CHAPTER XXIV
ITALY, IRELAND, POLAND: THE MISSION IN EUROPE
ITALY, IRELAND, POLAND: THE MISSION IN EUROPE
"The principal houses are those of Paris and Rome"
Rome, the centre of christianity, always had a great attraction for Vincent de Paul. As a young man, fate had led him there on two occasions. In later years he felt the urge to return and was always toying with the idea of going and maybe living there permanently. Illness, age and duties prevented this. [1]
Since he couldn't go himself, he would at least see his missionaries settled there; first, on a temporary basis, as his delegates to the Holy See, and later in a more permanent capacity. François du Condray resided in Rome between 1631 and 1635 when he was negotiating approbation for the Congregation. As we have seen, this work was crowned with success. Between 1639 and 1641 it was Louis Lebreton who was sent there to obtain approval for the vows. His early death n 17th October, 1641, from a contagious illness contracted during the mission to Ostia, prevented him from completing the negotiations. [2] On the other hand, he did manage, before his death, to obtain from the Vice Gerent of the diocese of Rome, Monsignor Giovanni Battista de Alteriis, a rescript dated 11th July, 1641, authorising the Congregation of the Mission to establish a house where they would undertake the same ministries as those they had in France; retreats for ordinands and missions to the ordinary people. Before granting this concession, the Vice Gerent had been greatly influenced by the zeal shown by Lebreton during his missions to the shepherds in country districts near Rome. [3]
As soon as Vincent had word of this permission to establish a foundation, he decided to send two or three missionaries to Rome. [4] These plans were not altered by the death of Lebreton, though a substitute had to be found for him. Vincent chose Bernard Codoing who had just completed the delicate task of securing the foundation at Annecy. [5]
It seems that the Rome house was the only foundation to be made on Vincent's own initiative, without anyone asking for, or offering to make the foundation. He was very keen on having a bridge head in the Eternal City to give him direct communication with the Holy See and open up for the Congregation areas of expansion outside of France. Vincent had very soon turned his gaze towards wider horizons than those of the de Gondi territories, the diocese of Paris and the frontiers of his native land. Rome could be the focal point for all these plans. In 1660 he wrote to the Superior at Marseilles, describing that house as "one of the principal houses of the Company after those of Rome and Paris." [6]
"It is no small humiliation to be poorly lodged in somebody else's house."
There was no financial capital to support the foundation at Rome and Vincent tried to remedy this without delay. Once more the generous patroness was the Duchess d'Aiguillon. In fulfilment of a promise made after her uncle was cured, in 1642, she donated to the house an annual income of 2,500 livres from the royal postal service, and in 1643, a further income of 5,000 livres from the coach service at Rouen. Both these legacies were principally intended to finance retreats for ordinands. [7] The Queen promised 3,000 livres for the same work but we don't know whether this was actually paid. [8] Some further donations improved the Rome foundation's financial situation but this would always be precarious. Income from the coaches and carriages fluctuated considerably on account of the wars, the unsafe highways and interference from the Exchequer who frequently kept back part of the income. [9] So it was a long time before the missionaries had their own house in Rome and they had to be content with hired lodgings which they changed frequently. [10] In the course of nineteen years they were offered various buildings; some of these they refused because the price was too high, and others because Vincent did not think they were in keeping with the aims and the works of the Company. What they did acquire more readily was the church of St. Yves; not Borromini's fine church of La Sapienza which was then being built, but the much more modest church of St. Yves of the Bretons, one of the churches in Rome which belonged to "the French nation". [11] They also considered using the Pantheon but Vincent thought this project entailed too many problems. [12] What he really wanted was a modest house with a garden so that they could build extensions later on. [13] "In the beginning we must be satisfied with a little", he said. Whether big or small it had to be called a house "of the Mission" and the chapel was to be dedicated to the Blessed Trinity. [14] Vincent made a virtue out of necessity and was happy to think of the privations this would impose on the community.
"We would be very much at fault if we didn't seem happy to be like Our Lord who said he had nowhere to lay his head. It is no small humiliation to be poorly lodged in someone else's house in a great city where people only seem to take note of well established communities. But we should prefer to be unknown and looked down upon for as long a time as God wishes us to be in this situation. Perhaps God will use our love of poverty, if we have this sentiment, to provide us with a better place to live. If it pleases God to really fill us with this spirit then we can surely hope that our house will be a house of peace and of blessings." [15]
Right up to a year before Vincent's death the missionaries did not have their own house. In 1659 they finally settled into a house bought from Cardinal Bagno, the man whose good offices while nuncio in Paris, had helped Vincent over the question of approbation for the Company. Twoother cardinals, Brancaccio and Durazzo, also intervened on his behalf, and the latter gave a generous donation. [16] Vincent's wishes were more than fulfilled. The church was dedicated to the Trinity and not just the house, but the whole street it was in, was called "The Mission". This Roman street, high up in Montecitorio, still bears that name today.
Genoa and Turin
Cardinal Durazzo was archbishop of Genoa and it was he who promoted the second Italian foundation of the Congregation of the Mission, at Genoa. Impressed by the labours and the spirituality of Fr. Codoing, whom he had got to know when the latter passed through Genoa on his way to Rome, he persuaded Vincent to send a team of missionaries in 1645. [17] Their leader was Fr. Blatiron, one of Vincent's most able men.
Helped by two distinguished priests from Genoa, Fr. Baliano Raggio and Fr. Christopher Monza, the archbishop had a new building constructed for the missionaries. [18] He had such affection for the community that he used to join in their work, make his retreat with them and join them in giving missions. [19] In spite of all this, there was considerable delay in drawing up the foundation contract and the reasons for this were political. The contract was eventually authorised by the Senate of the Republic and signed by Vincent in November, 1647. [20]
If Rome was responsible for the foundation at Genoa, then Genoa, in its turn, led to the foundation at Turin. Initial talks concerning the new foundation began in 1654 between Vincent de Paul and the Marquis of Pianezza, PhilipEmmanuel de Sirmiano, Prime Minister of the duchy of Savoy Piedmont. This was during the regency of Christine of France, the sister of Louis XIII, whose marriage to the heir of Savoy had been negotiated by St. Francis de Sales in 1618. [21]
The Marquis was edified by the works of the Vincentian missionaries in Annecy and wanted to see them established in the capital of his duchy. Negotations for this were protracted. The founder tried to persuade the Congregation to take on works which in Vincent's eyes were hardly compatible with their commitment to working exclusively at giving missions and helping the clergy. Vincent told the Superior at Genoa to explain this to him and he, himself, wrote letters in the same vein. [22] Everything was settled and although there were other differences of a political nature, the foundation was finally established in 1655. [23] Vincent chose as Superior Fr. Jean Martin who had had long experience in Italy since he had been part of the founding team at Rome and Genoa. He was a missionary of such tremendous zeal that Vincent feared for his health and personally saw to it that the priest was well nourished. On 18th July, 1655, he wrote as follows to the cook at Turin:
"Please continue to look after good Fr. Martin with your charitable services both on the missions and wherever he may need your help; and don't stop making him chicken broth to nourish and sustain him during his fainting fits, whenever the assistant judges this to be necessary and in spite of what others may say. I want you to know that the preservation of this servant of God is very important for the work of saving souls and something that is much appreciated by the Company." [24]
Ineffable M. Vincent! "A man with world wide responsibilities as Vincent did at that time," wrote one of his biograhpers, "can think about soup and chicken broth for a missionary in Turin and this is the measure of his tenderness and great heartedness." [25]
"Bandits are converted"
The three Italian houses were very similar. They all had the double ministry of preaching missions and giving retreats to ordinands; they all enjoyed the patronage of distinguished ecclesiastics, and in all three houses the missionaries were called to practise heroism. At Vincent's express wish, all three houses began to recruit vocations from Italy and soon there was a novitiate, or internal seminary, in Genoa and in Rome. [26]
The most characteristic feature of the three Italian foundations was the spectacular success of their missions. In keeping with the Italian temperament which is less restrained than the French, everything seems a bit exaggerated. Throughout the Roman countryside, the Apennines. the dioceses of Viterbo and Palestrina, the country areas of Subbiaco, in the state of Genoa, in Lavagna, Sastri, Castiglione and throughout all Piedmont, it was the same story; people crowded into the churches which were overflowing, sinners openly confessed their crimes, bandits were rehabilitated into society; there was universal lamenting, terrifying shouts of "pardon" and "mercy", weapons were left on the altar and age old hatreds forgotten. Abelly has left us an impressive collection of eye witness reports either from the missionaries themselves or from the bishops of the dioceses where the missions took place. [27]
A special feature of the Italian missions is that all the reports emphasised the peace that was brought to regions plagued by the endemic evil of "vendettas". The mission brought an end to long standing hatred which was handed down from father to son with its ill fated chain of murders, creating a climate of mistrust, suspicion and fear which could always be sensed, even at the most sacred moments such as the celebration of the holy sacrifice.
In no region was this evil as serious as in the island of Corsica. In 1652 Vincent was asked by the Senate of Genoa to send some missionaries to the island to preach in the most important places there. Vincent sent seven, and foremost among these were Frs. Blatiron and Martin, the most fiery of his preachers. They gave four missions; at Campo Laura, Cotone, Corte and Niolo. They had to start by making peace among the priests themselves who were divided into two irreconcilable factions. The missionaries' persuasive words won over the townspeople. At Niolo the marvellous effects of the mission were outstanding and Blatiron gave Vincent a long account of it. No summary could do justice to the account itself. [28]
Vincent praised God for such great and abundant blessings. Although he refused to acknowledge it, it was Vincent who deserved the credit for that splendid harvest of souls. Instead, he attributed it to the graces God poured out on the little method.
"I would never stop talking if I were to tell you even a fraction of what God has accomplished through this method. We have so many examples of this that we would be here all night. Let us just recall one or two so that we can understand better the benefits of the little method. I remember one case where something happened that we had never experienced before, something unique, and I, with my grey hairs, can say that I've never heard of any preacher who achieved such results. Oh Saviour, Oh Saviour! Bandits, as you know, are those robbers in Italy who have taken over the whole countryside; they steal and they attack people everywhere. They are criminals and murders. In that country there are a lot of murders because of feuds which are carried out to the bitter end. These people destroy each other in their implacable fury; they are never ready to forgive. Once they have done away with their enemies they flee from justice and from men who are as evil as themselves; they take to the highways and live in the forests, robbing and looting the poor peasants' goods. They are called bandits and are so numerous that Italy is full of them. There is scarcely a village that doesn't have bandits. Well, after a mission in one of these villages, the bandits there gave up this evil way of life and were converted by the grace of God, who was pleased, in this instance, to make use of the little method! That is something unheard of up to now! It has never been known for bandits to give up crime for any reason. And this, Fathers, is what God has been pleased to achieve, through this poor, weak, community that used the little method in preaching."
To confirm what he had said, Vincent turned to someone who had taken part in these missions and began this spirited dialogue with Fr. Martin.
"Isn't it true, Fr. Martin, that bandits have been converted after our missions in Italy? You have been there, haven't you? This is just an informal talk. Will you tell us, please, how all this came about?".
