Jésus notre , notre maitre ,

P - rotégez nous , veillez sur notre sort , A no s oe t étr vous c urs , notre sang , tout no re e, A a a vous , la vie , la mort .

P artez , amis , adieu pour cette vie , P a u l e no m ortez loin de notre Dieu , u n t e Nous nous retrouverons j our dans la pa ri , A e dieu , fr res , adieu .

240 A M o d ern M a rtyr

In this career of your choice onward pressing,

Give God your labors , your pains and your moil ;

For ye will meet many trials sore distressing,

Your life will pass amid hardships and toil . Perhaps the blood in your veins warmly flowing Will all be shed ; and those thrice blessed feet

One day , perhaps , in heavy chains be going,

The tortures of pagans to meet .

R E FRAIN

Depart , depart , your dear brothers are calling, For time a breach in their ranks oft has made ; T hen go ye out to the stricken and falling, ’ R the ender harmless tyrant s sharp blade .

O happy friends , in their victories sharing,

If ye will strive but their footsteps to trace,

God ye has called , and crowns of glory wearing, n Our martyrs exte d their embrace .

RE FRAIN

GO O f ye with zeal apostles all burning, T o labors , combats , and poverty bare , ’ E en unto death ; it is these ye are earning, ’ Behold the future God s soldiers will share . [Among us none has a heart that will falter ; ’ Obedient all , to God s call we would fly , Happy to brave the hatchet and the halter ;

And . , if we must die , we will die REFRAIN

And Oh ! w soon , soon , we shall follo your traces , T O seek for souls the true Gospel to teach ; ’ We too shall cross o er those vast , unknown spaces , T o live and die for the Faith we shall preach . ! Oh blessed day, when with hearts overflowing, Th eoph a n e V éna r d 241

’ At last the King o f Apostles we meet ; R fo r ich recompense labors then bestowing, A r s conquerors all He will g eet .

RE FRAIN

’ Tho parting, still we shall claim ye as brothers , Then think o f us before Go d every day ; ’ Let each unite in God s love with the others , And ’ thus united we ll labor and pray .

Go d M - ! O , O Jesus , our aster all seeing P o u r e rotect us , guard us , and watch last br ath ; T o u r hine are our hearts , blood , and all our being,

T . In life we are hine , and in death

RE FRAIN T ributes to

F H s E Av o m . r Fr ud on , ditor of the e M a ri a .

Th e third borrower has j ust returned the book . Thank yo u much and many times over f o r an auto a ! graph copy . What charming volume it is

F E S P A m F o C. . th r . e o ather lli tt , , of pos t o li c n H W h i s s s a s . Mi io ou e , ngton , D C.

It is a most delightful book and very touching fo r indeed . It filled me with envy the high privilege f r h o f h of V éna r d to die o the fait Christ . I wish t at every priest and every aspirant to the priesthood ” could read that book .

Fr m h e Ca h c F i R vi w o t t oli ortn ghtly e e .

These letters one might term models o f the epis to la r y style , except that this expression seems too to formal to apply such natural , simple , and spontan h eou s communications . They are so real t at the living voice o f the writer seems to linger about the pages ” as o ne reads .

From H is E ce Ca i l Fa minen rd na rl ey.

I am very grateful to you fo r making me acquainted ‘ A ’ with Modern Martyr . I think it is the most fascinating book I have read in a long time . I can o u t hardly put it Of my hands , and have finished o f reading half it already . I have instructed the P resident o f o u r Cathedral Co llege to place a copy h o u r etits s emina r is tes in the hands Of eac Of p , and I feel convinced that no better book could be given them for their spiritual reading .

T ribute s to

B From th e Cath oli c Univers ity ul letin .

One cannot have too wide an acquaintance with f . o ea s e noble Christian characters In this age g , and

f s o f h - l o endless scientific discu sion , c urch bui ding ,

- i fo r o u r and of money collecting, we need at t mes ’ souls sake to look to th e example O f the saints and n heroes Of Go d who are o the sterner side o f life . “ Few biographies are better suited to remind us sweetly and forcibly o f higher things than the volume ‘ to A presented the public under the title , Modern ’ fo r Martyr . Modern , indeed , it is within the lifetime o f T e Of many us that heophane V nard , a young priest

h - of only t irty two years , went smiling and singing ’ P to . a martyr s death riest and layman , Old and young , will find in this book much to delight the mind ” and to lift up the heart .

h E B A From t e late Mary . lake ( uthor) .

E ver since I read that very beautiful memoir o f a beautiful life which yo u have given the E nglish o n to o u speaking people , it has been my mind tell y f O the deep impression it left upon me . “ so It is unusual to have in the record Of a saint , 1 n addition to its spiritual atmosphere and its helpful n r h s ess towards eac ing courage and steadfastnes , such a memory Of simple and sweet j oyousness as the little no t o o u r o book gives . It does conf und p orer natures by its heights and depths— resplendent as those are in it . Something human and loving and intimate moves to h us understanding and sympat y , and makes its a hno st Y o u appeal personal . feel as if he would be T friend as well as teacher . hank you very much for ” making his story better known . E arlier E dition s

F o m th e Ca h c T a s H a C nn r t oli r n cript , rtford , o .