"Yes, Father. This is what happened. In the villages where we had given a mission, the bandits came to confession along with all the other people. This happens regularly."
"Oh Saviour! What a marvellous thing! Bandits converted after sermons based on the little method! Oh, gentlemen. Even bandits were converted." [29]
We can forgive Vincent this whiff of pride that his words reveal as he relates the anti Italian black legend. These ideas were current at the time and the missionaries' reports echo them. Shining through these words we have the clear picture of a man who is thrilled with the effects of grace working through the medium of his Company.
The Irish Mission
A new foreign venture by the Congregation of the Mission was the direct outcome of the house founded in Rome. In 1645, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith asked Vincent to send some missionaries to Ireland. The Sacred Congregation could see for themselves the work for ordinands that was beginning to take shape in the Rome house. This project was probably started by John Skyddie, [30] an Irish missionary based in Rome. Rome was interested in helping to bring about a Catholic revival in Ireland after the rebellion of 1641, under cover of the conflict between Charles I, the King of England, and his Parliament. A papal nuncio, Rinuccini, was sent there and several bishops appointed, among them the Bishop of Killala and the Bishop of Limerick who had both been consecrated in Paris, in the church of Saint Lazare. [31] The Sacred Congregation wanted to provide them with able personnel who would work with the clergy to restore the liturgy. At least this was what the Cardinal Prefect, Francisco Barberini, requested of Vincent. [32]
Vincent had been interested in Ireland for a long time. After the 1641 rebellion he asked Richelieu to help the Irish in their struggle. The cardinal said he regretted they couldn't help because at that time the king of France was having to shoulder some very heavy burdens, and so they couldn't possibly embark on any new ventures. When Vincent replied that the Pope was ready to contribute 100,000 crowns, Richelieu retorted;
"A hundred thousand crowns would go nowhere in providing an army. We would need soldiers, baggage, weapons and means of transport. An army is a weighty machine which is difficult to move." [33]
If it wasn't in Vincent's power to provide military aid, he certainly could help them spiritually. He was very happy to obey the order from Rome, but for reasons we don't know about, he was unable to comply with the order until the end of 1646. Vincent had about 15 Irish missionaries in the Congregation and the first of these was Skyddie, whom we have mentioned earlier, and who had joined them in 1638. Most of the others were exiles who had discovered their priestly and missionary vocation while in France. He would naturally call on them to work in their own country but Fr. Skyddie died in Rome while the business was still being negotiated. So six men were chosen. These were all lively young men; Gerard Bryan, Edmond Barry, Dermot Duggan, Francis White, Dermot O'Brien and Thaddeus Lee. Duggan, the eldest, had just turned 33. The youngest, Lee, was 23 years old and neither he nor O'Brien were yet ordained. They were accompanied by a cleric Philippe Levacher and a French priest, as well as two laybrothers, one of whom was French and the other one English. At Skyddie's suggestion, the Superior was to be a Frenchman. Vincent first thought of Fr. Bourdet, famous for his memorable flight from Méen that summer. Bourdet, who had already shown that he wasn't cut out to be a hero, and who foresaw that life in Ireland was going to be even more hazardous than at the abbey in Brittany, declined the honour. Vincent named Fr. Du Chesne to replace him. [34]
"They have been delivered from the clutches of Satan"
The expedition arrived in Ireland early in 1647, after a hazardous journey. The missionaries formed two teams and immediately set to work in the dioceses of Cashel and Limerick, respectively. They had the usual excellent results. The Irish Catholic population responded to the mission with the same enthusiastic fervour as the peasants in Spain and Italy. [35] The politico military situation rapidly deteriorated and in the course of 1647 O'Brien's troops invaded the diocese of Cashel with fire and sword. "Murragh of the fires" burned alive some 1,500 citizens who had taken refuge in the cathedral. The missionaries found it impossible to continue their work, and their very lives were in danger. It was for this reason that the three Frenchmen and Fr. White returned to France in 1648. The bishops of Cashel and Limerick both gave them letters for Monsieur Vincent describing the work they had done.
"They produced more fruit and converted more souls than all the rest of the ecclesiastics. Moreover, their good example and upright conduct have converted a great number of the nobility, both men and women, and these have become models of virtue and piety. Such a thing was never seen here before your missionaries came to these parts." "And although these good priests have suffered many trials since they arrived in this country, that has not prevented them from devoting themselves continuously to the works of the mission". [36]
In 1649 the storm broke over Limerick. Cromwell, himself, the supreme Commander in England after the execution of Charles I, landed in Dublin with a formidable army and launched a systematic offensive against the rebels. This was accompanied by a bloody persecution of Catholics. Brother Patriarch, who was English, was so disturbed by this régime of terror that his mind was affected. Fr. Duggan had to accompany him back to France. [37]
The number of missionaries was now reduced to four, but they were four heroes. Early in 1651, they gave a mission in Limerick where the people had taken refuge after fleeing from the English troops. It was a memorable occasion. This is how the bishop of the diocese described it to Vincent.
"At the beginning of this year we began a mission in this town and there were al least 20,000 communicants. It was so successful and appreciated by everyone that I am sure, by God's grace, that most of these people have been snatched from Satan's clutches after so many evils were remedied; so many bad confessions, so much drunkenness, swearing, adultery and other disorders; all these have now been completely wiped out." [38]
The most moving part of the mission was when the mayor, Thomas Stritch, who had begun his term of office by making a retreat in the missionaries' house, went in procession on the closing day of the mission to the church of Our Lady of Limerick, to put the keys of the city into her hands.
The spirit of martyrdom
If the mission had delivered the inhabitants of Limerick from the clutches of the devil, these people couldn't escape from the clutches of the English. When Cromwell returned to England, his son in law, Ireton, took over and he laid siege to Limerick in the spring of 1651. The siege lasted for six months and during this time more than 8,000 people died of the plague. When Ireton occupied the town he put to death the leading citizens, one of whom was the pious mayor. The worst savagery of the oppression was vented on priests. For them capture meant death. The bishop managed to escape, disguised as a soldier and so did the missionaries but at first Vincent gave them all up for dead. [39]
In the letter he wrote to Fr. Bryan at Monsignor O'Dwyer's suggestion, Vincent had already faced the worst that might happen and tried to prepare them for martyrdom, or rather, he had praised their willingness to be martyred.
"We were very edified by your letter and we see in it two marvellous effects of God's grace. Firstly, we see how you have given yourself to God to persevere in that country amid all the dangers there, and your readiness to risk death rather than give up helping your neighbour. Secondly, we note the way you are thinking about your brothers' safety by sending them to France where they will be out of danger. In the first case you were motivated by the spirit of martyrdom and in the second case, by prudence; in both matters you have followed the example of Our Lord, who when he was about to suffer the torments of death for the salvation of mankind, was concerned for his disciples' safety and said, 'Let these alone and do not molest them.' As your companion priests share your dispositions, and this in spite of the real danger of war and of contagion, we think we should allow them to stay. How do we know what God has in store for them? the fact is that he wouldn't have given them such a holy resolve to no purpose. Mon Dieu! How unsearchable are your judgments! You desire to harvest souls who are in good dispositions and to gather the good wheat into your everlasting granaries. We adore your designs, O Lord." [40]
As it happened, only one of the missionaries was to shed his blood in the sacrifice which was anticipated and accepted by his father and founder with such submission to the divine will. In 1652 Frs. Bryan and Barry managed to reach France after various setbacks. But Thaddeus Lee, the youngest of the group, who had earlier escaped from Limerick, was discovered by the English in his native town where he had taken refuge. Ir was here that he was brutally martyred in front of his mother. The executioners cut off his hands and his feet and then battered his head in. He is protomartyr of the Congregation of the Mission. [41]
The mission to Ireland lasted barely six years. It was the Vincentian Company's first adventure overseas and the first to be sealed in blood.
Scotland; the Hebrides and the Orkneys
Some of the missionaries who came back from Ireland
found it hard to settle down to the comparatively peaceful life of the French houses. Fr. Bryan went back to Ireland with two fellow countrymen after Vincent's death. [42] Frs. Duggan and White didn't wait that long. They were soon ready to undertake a similar adventure in another part of the British Isles Scotland and the Hebrides. On 7th October, 1650, Vincent requested the necessary permission from the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda, confirming their suitability for the work; both men were native speakers of Gaelic, the language spoken in those islands. [43] A month later they were both at Antwerp disguised as merchants, [44] waiting for a Dutch ship to take them to Scotland.
It was in this densely populated city that they came into contact with a Scottish nobleman, Angus MacDonald, Laird of Glengarry. He had recently been reconciled to the Church, to use Fr. Duggan's phrase and one that is repeated by Abelly, meaning that there was a moral conversion, not that he had changed his religion. The MacDonalds were one of the families that had remained proudly loyal to their religion and to their king. [45]
Protected by such an important gentleman who was the real overlord of the regions they were going to evangelise, they made a successful crossing. Once they had arrived in Scotland they stayed at the imposing Glengarry castle perched on the craggy hill named Creag an Fhithich "The Rock of the Raven" where they "converted" an elderly member of the family. Then the two companios separated. Duggan headed for the Hebrides and White remained in the Scottish Highlands. In 1653 he was joined there by a third companion, the Scotsman, Thomas Lumsden. In 1652 Vincent had got permission from the Congregation of Propaganda for him to go. It was Vincent's intention to send two Irish missionaries with him; Dermot Bryan, whom we have already mentioned, and John Ennery, but these couldn't reach their destination and had to remain in France. [46]
The work in Scotland offered a complete contrast to that carried out in Ireland. After the great missions which were attended by thousands of fervent people, came the hard life of a clandestine priest, the agonising wandering about through desperately poor regions, secret meetings with small groups of Catholics who had forgotten the basic elements of their faith and the constant fear that someone might denounce them. Such were the conditions that Fr. Duggan had to face as he travelled to the isles of Buist, Barra, Eigg, Canna and Skye, and to the regions of Moidart, Morar, Knoydart, Glengary and Arisaig, leaving everywhere the imprints of self denial and heroism. [47]
The hard life of the missionary had its spiritual compensations; the good dispositions of the islanders when receiving religious instruction, the eagerness with which they repeated this teaching, their bravery in facing persecution, and the wonders. (Whether or not these might be called miracles), with which the Lord accompanied their preaching of missions in these primitive parts. [48]
Fr. Duggan died on 17th May, 1657, while he was preparing in South Uist another missionary expedition to the island of Pobbay, beyond Barra. The people still venerate his name. A chapel (*) at Uist and a mountains pass in Barra are named after him. Compton Mackenzie attributed the islanders' fidelity to the faith of their forefathers, to the labours of Fr. Duggan and the affection the people had for this priest. [49]
News of Duggan's death didn't reach Vincent until November: He hastened to inform the Superior of every house and his words reveal both the pain of a father and the heroism of an apostle.
"We have received the very sad news that God has called to himself Fr. Duggan who died on 17th May at his mission on the isle of Hebrides where it may be said he was working wonders. Those poor islanders mourned him as they would a father. They haven't sent me details of the good that God worked through him, since nobody dares risk speaking about religion except in general terms, and only metaphorically, on account of the English who have organised a cruel persecution of Catholics, and more particularly of any priests they find. This, Father, is the way that God wishes to test the company everywhere, by taking away its good labourers. Since he is Lord he can dispose of things as he wills; it is up to us to beg him to raise up new workers after his own heart, to continue the work." [50]
While Fr. Duggan was evangelising the Hebrides, Fr. White was making his way through the Scottish Highlands. He went up the Great Glen and followed the Caledonian Canal which divides Scotland, and went as far as Inverness. He worked for a time with Fr. Lumsden who was a native of Aberdeen. There is a lovely story of something that happened at this time and the anecdote is definitely authentic. One day during the Summer of 1654, they met two brothers who were tending their flocks. They told the missionaries that their father was dying in a cottage nearby but no matter how much they begged him to make a will, he refused to do so, saying he was not going to die yet.
"He is very rich and we are just two of his many sons. We are prepared to accept whatever he decides to leave us but if he
(*) According to information supplied by Fr. Joseph Cunningham, C.M., the people of Barra call this mountain pass the Gap of Duggan (Gaelic Bealach a' Dhugain). There are two places in South Wist named as possible burial places for the body of Diarmuid Duggan. One is an ancient cemetery called Hogharor which has a ruin of a church or chapel to which his name is given though the chapel is said to predate him by three centuries. The
more accepted place of his burial is called Kildonnan.
dies without making a will there will surely be many family quarrels, and up to now we have been a very united family."
One of the missionaries who had some knowledge of medicine, went into the cottage. He saw straightaway that the old man really was near the end and urged him to leave his affairs in order. But the man declared that he was a Catholic and for many years he had begged God not to let him die without the last sacraments. "I am sure", he said, "that God will not refuse what I ask. And since there are no priests round here that means I'm not going to die yet."
The missionary then told him that he was a priest, that he was on his way to Glengarry and that he had with him everything necessary to administer the sacraments. When he heard this, the old man told his sons to leave the cottage. He made his confession, received holy viaticum and extreme unction and then, after a few moments silence, he made his will. The missionaries stayed with him until his death a few hours later. [51]
A short time after witnessing this modern version of the "Nunc Dimittis", Frs. Lumsden and White went their separate ways. The former spent several months travelling through the far Northern parts of Scotland; Moray, Candie, and on the other side of the Great Glen; Ross, Sutherland and Caithness, from which point he reached the Orkneys. Lumsden wrote but seldom for fear his letters might fall into the hands of the authorities. Even so, he managed to tell Vincent of his success in converting Protestants and supporting Catholics in their faith, through preaching and the sacraments. At Easter, 1654, he said Mass in a nobleman's house; fifty people went to communion and twenty of these were recent converts. He lived with the constant fear of being denounced. His zeal, and that of other missionaries from the Congregation of Propaganda, aroused the jealousy of Protestant ministers. When Cromwell was informed that many Scots, particularly in the Western provinces, were going over to Papistry", he ordered "new investigations, especially into the activities of priests who were to be imprisoned and punished, according to the law of the land. [52]
One of the first to fall victim to these laws was Fr. White. In February, 1655, he was arrested, together with a Jesuit and a secular priest, in Gordon Castle, the fortress of the Marquis of Huntley, and one of the most frequently used refuges for Catholic priests. He was taaken first to Aberdeen prison and then to Edinburgh. Vincent feared for his life, [53] but he didn't dare intervene from France. Any step he might have taken would have revealed the fact that the prisoner was a priest and this was just what his accusers wanted to prove. [54] He had to be content, therefore, with commending him to the prayers of the community. His words show the mixture of human tenderness, a supernatural outlook on life and the vision of faith that so characterised Vincent in his old age.
"Let us commend to God our good Fr. White who was working in the Scottish highlands. The English heretics have imprisoned him, along with a Jesuit priest. They have both been taken to prison in Aberdeen which is where Fr. Lumsden comes from and he will continue to see and to help him. In that country there are many Catholics who visit and help priests in distress. Meanwhile, this good missionary is on the road to martyrdom. I don't know whether we should be glad or sorry about this since, on the one hand, God is glorified by his arrest since it is suffered out of love for him and the Company should reckon itself fortunate that God finds it worthy of being given a martyr who is happy to suffer in God's name and to offer himself, as this man is doing, for whatever God pleases to do with him and his life...
"All this moves us, in God, to feelings of great joy and gratitude. But on the other hand, isn't this our brother who is suffering? Shouldn't we be suffering with him? As for me, I confess that humanly speaking I am very grieved and feel the pain deeply, but on a spiritual level, it seems to me that we should be blessing God as though he had granted us a very special grace." [55]
Fr. White was set free since they couldn't prove that he had said Mass, something that English law regarded as a crime punishable by death. Vincent particularly admired the prisoner's courage in not denying his priesthood in order to gain his freedom. As soon as he was set free, White went back to the Scottish highlands to continue his work. [56]
The difficult conditions under which the mission to Scotland was carried out drew extraordinary signs (possibly miracles) that follow in the wake of those sent by the Lord. [57] This often happens in times of persecution. We can't, a priori, attribute these events to the need for suffering, persecuted people to experience God's protection. But Vincent, who by nature distrusted extraordinary happenings, for he was a cautions and realistic man, was aware that divine interventions are a reality. He agreed that some of the events the missionaries described, might be interpreted as extraordinary interventions on the part of God:
"But let us get back to our good Fr. White and think about the way God treated him after he had done so much good in his mission. Here is something wonderful; some people would say it was a miracle. Some time ago the weather at sea was very bad so the men had only a very poor catch of fish and the people were in great want. They asked him to say some prayers and to sprinkle the sea with holy water because they thought this disturbance of the elements must be due to some evil spirit. He did as they asked and God was pleased to grant an immediate calm so they had a plentiful supply of fish once more. It was he, himself, who wrote and told me this."
No further reference was made to the alleged miracle. To be on safer ground, Vincent went on to talk about the real nature of Fr. White's virtue and the true significance of his work.
"Other people, too, have spoken to me about his labours in the highlands, encouraging Catholics and converting heretics; the continual danger he was in and how he suffered want, having only oatcakes to eat." [58]
The mission to Scotland brings another dimension to the missionary labours of Vincent de Paul and his Congregation. Lost in Scotland's remote and desolate highlands, these missionaries added bravery and isolation to the usual features of the Vincentian vocation to evangelise the poor. They had to go about in disguise and were pursued from one place to another, hiding in noblemen's castles or in fishermen's huts, suffering unspeakable privations to keep the ancient Catholic faith alive in a country taken over by heretics. Vincent followed their work from afar, but he felt them as close to his heart as the groups of missionaries who left the cloisters of Saint Lazare every autumn to evangelise the smiling countryside of France. Vincent, who was so closely attached to his native province, and so deeply marked by the culture of his own country, could make room in his Company for that strange breed of priest gentleman that so much reflected the British tradition. And these, in their turn, always felt the support of their Founder's protective and undestanding tenderness. Fr. White returned to France in time to be there when his father and friend died. Then he went back to Scotland where he lived and worked until his death in 1679. In 1663, three years after Vincent's death, Fr. Lumsden made the final break from the scene of his labours. But the Vincentian mission in Scotland did not come to a complete end until 1704. [59]
The Queen of Poland
It was a political coincidence that brought about the mission to Poland, the third European country to welcome Vincent's priests. In 1645, King Ladislaus IV of Poland, (1595 1648) who was a widower, was looking for a French lady to be his wife. This position called for great sensitivity and Mazarin's choice fell on Princess Marie de Gonzaga, the daughter of Charles de Gonzaga, duke of Nevers and Mantua. It proved a very good choice. Marie de Gonzaga was outstanding in high society for her piety, beauty and talent. Her piety meant that she was attracted to two of the most fervent groups of peoples, the Jansenists of Port Royal and Vincent de Paul's Ladies of Charity, in whose work she shared. She wanted to have the same religious beckground in her adopted country as she had been used to in France. She brought as chaplain the French priest, François de Fleury, who had strong Janseninst sympathies and she asked Vincent to send missionaries, Daughters of Charity and some Visitation nuns. Vincent agreed and he used this opportunity to extend to that far off country the benefits of missions for the people and retreats for the clergy. The new Queen wanted to confide both these works to the priests of the Mission. [60]
Rome, the centre of christianity, always had a great attraction for Vincent de Paul. As a young man, fate had led him there on two occasions. In later years he felt the urge to return and was always toying with the idea of going and maybe living there permanently. Illness, age and duties prevented this. [1]
Since he couldn't go himself, he would at least see his missionaries settled there; first, on a temporary basis, as his delegates to the Holy See, and later in a more permanent capacity. François du Condray resided in Rome between 1631 and 1635 when he was negotiating approbation for the Congregation. As we have seen, this work was crowned with success. Between 1639 and 1641 it was Louis Lebreton who was sent there to obtain approval for the vows. His early death n 17th October, 1641, from a contagious illness contracted during the mission to Ostia, prevented him from completing the negotiations. [2] On the other hand, he did manage, before his death, to obtain from the Vice Gerent of the diocese of Rome, Monsignor Giovanni Battista de Alteriis, a rescript dated 11th July, 1641, authorising the Congregation of the Mission to establish a house where they would undertake the same ministries as those they had in France; retreats for ordinands and missions to the ordinary people. Before granting this concession, the Vice Gerent had been greatly influenced by the zeal shown by Lebreton during his missions to the shepherds in country districts near Rome. [3]
As soon as Vincent had word of this permission to establish a foundation, he decided to send two or three missionaries to Rome. [4] These plans were not altered by the death of Lebreton, though a substitute had to be found for him. Vincent chose Bernard Codoing who had just completed the delicate task of securing the foundation at Annecy. [5]
It seems that the Rome house was the only foundation to be made on Vincent's own initiative, without anyone asking for, or offering to make the foundation. He was very keen on having a bridge head in the Eternal City to give him direct communication with the Holy See and open up for the Congregation areas of expansion outside of France. Vincent had very soon turned his gaze towards wider horizons than those of the de Gondi territories, the diocese of Paris and the frontiers of his native land. Rome could be the focal point for all these plans. In 1660 he wrote to the Superior at Marseilles, describing that house as "one of the principal houses of the Company after those of Rome and Paris." [6]
"It is no small humiliation to be poorly lodged in somebody else's house."