Here we have the life of a martyr brought right — T up to date the story of a young priest , heophane e V nard , who was beheaded for the faith in China The R E some years ago . everend ditor was naturally drawn to the theme before him by reason O f his train A ing under the lamented bbé Hogan , late Superior Of ’

. wh r . o o St John s Seminary , Brighton , Mass , was dained in Paris on the same day as Blessed Theophane

Venard . ‘ A Modern Martyr ’ has all the charm and inter

O f . est a novel In variety of incident , in wealth o f o f no t detail , in careful analysis character , it will suff er by comparison with the latest production of o f u m in fiction . It is brimful h man love and hu an terest . Chapters there are that , strung together , might be woven into a sweet tale based upon domestic a ff ec

tion . Others there are that depict the development o f the missionary instinct and its gradual unfolding and its final consummation in far—o ff China when Abbé ’ f T - V éna rd s blood crimsoned the soil O ong king . Nothing so edifying and inspiring has Of late been r e corded in o u r missionary annals as the calmness and fortitude with which Theophane Venard bent his neck ’ under the stroke of the executio ner s axe in testimony ” o f the faith delivered by the saints .

F o m B s Ca s a rtelli S E r i hop , of alford , ngl a nd .

o When I was a boy Of ten , I was taken by a g od Belgian priest to visit the Missions E trangeres and M i the Salle des artyrs . I shall never forget the m e pression of the latt r, especially the sight of a young T ribute s to E arl ier E di tion s

candidate kneeling at a priedieu and praying earnestly, f probably fo r th e grace o martyrdom . “ But I really knew nothing about foreign missions i 1 870 o n t ll , when , the day I received tonsure and ’ minor orders , my mother gave me Lady Herbert s ’ Th ha n Vena rd o ne eop e , still Of the treasures Of my o ne o f library . It is the few books I have wept over T O o w e in reading . it I my taste for and interest in foreign missions , and although the taste never led to anything practical , for I never had the personal call , E it led among other things , to my becoming ditor of M 1 889 1 9 03 Illustrated Catholic issions from to , when I was compelled to give up the cherished post fo r the The undesired episcopate . editorship was the happiest avocation of my life . “ o f a d Judge , then , my delight at receiving your mirable revised and augmented edition of my favorite book . You have done the work remarkably well . Pray accept my sincerest thanks and warmest co n Li gratulations . May this golden fe have a great cir culation and stir up the missionary fire in many ” h earts .

A French edition o f the life and letters of Blessed Th Véna r d eophane , as well as those of Just de B retenieres (martyr in Korea) and Blessed Pierre Ch anel (marty r in Futuna) may be secured at the M M Ossin Catholic Foreign ission Bureau , aryknoll , in P O g . . , N . Y .

Th e present work has been translated into Italian , P Uh M a r tir e M o der no R ev. under the title , by the aolo M M anna, of ilan .

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en h o m e a t M a r kno ll O s s inin P N w O . e m a n t . its p er y , g , k Y o r .

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I t i s m o s t i nter es ti ngly co nd u ct ed th e m a ter i a l a nd f o r m T h r i s a a r i et y a nd i f i n eq u a lly a dm i r a bl e . e e v l e i t w i l ch o u r o l d c n r i i n E u r o h a e no t et no w n h o w t o u t es p e v y k o ca tch . I S O T E L K r B H P M U , o ea .

I t i s es ti ne to r o m o te a r ea t a nd no e u r o s e th e d d p g bl p p , w r f n h r n T h e w o r t o b r f r m o k o b u i l d i g u p C i s t i s o u l s . k e p e o ed h er e i s i m m ens e a nd o nl y a w a i t s m i s s i o na r y l a b o r er s a nd a s s i s t nc S i r i tu a a nd t m o r a f r m th o s e t w h o m h i a e e . o o t e a th , p l p l F T h i l r r l a s b een p r ea ch ed f o r cent u r i es . e F e d A f a d es er v es ev e y m n h a r m m n r enco u r a g e ent a d I s ll eco e d i t to a l l o u C a th o l i cs . h n h i C h i na K E N N E L L Y . S a a . M . S , J , g ,

“ ” T ns cr i t a r tf o r nn r m h e C a th o l ic r a C o . F o t p , H d , T h e Fi el d A f a r i s a p o w er f u l y o u ng s t er a l r ea dy r ej o i ci ng i n a l a r g e ci r cu l a t i o n o f I t a i m s h i gh a nd i t i s d ev el w i h i n fi v a r s n th r TV r e i ct th a t . t e e a o e o i n r a i s tr i e . e p g a p d d p d y , ci p h er m u s t b e a dd ed to th e t h r ee th a t s t a nd a t t h e r i g h t O f n t h e i n o r d er to gi v e a n a d eq u a t e i d ea O f t h e w o d er f u l n r s ti n m o nth g r o w th o f th i s m o s t i te e g ly . T h e s u cces s o f th e p a p er 1 8 a n i nd ex to th e p r o g r es s o f T h e C a th o i c o r ei n M i s th e m o v em ent w h i ch i t r ep r es ents . l F g s 1 o n S o ci t f m r nf a ncy b u t th e ca u s e to w h i ch e y o A e i ca i s m i t s i . i t i s n O h T h e h a r es t i s r i e co s ecr a ted i s a s ld a s th e C h u r c . v p h a nd o u r p eo pl e a r e no t w i th o u t t e gi f t O f a p o s to l i c ch a r i ty . T h e p r o s p er o u s C h u r ch o f th e U ni ted S ta t es w i ll no t b e t r u e n a a nd to h er s el f i f S h e h es i ta tes t o ta k e p a r t i n th e p er en i l — T h e M I S H ea v en i m p o s ed ta s k o f eva ng el i z m g th e h ea th en. s i o n S o ci et y h a s a gl o r i o u s fi eld a nd th e l a b o r er s w h o h a v e a l r ea dy ent er ed i t a r e cu l ti v a ti ng th e s o i l w i th z ea l a nd W i th a r n r n f n i h a r es t p u d e ce w h i ch gi v es ea es t o a s pl e d d v .

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