There was no financial capital to support the foundation at Rome and Vincent tried to remedy this without delay. Once more the generous patroness was the Duchess d'Aiguillon. In fulfilment of a promise made after her uncle was cured, in 1642, she donated to the house an annual income of 2,500 livres from the royal postal service, and in 1643, a further income of 5,000 livres from the coach service at Rouen. Both these legacies were principally intended to finance retreats for ordinands. [7] The Queen promised 3,000 livres for the same work but we don't know whether this was actually paid. [8] Some further donations improved the Rome foundation's financial situation but this would always be precarious. Income from the coaches and carriages fluctuated considerably on account of the wars, the unsafe highways and interference from the Exchequer who frequently kept back part of the income. [9] So it was a long time before the missionaries had their own house in Rome and they had to be content with hired lodgings which they changed frequently. [10] In the course of nineteen years they were offered various buildings; some of these they refused because the price was too high, and others because Vincent did not think they were in keeping with the aims and the works of the Company. What they did acquire more readily was the church of St. Yves; not Borromini's fine church of La Sapienza which was then being built, but the much more modest church of St. Yves of the Bretons, one of the churches in Rome which belonged to "the French nation". [11] They also considered using the Pantheon but Vincent thought this project entailed too many problems. [12] What he really wanted was a modest house with a garden so that they could build extensions later on. [13] "In the beginning we must be satisfied with a little", he said. Whether big or small it had to be called a house "of the Mission" and the chapel was to be dedicated to the Blessed Trinity. [14] Vincent made a virtue out of necessity and was happy to think of the privations this would impose on the community.
"We would be very much at fault if we didn't seem happy to be like Our Lord who said he had nowhere to lay his head. It is no small humiliation to be poorly lodged in someone else's house in a great city where people only seem to take note of well established communities. But we should prefer to be unknown and looked down upon for as long a time as God wishes us to be in this situation. Perhaps God will use our love of poverty, if we have this sentiment, to provide us with a better place to live. If it pleases God to really fill us with this spirit then we can surely hope that our house will be a house of peace and of blessings." [15]
Right up to a year before Vincent's death the missionaries did not have their own house. In 1659 they finally settled into a house bought from Cardinal Bagno, the man whose good offices while nuncio in Paris, had helped Vincent over the question of approbation for the Company. Twoother cardinals, Brancaccio and Durazzo, also intervened on his behalf, and the latter gave a generous donation. [16] Vincent's wishes were more than fulfilled. The church was dedicated to the Trinity and not just the house, but the whole street it was in, was called "The Mission". This Roman street, high up in Montecitorio, still bears that name today.
Genoa and Turin
Cardinal Durazzo was archbishop of Genoa and it was he who promoted the second Italian foundation of the Congregation of the Mission, at Genoa. Impressed by the labours and the spirituality of Fr. Codoing, whom he had got to know when the latter passed through Genoa on his way to Rome, he persuaded Vincent to send a team of missionaries in 1645. [17] Their leader was Fr. Blatiron, one of Vincent's most able men.
Helped by two distinguished priests from Genoa, Fr. Baliano Raggio and Fr. Christopher Monza, the archbishop had a new building constructed for the missionaries. [18] He had such affection for the community that he used to join in their work, make his retreat with them and join them in giving missions. [19] In spite of all this, there was considerable delay in drawing up the foundation contract and the reasons for this were political. The contract was eventually authorised by the Senate of the Republic and signed by Vincent in November, 1647. [20]
If Rome was responsible for the foundation at Genoa, then Genoa, in its turn, led to the foundation at Turin. Initial talks concerning the new foundation began in 1654 between Vincent de Paul and the Marquis of Pianezza, PhilipEmmanuel de Sirmiano, Prime Minister of the duchy of Savoy Piedmont. This was during the regency of Christine of France, the sister of Louis XIII, whose marriage to the heir of Savoy had been negotiated by St. Francis de Sales in 1618. [21]
The Marquis was edified by the works of the Vincentian missionaries in Annecy and wanted to see them established in the capital of his duchy. Negotations for this were protracted. The founder tried to persuade the Congregation to take on works which in Vincent's eyes were hardly compatible with their commitment to working exclusively at giving missions and helping the clergy. Vincent told the Superior at Genoa to explain this to him and he, himself, wrote letters in the same vein. [22] Everything was settled and although there were other differences of a political nature, the foundation was finally established in 1655. [23] Vincent chose as Superior Fr. Jean Martin who had had long experience in Italy since he had been part of the founding team at Rome and Genoa. He was a missionary of such tremendous zeal that Vincent feared for his health and personally saw to it that the priest was well nourished. On 18th July, 1655, he wrote as follows to the cook at Turin:
"Please continue to look after good Fr. Martin with your charitable services both on the missions and wherever he may need your help; and don't stop making him chicken broth to nourish and sustain him during his fainting fits, whenever the assistant judges this to be necessary and in spite of what others may say. I want you to know that the preservation of this servant of God is very important for the work of saving souls and something that is much appreciated by the Company." [24]
Ineffable M. Vincent! "A man with world wide responsibilities as Vincent did at that time," wrote one of his biograhpers, "can think about soup and chicken broth for a missionary in Turin and this is the measure of his tenderness and great heartedness." [25]
"Bandits are converted"
The three Italian houses were very similar. They all had the double ministry of preaching missions and giving retreats to ordinands; they all enjoyed the patronage of distinguished ecclesiastics, and in all three houses the missionaries were called to practise heroism. At Vincent's express wish, all three houses began to recruit vocations from Italy and soon there was a novitiate, or internal seminary, in Genoa and in Rome. [26]
The most characteristic feature of the three Italian foundations was the spectacular success of their missions. In keeping with the Italian temperament which is less restrained than the French, everything seems a bit exaggerated. Throughout the Roman countryside, the Apennines. the dioceses of Viterbo and Palestrina, the country areas of Subbiaco, in the state of Genoa, in Lavagna, Sastri, Castiglione and throughout all Piedmont, it was the same story; people crowded into the churches which were overflowing, sinners openly confessed their crimes, bandits were rehabilitated into society; there was universal lamenting, terrifying shouts of "pardon" and "mercy", weapons were left on the altar and age old hatreds forgotten. Abelly has left us an impressive collection of eye witness reports either from the missionaries themselves or from the bishops of the dioceses where the missions took place. [27]
A special feature of the Italian missions is that all the reports emphasised the peace that was brought to regions plagued by the endemic evil of "vendettas". The mission brought an end to long standing hatred which was handed down from father to son with its ill fated chain of murders, creating a climate of mistrust, suspicion and fear which could always be sensed, even at the most sacred moments such as the celebration of the holy sacrifice.
In no region was this evil as serious as in the island of Corsica. In 1652 Vincent was asked by the Senate of Genoa to send some missionaries to the island to preach in the most important places there. Vincent sent seven, and foremost among these were Frs. Blatiron and Martin, the most fiery of his preachers. They gave four missions; at Campo Laura, Cotone, Corte and Niolo. They had to start by making peace among the priests themselves who were divided into two irreconcilable factions. The missionaries' persuasive words won over the townspeople. At Niolo the marvellous effects of the mission were outstanding and Blatiron gave Vincent a long account of it. No summary could do justice to the account itself. [28]
Vincent praised God for such great and abundant blessings. Although he refused to acknowledge it, it was Vincent who deserved the credit for that splendid harvest of souls. Instead, he attributed it to the graces God poured out on the little method.
"I would never stop talking if I were to tell you even a fraction of what God has accomplished through this method. We have so many examples of this that we would be here all night. Let us just recall one or two so that we can understand better the benefits of the little method. I remember one case where something happened that we had never experienced before, something unique, and I, with my grey hairs, can say that I've never heard of any preacher who achieved such results. Oh Saviour, Oh Saviour! Bandits, as you know, are those robbers in Italy who have taken over the whole countryside; they steal and they attack people everywhere. They are criminals and murders. In that country there are a lot of murders because of feuds which are carried out to the bitter end. These people destroy each other in their implacable fury; they are never ready to forgive. Once they have done away with their enemies they flee from justice and from men who are as evil as themselves; they take to the highways and live in the forests, robbing and looting the poor peasants' goods. They are called bandits and are so numerous that Italy is full of them. There is scarcely a village that doesn't have bandits. Well, after a mission in one of these villages, the bandits there gave up this evil way of life and were converted by the grace of God, who was pleased, in this instance, to make use of the little method! That is something unheard of up to now! It has never been known for bandits to give up crime for any reason. And this, Fathers, is what God has been pleased to achieve, through this poor, weak, community that used the little method in preaching."
To confirm what he had said, Vincent turned to someone who had taken part in these missions and began this spirited dialogue with Fr. Martin.
"Isn't it true, Fr. Martin, that bandits have been converted after our missions in Italy? You have been there, haven't you? This is just an informal talk. Will you tell us, please, how all this came about?".
"Yes, Father. This is what happened. In the villages where we had given a mission, the bandits came to confession along with all the other people. This happens regularly."
"Oh Saviour! What a marvellous thing! Bandits converted after sermons based on the little method! Oh, gentlemen. Even bandits were converted." [29]
We can forgive Vincent this whiff of pride that his words reveal as he relates the anti Italian black legend. These ideas were current at the time and the missionaries' reports echo them. Shining through these words we have the clear picture of a man who is thrilled with the effects of grace working through the medium of his Company.
The Irish Mission
A new foreign venture by the Congregation of the Mission was the direct outcome of the house founded in Rome. In 1645, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith asked Vincent to send some missionaries to Ireland. The Sacred Congregation could see for themselves the work for ordinands that was beginning to take shape in the Rome house. This project was probably started by John Skyddie, [30] an Irish missionary based in Rome. Rome was interested in helping to bring about a Catholic revival in Ireland after the rebellion of 1641, under cover of the conflict between Charles I, the King of England, and his Parliament. A papal nuncio, Rinuccini, was sent there and several bishops appointed, among them the Bishop of Killala and the Bishop of Limerick who had both been consecrated in Paris, in the church of Saint Lazare. [31] The Sacred Congregation wanted to provide them with able personnel who would work with the clergy to restore the liturgy. At least this was what the Cardinal Prefect, Francisco Barberini, requested of Vincent. [32]
Vincent had been interested in Ireland for a long time. After the 1641 rebellion he asked Richelieu to help the Irish in their struggle. The cardinal said he regretted they couldn't help because at that time the king of France was having to shoulder some very heavy burdens, and so they couldn't possibly embark on any new ventures. When Vincent replied that the Pope was ready to contribute 100,000 crowns, Richelieu retorted;
"A hundred thousand crowns would go nowhere in providing an army. We would need soldiers, baggage, weapons and means of transport. An army is a weighty machine which is difficult to move." [33]
If it wasn't in Vincent's power to provide military aid, he certainly could help them spiritually. He was very happy to obey the order from Rome, but for reasons we don't know about, he was unable to comply with the order until the end of 1646. Vincent had about 15 Irish missionaries in the Congregation and the first of these was Skyddie, whom we have mentioned earlier, and who had joined them in 1638. Most of the others were exiles who had discovered their priestly and missionary vocation while in France. He would naturally call on them to work in their own country but Fr. Skyddie died in Rome while the business was still being negotiated. So six men were chosen. These were all lively young men; Gerard Bryan, Edmond Barry, Dermot Duggan, Francis White, Dermot O'Brien and Thaddeus Lee. Duggan, the eldest, had just turned 33. The youngest, Lee, was 23 years old and neither he nor O'Brien were yet ordained. They were accompanied by a cleric Philippe Levacher and a French priest, as well as two laybrothers, one of whom was French and the other one English. At Skyddie's suggestion, the Superior was to be a Frenchman. Vincent first thought of Fr. Bourdet, famous for his memorable flight from Méen that summer. Bourdet, who had already shown that he wasn't cut out to be a hero, and who foresaw that life in Ireland was going to be even more hazardous than at the abbey in Brittany, declined the honour. Vincent named Fr. Du Chesne to replace him. [34]
"They have been delivered from the clutches of Satan"
The expedition arrived in Ireland early in 1647, after a hazardous journey. The missionaries formed two teams and immediately set to work in the dioceses of Cashel and Limerick, respectively. They had the usual excellent results. The Irish Catholic population responded to the mission with the same enthusiastic fervour as the peasants in Spain and Italy. [35] The politico military situation rapidly deteriorated and in the course of 1647 O'Brien's troops invaded the diocese of Cashel with fire and sword. "Murragh of the fires" burned alive some 1,500 citizens who had taken refuge in the cathedral. The missionaries found it impossible to continue their work, and their very lives were in danger. It was for this reason that the three Frenchmen and Fr. White returned to France in 1648. The bishops of Cashel and Limerick both gave them letters for Monsieur Vincent describing the work they had done.
"They produced more fruit and converted more souls than all the rest of the ecclesiastics. Moreover, their good example and upright conduct have converted a great number of the nobility, both men and women, and these have become models of virtue and piety. Such a thing was never seen here before your missionaries came to these parts." "And although these good priests have suffered many trials since they arrived in this country, that has not prevented them from devoting themselves continuously to the works of the mission". [36]
In 1649 the storm broke over Limerick. Cromwell, himself, the supreme Commander in England after the execution of Charles I, landed in Dublin with a formidable army and launched a systematic offensive against the rebels. This was accompanied by a bloody persecution of Catholics. Brother Patriarch, who was English, was so disturbed by this régime of terror that his mind was affected. Fr. Duggan had to accompany him back to France. [37]
The number of missionaries was now reduced to four, but they were four heroes. Early in 1651, they gave a mission in Limerick where the people had taken refuge after fleeing from the English troops. It was a memorable occasion. This is how the bishop of the diocese described it to Vincent.
"At the beginning of this year we began a mission in this town and there were al least 20,000 communicants. It was so successful and appreciated by everyone that I am sure, by God's grace, that most of these people have been snatched from Satan's clutches after so many evils were remedied; so many bad confessions, so much drunkenness, swearing, adultery and other disorders; all these have now been completely wiped out." [38]
The most moving part of the mission was when the mayor, Thomas Stritch, who had begun his term of office by making a retreat in the missionaries' house, went in procession on the closing day of the mission to the church of Our Lady of Limerick, to put the keys of the city into her hands.
The spirit of martyrdom
If the mission had delivered the inhabitants of Limerick from the clutches of the devil, these people couldn't escape from the clutches of the English. When Cromwell returned to England, his son in law, Ireton, took over and he laid siege to Limerick in the spring of 1651. The siege lasted for six months and during this time more than 8,000 people died of the plague. When Ireton occupied the town he put to death the leading citizens, one of whom was the pious mayor. The worst savagery of the oppression was vented on priests. For them capture meant death. The bishop managed to escape, disguised as a soldier and so did the missionaries but at first Vincent gave them all up for dead. [39]
In the letter he wrote to Fr. Bryan at Monsignor O'Dwyer's suggestion, Vincent had already faced the worst that might happen and tried to prepare them for martyrdom, or rather, he had praised their willingness to be martyred.
"We were very edified by your letter and we see in it two marvellous effects of God's grace. Firstly, we see how you have given yourself to God to persevere in that country amid all the dangers there, and your readiness to risk death rather than give up helping your neighbour. Secondly, we note the way you are thinking about your brothers' safety by sending them to France where they will be out of danger. In the first case you were motivated by the spirit of martyrdom and in the second case, by prudence; in both matters you have followed the example of Our Lord, who when he was about to suffer the torments of death for the salvation of mankind, was concerned for his disciples' safety and said, 'Let these alone and do not molest them.' As your companion priests share your dispositions, and this in spite of the real danger of war and of contagion, we think we should allow them to stay. How do we know what God has in store for them? the fact is that he wouldn't have given them such a holy resolve to no purpose. Mon Dieu! How unsearchable are your judgments! You desire to harvest souls who are in good dispositions and to gather the good wheat into your everlasting granaries. We adore your designs, O Lord." [40]
As it happened, only one of the missionaries was to shed his blood in the sacrifice which was anticipated and accepted by his father and founder with such submission to the divine will. In 1652 Frs. Bryan and Barry managed to reach France after various setbacks. But Thaddeus Lee, the youngest of the group, who had earlier escaped from Limerick, was discovered by the English in his native town where he had taken refuge. Ir was here that he was brutally martyred in front of his mother. The executioners cut off his hands and his feet and then battered his head in. He is protomartyr of the Congregation of the Mission. [41]
The mission to Ireland lasted barely six years. It was the Vincentian Company's first adventure overseas and the first to be sealed in blood.
Scotland; the Hebrides and the Orkneys
Some of the missionaries who came back from Ireland
found it hard to settle down to the comparatively peaceful life of the French houses. Fr. Bryan went back to Ireland with two fellow countrymen after Vincent's death. [42] Frs. Duggan and White didn't wait that long. They were soon ready to undertake a similar adventure in another part of the British Isles Scotland and the Hebrides. On 7th October, 1650, Vincent requested the necessary permission from the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda, confirming their suitability for the work; both men were native speakers of Gaelic, the language spoken in those islands. [43] A month later they were both at Antwerp disguised as merchants, [44] waiting for a Dutch ship to take them to Scotland.
It was in this densely populated city that they came into contact with a Scottish nobleman, Angus MacDonald, Laird of Glengarry. He had recently been reconciled to the Church, to use Fr. Duggan's phrase and one that is repeated by Abelly, meaning that there was a moral conversion, not that he had changed his religion. The MacDonalds were one of the families that had remained proudly loyal to their religion and to their king. [45]
Protected by such an important gentleman who was the real overlord of the regions they were going to evangelise, they made a successful crossing. Once they had arrived in Scotland they stayed at the imposing Glengarry castle perched on the craggy hill named Creag an Fhithich "The Rock of the Raven" where they "converted" an elderly member of the family. Then the two companios separated. Duggan headed for the Hebrides and White remained in the Scottish Highlands. In 1653 he was joined there by a third companion, the Scotsman, Thomas Lumsden. In 1652 Vincent had got permission from the Congregation of Propaganda for him to go. It was Vincent's intention to send two Irish missionaries with him; Dermot Bryan, whom we have already mentioned, and John Ennery, but these couldn't reach their destination and had to remain in France. [46]
The work in Scotland offered a complete contrast to that carried out in Ireland. After the great missions which were attended by thousands of fervent people, came the hard life of a clandestine priest, the agonising wandering about through desperately poor regions, secret meetings with small groups of Catholics who had forgotten the basic elements of their faith and the constant fear that someone might denounce them. Such were the conditions that Fr. Duggan had to face as he travelled to the isles of Buist, Barra, Eigg, Canna and Skye, and to the regions of Moidart, Morar, Knoydart, Glengary and Arisaig, leaving everywhere the imprints of self denial and heroism. [47]
The hard life of the missionary had its spiritual compensations; the good dispositions of the islanders when receiving religious instruction, the eagerness with which they repeated this teaching, their bravery in facing persecution, and the wonders. (Whether or not these might be called miracles), with which the Lord accompanied their preaching of missions in these primitive parts. [48]
Fr. Duggan died on 17th May, 1657, while he was preparing in South Uist another missionary expedition to the island of Pobbay, beyond Barra. The people still venerate his name. A chapel (*) at Uist and a mountains pass in Barra are named after him. Compton Mackenzie attributed the islanders' fidelity to the faith of their forefathers, to the labours of Fr. Duggan and the affection the people had for this priest. [49]
News of Duggan's death didn't reach Vincent until November: He hastened to inform the Superior of every house and his words reveal both the pain of a father and the heroism of an apostle.
"We have received the very sad news that God has called to himself Fr. Duggan who died on 17th May at his mission on the isle of Hebrides where it may be said he was working wonders. Those poor islanders mourned him as they would a father. They haven't sent me details of the good that God worked through him, since nobody dares risk speaking about religion except in general terms, and only metaphorically, on account of the English who have organised a cruel persecution of Catholics, and more particularly of any priests they find. This, Father, is the way that God wishes to test the company everywhere, by taking away its good labourers. Since he is Lord he can dispose of things as he wills; it is up to us to beg him to raise up new workers after his own heart, to continue the work." [50]
While Fr. Duggan was evangelising the Hebrides, Fr. White was making his way through the Scottish Highlands. He went up the Great Glen and followed the Caledonian Canal which divides Scotland, and went as far as Inverness. He worked for a time with Fr. Lumsden who was a native of Aberdeen. There is a lovely story of something that happened at this time and the anecdote is definitely authentic. One day during the Summer of 1654, they met two brothers who were tending their flocks. They told the missionaries that their father was dying in a cottage nearby but no matter how much they begged him to make a will, he refused to do so, saying he was not going to die yet.
"He is very rich and we are just two of his many sons. We are prepared to accept whatever he decides to leave us but if he
(*) According to information supplied by Fr. Joseph Cunningham, C.M., the people of Barra call this mountain pass the Gap of Duggan (Gaelic Bealach a' Dhugain). There are two places in South Wist named as possible burial places for the body of Diarmuid Duggan. One is an ancient cemetery called Hogharor which has a ruin of a church or chapel to which his name is given though the chapel is said to predate him by three centuries. The
more accepted place of his burial is called Kildonnan.
dies without making a will there will surely be many family quarrels, and up to now we have been a very united family."
One of the missionaries who had some knowledge of medicine, went into the cottage. He saw straightaway that the old man really was near the end and urged him to leave his affairs in order. But the man declared that he was a Catholic and for many years he had begged God not to let him die without the last sacraments. "I am sure", he said, "that God will not refuse what I ask. And since there are no priests round here that means I'm not going to die yet."
The missionary then told him that he was a priest, that he was on his way to Glengarry and that he had with him everything necessary to administer the sacraments. When he heard this, the old man told his sons to leave the cottage. He made his confession, received holy viaticum and extreme unction and then, after a few moments silence, he made his will. The missionaries stayed with him until his death a few hours later. [51]
A short time after witnessing this modern version of the "Nunc Dimittis", Frs. Lumsden and White went their separate ways. The former spent several months travelling through the far Northern parts of Scotland; Moray, Candie, and on the other side of the Great Glen; Ross, Sutherland and Caithness, from which point he reached the Orkneys. Lumsden wrote but seldom for fear his letters might fall into the hands of the authorities. Even so, he managed to tell Vincent of his success in converting Protestants and supporting Catholics in their faith, through preaching and the sacraments. At Easter, 1654, he said Mass in a nobleman's house; fifty people went to communion and twenty of these were recent converts. He lived with the constant fear of being denounced. His zeal, and that of other missionaries from the Congregation of Propaganda, aroused the jealousy of Protestant ministers. When Cromwell was informed that many Scots, particularly in the Western provinces, were going over to Papistry", he ordered "new investigations, especially into the activities of priests who were to be imprisoned and punished, according to the law of the land. [52]
One of the first to fall victim to these laws was Fr. White. In February, 1655, he was arrested, together with a Jesuit and a secular priest, in Gordon Castle, the fortress of the Marquis of Huntley, and one of the most frequently used refuges for Catholic priests. He was taaken first to Aberdeen prison and then to Edinburgh. Vincent feared for his life, [53] but he didn't dare intervene from France. Any step he might have taken would have revealed the fact that the prisoner was a priest and this was just what his accusers wanted to prove. [54] He had to be content, therefore, with commending him to the prayers of the community. His words show the mixture of human tenderness, a supernatural outlook on life and the vision of faith that so characterised Vincent in his old age.
"Let us commend to God our good Fr. White who was working in the Scottish highlands. The English heretics have imprisoned him, along with a Jesuit priest. They have both been taken to prison in Aberdeen which is where Fr. Lumsden comes from and he will continue to see and to help him. In that country there are many Catholics who visit and help priests in distress. Meanwhile, this good missionary is on the road to martyrdom. I don't know whether we should be glad or sorry about this since, on the one hand, God is glorified by his arrest since it is suffered out of love for him and the Company should reckon itself fortunate that God finds it worthy of being given a martyr who is happy to suffer in God's name and to offer himself, as this man is doing, for whatever God pleases to do with him and his life...
"All this moves us, in God, to feelings of great joy and gratitude. But on the other hand, isn't this our brother who is suffering? Shouldn't we be suffering with him? As for me, I confess that humanly speaking I am very grieved and feel the pain deeply, but on a spiritual level, it seems to me that we should be blessing God as though he had granted us a very special grace." [55]
Fr. White was set free since they couldn't prove that he had said Mass, something that English law regarded as a crime punishable by death. Vincent particularly admired the prisoner's courage in not denying his priesthood in order to gain his freedom. As soon as he was set free, White went back to the Scottish highlands to continue his work. [56]
The difficult conditions under which the mission to Scotland was carried out drew extraordinary signs (possibly miracles) that follow in the wake of those sent by the Lord. [57] This often happens in times of persecution. We can't, a priori, attribute these events to the need for suffering, persecuted people to experience God's protection. But Vincent, who by nature distrusted extraordinary happenings, for he was a cautions and realistic man, was aware that divine interventions are a reality. He agreed that some of the events the missionaries described, might be interpreted as extraordinary interventions on the part of God:
"But let us get back to our good Fr. White and think about the way God treated him after he had done so much good in his mission. Here is something wonderful; some people would say it was a miracle. Some time ago the weather at sea was very bad so the men had only a very poor catch of fish and the people were in great want. They asked him to say some prayers and to sprinkle the sea with holy water because they thought this disturbance of the elements must be due to some evil spirit. He did as they asked and God was pleased to grant an immediate calm so they had a plentiful supply of fish once more. It was he, himself, who wrote and told me this."
No further reference was made to the alleged miracle. To be on safer ground, Vincent went on to talk about the real nature of Fr. White's virtue and the true significance of his work.
"Other people, too, have spoken to me about his labours in the highlands, encouraging Catholics and converting heretics; the continual danger he was in and how he suffered want, having only oatcakes to eat." [58]
The mission to Scotland brings another dimension to the missionary labours of Vincent de Paul and his Congregation. Lost in Scotland's remote and desolate highlands, these missionaries added bravery and isolation to the usual features of the Vincentian vocation to evangelise the poor. They had to go about in disguise and were pursued from one place to another, hiding in noblemen's castles or in fishermen's huts, suffering unspeakable privations to keep the ancient Catholic faith alive in a country taken over by heretics. Vincent followed their work from afar, but he felt them as close to his heart as the groups of missionaries who left the cloisters of Saint Lazare every autumn to evangelise the smiling countryside of France. Vincent, who was so closely attached to his native province, and so deeply marked by the culture of his own country, could make room in his Company for that strange breed of priest gentleman that so much reflected the British tradition. And these, in their turn, always felt the support of their Founder's protective and undestanding tenderness. Fr. White returned to France in time to be there when his father and friend died. Then he went back to Scotland where he lived and worked until his death in 1679. In 1663, three years after Vincent's death, Fr. Lumsden made the final break from the scene of his labours. But the Vincentian mission in Scotland did not come to a complete end until 1704. [59]
The Queen of Poland
It was a political coincidence that brought about the mission to Poland, the third European country to welcome Vincent's priests. In 1645, King Ladislaus IV of Poland, (1595 1648) who was a widower, was looking for a French lady to be his wife. This position called for great sensitivity and Mazarin's choice fell on Princess Marie de Gonzaga, the daughter of Charles de Gonzaga, duke of Nevers and Mantua. It proved a very good choice. Marie de Gonzaga was outstanding in high society for her piety, beauty and talent. Her piety meant that she was attracted to two of the most fervent groups of peoples, the Jansenists of Port Royal and Vincent de Paul's Ladies of Charity, in whose work she shared. She wanted to have the same religious beckground in her adopted country as she had been used to in France. She brought as chaplain the French priest, François de Fleury, who had strong Janseninst sympathies and she asked Vincent to send missionaries, Daughters of Charity and some Visitation nuns. Vincent agreed and he used this opportunity to extend to that far off country the benefits of missions for the people and retreats for the clergy. The new Queen wanted to confide both these works to the priests of the Mission. [60]
The first expedition arrived later than expected. The delay was partly due to the difficult circumstances in which the Queen found herself. Three years after her arrival in Poland, her husband, Ladislaus IV, died. His brother, and successor to the throne, the former Jesuit and cardinal John Casimir II (1648 1668), took her as his wife. Once her position was secured she took up again the projects she had started earlier.
The first group of missionaries arrived in Warsaw in November 1651. There were five of them; two priests, Fr. Lambert aux Couteaux and Fr. Guillaume Desdames; two clerics, Nicolas Guillot and Casimir Zelazewsky, together with a lay brother, Jacques Posny. [61] Fr. Lambert was in charge. Years earlier when Vincent had recommended him to the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda as bishop of Babylon, he said that letting him go was like tearing out an eye and cutting off an arm. [62]
In a letter to Vincent, the Queen gave him news of the missionaries' arrival and also shared with him a confidence that shows us the dangerous state of medical practice at that time. "If God grants me the grace of not dying in childbirth",... [63] she wrote. Every confinement was potentially fatal, even for a Queen.
However, the illustrious lady's fears proved unfounded. Three months later, Vincent congratulated her on the birth of a "fine prince". The Lord had heard his prayer, just as he had done on a previous occasion when the Queen gave birth to a daughter. This was a prayer that God would grant their Majesties, "children of royal blood who would provide monarchs for Poland till the end of time." [64] The prayer, however, was only partly answered. The infant prince died when he was only three months old. Vincent was deeply affected by the news although he recognised that God wanted, "to deprive earth of this child, so that he could reign in heaven." [65]
Vincent was allowed to share the lady's sorrows and her joys, both great and small. Years later, Marie de Gonzaga begged him to send her a little dog. The Daughters of Charity promised to see to this royal request. They acquired a dog and kept it in their house until they had the opportunity of sending it to Poland. In the meantime Vincent became fond of the little animal. At the end of a long letter to the Superior about very serious affairs concerning the mission in Poland, he added the following postscript;
"Mlle. Le Gras brought to our parlour the little dog they are sending to the Queen. It is so fond of one of the Sisters of Charity that it won't even look at the others; the minute she goes out of the room it starts to whine and to fret. I am filled with confusion seeing the particular affection this little creature has for the Sister who feeds it while I show such little attachment to my sovereign benefactor and so little detachment from other things. You can assure Her Majesty that the sisters will take good care of it." [66] Some months later he added this information. "Tell Mlle. de Villiers (the Queen's French attendant) that the little creature is now deigning to look at me." [67]
Not everything about Vincent was serious and desperately important. His big, generous, heart found room for lesser joys, too. The poor Queen would need all the consolations she could get during the serious trials that were to befall her.
"Send me another Fr. Lambert"
Marie de Gonzaga intended confiding to the missionaries the seminary she proposed to establish in Vilna. [68] But the archbishop refused his consent. The Jesuits had persuaded him not to allow this because they thought the French priests who had a good relationship with abbot Fleury, [69] must therefore be influenced by Jansenism. In vain Vincent tried to get recommendations from the archbishop of Paris and the nuncio. The opposition lasted for years. It only ended when Vincent managed to persuade the French Jesuits to write to their brothers in Poland and ask them to desist. [70] This incident was deeply significant for the development of the Polish mission which differed greatly from the mission in France, Italy or the British Isles.
The Queen continued to look for work for the missionaries. They were offered the parish of Sokolka near Grodno. Fr. Desdames went there while Fr. Lambert and the rest of his companions remained at court in Cracow. They found the city battling against a fierce epidemic of plague. The missionaries devoted themselves fervently to the task of helping the sick. [71] Fr. Lambert fell ill. He had only just recovered when news reached him that the epidemic had spread to Warsaw. Paying no heed to the Queen's many recommendations to take care of himself, he rushed to the capital to organise aid for the poor. Marie de Gonzaga ordered him to stay at the palace and to sleep in the king's own room. [72] Thesituation was desperate. Medical aid for the sick was conspicuous by its absence.Fr. Lambert, helped by Brother Guillot, had to improvise everything. Vincent recounts this with a father's justifiable pride:
"The work of our missionaries in Poland is bearing much fruit... there has been a serious outbreak of plague in Warsaw, where the King normally resides, so all the inhabitants who were able to flee, have abandoned the city. Here, as in every other place affected by the plague, there is hardly anything in the way of organisation; on the contrary, there is almost complete chaos because nobody buries the dead and these are left lying in the street and are eaten by dogs. As soon as somebody falls ill, he is thrown out into the street and will die because nobody will provide him with food. The poor workers, servants and serving maids, the poor widows and the orphans, are completely abandoned; they can't find work and they can't beg a bit of bread from anyone because all the rich people have fled. Fr. Lambert was sent there, amidst all the desolation, to do something about all these needs. And, in fact, he has begun to restore order; he has had the dead buried and abandoned, sick people taken to suitable places where they can be cared for both spiritually and corporally, and this sevice was also provided for people whose illnesses were not contagious. And, finally, he ordered four separate houses to be prepared as hospicies or hospitals; he had all the poor people who were not ill taken and lodged there, the men in one part and the women and children in another. He helped all these with alms and gifts sent by the Queen." [73]
After the plague and famine came war. Poland suffered, as she was to suffer so many times in her history, from the covetousness of powerful neighbours. Russia and Sweden were preparing to attack the Catholic kingdom in what was to be the Thirteen Years War (1654 1667). King Charles Gustave X, (1622 1666) and Tsar Alexis (1629 1676) put forward several pretexts as they hastened to prepare for war. The King and Queen of Poland moved to the eastern frontier which was the least dangerous area to be in and Fr. Lambert, who was part of their retinue, travelled with them. From Grodno, where he had another unsuccessful interview with the archbishop of Vilna about the seminary, he took a little trip to Sokolka, which was only five leagues away, to visit Fr. Desdames. Death, which had failed to conquer him in Cracow or in Warsaw, was waiting for him there. It came in the shape of an illness which was so painful that, as he himself said, "I couldn't suffer it for long and stay alive." It only lasted three days. On 31st, January, 1653, Fr. Lambert died at the age of 47. His death was universally mourned. The Queen wrote a long letter to Vincent in her own handwriting, saying, "If you don't send me another Fr. Lambert I don't konw what I will do." [74]
"Famine, plague, war."
Finding another Fr. Lambert was no easy matter. The man chosen to replace him was Charles Ozenne, who at that time was Superior at Troyes. With him were the cleric, Nicolas Duperroy, and the first Visitation nuns, and they started their journey in August, 1653. They set sail from Dieppe but had hardly left the port when the vessel was captured by an English pirate ship which, after a dreadful crossing, took them to Dover. They had to remain in Dover for six weeks while the British Parliament and Admiralty debated whether the seizure of the boat was a legitimate act of war or not. Then the passengers were released and authorised to return to France. The nuns did so and landed in Calais on 5th October. Ozenne and Duperroy stayed in Dover until they were given their luggage back and the boat was authorised to continue its journey. [75]
They arrived in Poland about the middle of January, 1654. They found many surprises there. The clerics Guillot and Zelazewski were now ordained and together with Fr. Desdames they were negotiating the transfer of Holy Cross parish in Warsaw to the Congregation of the Mission. [76] There were still some traces of the plague and the missionaries continued to attend to the sick. The church of Holy Cross was handed over to them during that same month but the formal agreement was not confirmed till the end of the year. The Queen gave them a house with a kitchen garden near to the church. [77] Fr. Desdames who was getting bored in his Sokolka retreat, and who could now speak some Polish, hurried to join his companions in the capital, as instructed by Vincent. [78]
Things were beginning to go well. Shortly after this, Duperroy was ordained, but the mission received two setbacks, Fr. Guillot returned to France and Fr. Zelazewsli left the Company. [79] In spite of everything, the works flourished. In May they took over another parish at Skuly, near Warsaw. Fr. Guillot had not long arrived back in France when he decided to return to Poland and he was accompanied by three students and a laybrother. [80] Zelazewski was feeling unsettled but he continued to work with the missionaries. They gave their first mission in October. Fathers Zelazewski, Desdames, Guillot and Duperroy took part in it though Fr. Zelazewski was the only one to preach because of the language problem. [81] The bishop of Posen had made up his mind to send his ordinands to Holy Cross. The ladies of Vilna asked for a Confraternity of Charity to be established. Prince Wielopolski offered to found another house for the Mission near Gdansk. The Queen continued her plans to set up a seminary. The mission that was preached in Holy Cross parish was a great success. [82]
Such smiling hopes were dashed by the outbreak of war. Poland was attacked by Russia and Sweden simultaneously. The Russians occupied Lithuania, the Swedes went to Warsaw. The capital had to be evacuated. Fr. Ozenne and the Daughters of Charity who had arrived in the meantime, moved with the court, to Silesia. Fr. Zelazewski and Brother Posny both returned home and the youngest missionaries were recalled to France. That left only Fr. Desdames and Fr. Duperroy in Warsaw. The capital was occupied by the Swedes on 30th August, 1655, and regained by the Poles shortly afterwards. The following year it again fell to the Swedes who carried out a systematic sacking of the capital and Holy Cross church was not spared. Fr. Duperroy protested and was so brutally beaten by the soldiers that he was left for dead. He was rescued, thanks to the charity of some good ladies of the neigbourhood. Not long after recovering from this attack he was taken ill with a stomach complaint and asked to return to France. Thanks to the attentions showered on him by the Daughters of Charity at Oppeln, and to an operation he had, Fr. Duperroy regained his health and stayed in Poland. [83]
In June, 1657, the Swedes again occupied Warsaw. Fr. Desdames who was on his own minding the house, had a presentiment that the city was about to fall and he left Warsaw on the very day that the Swedish troops entered it. The city was put to fire and sword and whole districts were reduced to ashes. Fire raged against the missionaries' house and that of the Daughters of Charity with their orchards and poultry yards. When Fr. Desdames returned he couldn't even find a chalice to say Mass. The situation at Skuly was equally catastrophic. The Swedes murdered the parish priest, burnt the church down and destroyed the missionaries' cowsheds and wine cellar. Meanwhile, Fr. Ozenne followed the court from one place to another, keeping pace with the enemy's advance. At Cracow, which was the last place of refuge for the worn out monarchs, he and the Daughters of Charity, devoted themselves to caring for the wounded.
As last the course of the war began to change. The Swedes were repulsed and Warsaw was reconquered in October, 1657. Ozenne returned to a desolate sight. Not a single building belonging to the Company remained standing.
Faced with such an accumulation of disasters Vincent's reaction showed the same generous resignation as that aroused in him by the fate of the missionaries in Scotland. Referring to Fr. Desdames and Fr. Duperroy, he said to the community:
"What things did they suffer in that country? Famine? That reigns everywhere. Plague? They both caught it and one of them had it twice. War? They were in the midst of armies and both fell into enemy hands. In short, God tried them in every possible way. My God, may you be for ever blessed and glorified for the graces you bestow on those who abandon themselves to you. Be, yourself, your own praise for having granted the Company two such wonderful men as these. [84]
"It wouldn't have been right for you to have been spared"
He consoled Fr. Ozenne, exhorting him to show solidarity with the sufferings of the people.
"You tell me that three of your houses in Warsaw and five in country parts have been destroyed in the war. That is a big loss but it wouldn't be right for you to have been spared the sorrows that affect the people. God has allowed this and he will take care of repairing the damage in the measure that his Providence thinks fitting." [85]
Vincent, for his part, was not discouraged by adversity. He immediately began to prepare another expedition to replace the men lost. Yet another, and an equally sad loss, was to come. On 14th August, 1658, Fr. Ozenne died from a violent attack of fever. He was forty six. In his typically spiritual way, Vincent broke the news:
"He had been preparing for this (to leave this life and be united with Our Lord) ever since he entered the Company where he always avoided evil and did good in a most zealous and fruitful way. He was very open, amiable and edifying. God is now his reward." [86]
The mission in Poland survived all these disasters. Circumstances had rendered the usual ministries of the Company virtually impossible. On the other hand, they were able to take on woks which were equally in keeping with its objectives; helping the sick, the soldiers and the injured. And it had ripened two men for heaven. Throughout the mission's eventful history it would be called on to practise the same virtues and to fashion the same sort of men. The spirit of the community was beginning to be lived out in different ways. France, Italy, Ireland, Scotland and Poland, all represented the start of different traditions within the Congregation of the Mission.
Sweden on the horizon
At that time, two further traditions (those of Sweden and of Spain) were strangled at birth. Throughout the whole of 1654, attempts were made to send missionaries to Sweden and in the beginning there was talk of sending men to Denmark, too, with a similar commitment to the work done on the Scottish missions to strengthen the faith of the few Catholics who had kept up the practice of their religion in that Protestant country.
On two occasions Propaganda Fide instructed Vincent to organise the work; the French ambassador, baron d'Avaugour kept on asking for it, Fr. Guillot wanted to do it. There was a time when everything seemed set. The Superior in Poland was told to give Fr. Guillot all the help he needed. But then came the difficulties. The Queen of Poland refused to let Fr. Guillot go, and so the ambassador looked elsewhere for workers. Vincent saw this as a manifestation of God's will and, not without some pain, abandoned the plan. He had lost the opportunity to extend the work of his missionaries to anew field of endeavour but he had shown the measure of a zeal that was ready to go wherever God's glory and the salvation of souls was at stake. [87]
Spain, the unfinished project
There were three attempts at making a foundation in Spain and each one was for a different diocese; Barcelona in 1644, Toledo, 1657 1658 and Plasencia in 1660.
The house at Barcelona was meant to be a French, not a Spanish foundation. At that time the Catalans were in rebellion against the policies of Count Duke Olivares and had proclaimed Louis XIII of France as Count of Barcelona. Between the years 1641 and 1654 there were ten French Viceroys and several of these had some acquaintanceship with Vincent. [88] These were Brezé, Richelieu's brother in law (1641 1642), La Mothe Fénélon (1643 1644 and then 1651 1652), who surrendered to the Spanish troops and so brought about the expulsion of the French from the Catalan peninsula, and the Duke of Mercoeur (1650). [89]
The real cornerstone of French politics in Catalonia was Pierre de Marca (1594 1642), former president of the Parlement at Pau and nominee for the bishopric of Couserans. A fanatical supporter of Mazarin, he eventually became archbishop of Paris. If the viceroys had military power, then civil and ecclesiastical authority was vested in Marca who in his capacity as Inspector and Intendant General, took responsibility for civil and ecclesiastical government, assuming all these power in the interregnum between each of the six viceroys who succeeded each other during the period that he was in office. (1643 1651). [90] The main feature of his ecclesiastical policy was the persecution of Catalan priests and religious who were opposed to the French government. [91] This policy proved to be counter productive since he, himself, stated in 1645, that most of the clergy, monks, nobles, great ladies, people of rank and prominent business men... were openly declaring themselves in favour of the Spanish party." [92]
One aspect of this policy of Frenchifying the Catalan Church was the project to bring French religious to Catalonia. On 4th December, 1645, Louis XIV (or rather, Mazarin), wrote to the viceroy of Catalonia:
"Your reference to the advisability of sending French religious to Catalonia comes at an opportune moment and this would be very much to my advantage but I would need to know beforehand what needs to be done before I send them and I would have to be informed about who should be admitted. So Monsieur Marca should send us a very detailed report about the status and the qualities we should look for in such religious, the manner in which they are to be introduced into the country, and as many details as possible about how the plan is to be put into operation." [93]
The plan to bring Vincentian missionarties to Barcelona in 1644 was one more aspect of Mazarin and Marca's ecclesiastical policy. This is shown by the fact that the initiative came from Queen Anne of Austria who promised Vincent 3,000 livres for the foundation. Vincent showed little enthusiasm for the idea. Did he realise that he was only being used as a pawn in a game of political chess? Although he was ready, as always, to comply with a sovereign's wishes, he was very sceptical about the Queen's intentions and about her reliability. After a while the matter was dropped. [94] We shouldn't be sorry about this. If Vincentian missionaries had gone to Catalonia as agents of French oppressors it might have ruined for ever any future hopes of establishing them in Spain.
The plans for Toledo and Plasencia during the final years of Vincent's life were quite different from the Catalonia project. The idea for both foundations was first thought of in Rome. A representative of the archbishop of Toledo in Rome was an Irish priest, James Dowley, (the Latinised form "Loeus" appears in Vincent's correspondence) and he interested his prelate, Monsignor Moscoso y Sandoval (1646 1665), in the work of giving missions and retreats to ordinands, a work he had seen Fr. Jolly's companions doing. Vincent was pleased to hear this and began to think of possible candidates for the Spanish mission. The most suitable choice seemed to be Fr. Martin but he was needed in Turin. Fr. Bryan, who had returned from Ireland, was equally suitable. However, the cardinal of Toledo didn't make any firm offer and Vincent, true to his principle of never starting a foundation on his own initiative, buried the project." [95]
The Oratorian priest, Luis Crespi y Borja (+ 1663) who was bishop of Plasencia and Spanish ambassador to the Holy See, showed a closer interest in the possibility of such a foundation. A priest in his diocese who had made a retreat in the house at Montecitorio, told him about the aims and the methods of the Congregation of the Mission. The bishop had organised missions in Plasencia which were very similar to those given by Vincent's followers but retreats for ordinands were new to him. He asked Fr. Jolly to send him a report on their method of working and he let it be seen that he wanted to bring the missionaries to his diocese. Vincent had many reservations. He doubted whether he could find in the Company subjects who were on the same cultural level as the Spanish clergy and he recommended Jolly to drag his feet in providing the report requested by the bishop of Plasencia. Again, he didn't want to be the one to initiate a foundation. [96] Providence's clock had not yet struck the Spanish hour for the Congregation of the Mission.
Even excluding Spain, at the time of Vincent's death the Congregation had taken solid root in European countries outside of France. Its international vocation was assured. The Vincentian way of interpreting Church reforms had shown that it could be adapted to societies which were very different from the one it was originally designed to serve.
The first group of missionaries arrived in Warsaw in November 1651. There were five of them; two priests, Fr. Lambert aux Couteaux and Fr. Guillaume Desdames; two clerics, Nicolas Guillot and Casimir Zelazewsky, together with a lay brother, Jacques Posny. [61] Fr. Lambert was in charge. Years earlier when Vincent had recommended him to the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda as bishop of Babylon, he said that letting him go was like tearing out an eye and cutting off an arm. [62]
In a letter to Vincent, the Queen gave him news of the missionaries' arrival and also shared with him a confidence that shows us the dangerous state of medical practice at that time. "If God grants me the grace of not dying in childbirth",... [63] she wrote. Every confinement was potentially fatal, even for a Queen.
However, the illustrious lady's fears proved unfounded. Three months later, Vincent congratulated her on the birth of a "fine prince". The Lord had heard his prayer, just as he had done on a previous occasion when the Queen gave birth to a daughter. This was a prayer that God would grant their Majesties, "children of royal blood who would provide monarchs for Poland till the end of time." [64] The prayer, however, was only partly answered. The infant prince died when he was only three months old. Vincent was deeply affected by the news although he recognised that God wanted, "to deprive earth of this child, so that he could reign in heaven." [65]
Vincent was allowed to share the lady's sorrows and her joys, both great and small. Years later, Marie de Gonzaga begged him to send her a little dog. The Daughters of Charity promised to see to this royal request. They acquired a dog and kept it in their house until they had the opportunity of sending it to Poland. In the meantime Vincent became fond of the little animal. At the end of a long letter to the Superior about very serious affairs concerning the mission in Poland, he added the following postscript;
"Mlle. Le Gras brought to our parlour the little dog they are sending to the Queen. It is so fond of one of the Sisters of Charity that it won't even look at the others; the minute she goes out of the room it starts to whine and to fret. I am filled with confusion seeing the particular affection this little creature has for the Sister who feeds it while I show such little attachment to my sovereign benefactor and so little detachment from other things. You can assure Her Majesty that the sisters will take good care of it." [66] Some months later he added this information. "Tell Mlle. de Villiers (the Queen's French attendant) that the little creature is now deigning to look at me." [67]
Not everything about Vincent was serious and desperately important. His big, generous, heart found room for lesser joys, too. The poor Queen would need all the consolations she could get during the serious trials that were to befall her.
"Send me another Fr. Lambert"
Marie de Gonzaga intended confiding to the missionaries the seminary she proposed to establish in Vilna. [68] But the archbishop refused his consent. The Jesuits had persuaded him not to allow this because they thought the French priests who had a good relationship with abbot Fleury, [69] must therefore be influenced by Jansenism. In vain Vincent tried to get recommendations from the archbishop of Paris and the nuncio. The opposition lasted for years. It only ended when Vincent managed to persuade the French Jesuits to write to their brothers in Poland and ask them to desist. [70] This incident was deeply significant for the development of the Polish mission which differed greatly from the mission in France, Italy or the British Isles.
The Queen continued to look for work for the missionaries. They were offered the parish of Sokolka near Grodno. Fr. Desdames went there while Fr. Lambert and the rest of his companions remained at court in Cracow. They found the city battling against a fierce epidemic of plague. The missionaries devoted themselves fervently to the task of helping the sick. [71] Fr. Lambert fell ill. He had only just recovered when news reached him that the epidemic had spread to Warsaw. Paying no heed to the Queen's many recommendations to take care of himself, he rushed to the capital to organise aid for the poor. Marie de Gonzaga ordered him to stay at the palace and to sleep in the king's own room. [72] Thesituation was desperate. Medical aid for the sick was conspicuous by its absence.Fr. Lambert, helped by Brother Guillot, had to improvise everything. Vincent recounts this with a father's justifiable pride:
"The work of our missionaries in Poland is bearing much fruit... there has been a serious outbreak of plague in Warsaw, where the King normally resides, so all the inhabitants who were able to flee, have abandoned the city. Here, as in every other place affected by the plague, there is hardly anything in the way of organisation; on the contrary, there is almost complete chaos because nobody buries the dead and these are left lying in the street and are eaten by dogs. As soon as somebody falls ill, he is thrown out into the street and will die because nobody will provide him with food. The poor workers, servants and serving maids, the poor widows and the orphans, are completely abandoned; they can't find work and they can't beg a bit of bread from anyone because all the rich people have fled. Fr. Lambert was sent there, amidst all the desolation, to do something about all these needs. And, in fact, he has begun to restore order; he has had the dead buried and abandoned, sick people taken to suitable places where they can be cared for both spiritually and corporally, and this sevice was also provided for people whose illnesses were not contagious. And, finally, he ordered four separate houses to be prepared as hospicies or hospitals; he had all the poor people who were not ill taken and lodged there, the men in one part and the women and children in another. He helped all these with alms and gifts sent by the Queen." [73]
After the plague and famine came war. Poland suffered, as she was to suffer so many times in her history, from the covetousness of powerful neighbours. Russia and Sweden were preparing to attack the Catholic kingdom in what was to be the Thirteen Years War (1654 1667). King Charles Gustave X, (1622 1666) and Tsar Alexis (1629 1676) put forward several pretexts as they hastened to prepare for war. The King and Queen of Poland moved to the eastern frontier which was the least dangerous area to be in and Fr. Lambert, who was part of their retinue, travelled with them. From Grodno, where he had another unsuccessful interview with the archbishop of Vilna about the seminary, he took a little trip to Sokolka, which was only five leagues away, to visit Fr. Desdames. Death, which had failed to conquer him in Cracow or in Warsaw, was waiting for him there. It came in the shape of an illness which was so painful that, as he himself said, "I couldn't suffer it for long and stay alive." It only lasted three days. On 31st, January, 1653, Fr. Lambert died at the age of 47. His death was universally mourned. The Queen wrote a long letter to Vincent in her own handwriting, saying, "If you don't send me another Fr. Lambert I don't konw what I will do." [74]
"Famine, plague, war."
Finding another Fr. Lambert was no easy matter. The man chosen to replace him was Charles Ozenne, who at that time was Superior at Troyes. With him were the cleric, Nicolas Duperroy, and the first Visitation nuns, and they started their journey in August, 1653. They set sail from Dieppe but had hardly left the port when the vessel was captured by an English pirate ship which, after a dreadful crossing, took them to Dover. They had to remain in Dover for six weeks while the British Parliament and Admiralty debated whether the seizure of the boat was a legitimate act of war or not. Then the passengers were released and authorised to return to France. The nuns did so and landed in Calais on 5th October. Ozenne and Duperroy stayed in Dover until they were given their luggage back and the boat was authorised to continue its journey. [75]
They arrived in Poland about the middle of January, 1654. They found many surprises there. The clerics Guillot and Zelazewski were now ordained and together with Fr. Desdames they were negotiating the transfer of Holy Cross parish in Warsaw to the Congregation of the Mission. [76] There were still some traces of the plague and the missionaries continued to attend to the sick. The church of Holy Cross was handed over to them during that same month but the formal agreement was not confirmed till the end of the year. The Queen gave them a house with a kitchen garden near to the church. [77] Fr. Desdames who was getting bored in his Sokolka retreat, and who could now speak some Polish, hurried to join his companions in the capital, as instructed by Vincent. [78]
Things were beginning to go well. Shortly after this, Duperroy was ordained, but the mission received two setbacks, Fr. Guillot returned to France and Fr. Zelazewsli left the Company. [79] In spite of everything, the works flourished. In May they took over another parish at Skuly, near Warsaw. Fr. Guillot had not long arrived back in France when he decided to return to Poland and he was accompanied by three students and a laybrother. [80] Zelazewski was feeling unsettled but he continued to work with the missionaries. They gave their first mission in October. Fathers Zelazewski, Desdames, Guillot and Duperroy took part in it though Fr. Zelazewski was the only one to preach because of the language problem. [81] The bishop of Posen had made up his mind to send his ordinands to Holy Cross. The ladies of Vilna asked for a Confraternity of Charity to be established. Prince Wielopolski offered to found another house for the Mission near Gdansk. The Queen continued her plans to set up a seminary. The mission that was preached in Holy Cross parish was a great success. [82]
Such smiling hopes were dashed by the outbreak of war. Poland was attacked by Russia and Sweden simultaneously. The Russians occupied Lithuania, the Swedes went to Warsaw. The capital had to be evacuated. Fr. Ozenne and the Daughters of Charity who had arrived in the meantime, moved with the court, to Silesia. Fr. Zelazewski and Brother Posny both returned home and the youngest missionaries were recalled to France. That left only Fr. Desdames and Fr. Duperroy in Warsaw. The capital was occupied by the Swedes on 30th August, 1655, and regained by the Poles shortly afterwards. The following year it again fell to the Swedes who carried out a systematic sacking of the capital and Holy Cross church was not spared. Fr. Duperroy protested and was so brutally beaten by the soldiers that he was left for dead. He was rescued, thanks to the charity of some good ladies of the neigbourhood. Not long after recovering from this attack he was taken ill with a stomach complaint and asked to return to France. Thanks to the attentions showered on him by the Daughters of Charity at Oppeln, and to an operation he had, Fr. Duperroy regained his health and stayed in Poland. [83]
In June, 1657, the Swedes again occupied Warsaw. Fr. Desdames who was on his own minding the house, had a presentiment that the city was about to fall and he left Warsaw on the very day that the Swedish troops entered it. The city was put to fire and sword and whole districts were reduced to ashes. Fire raged against the missionaries' house and that of the Daughters of Charity with their orchards and poultry yards. When Fr. Desdames returned he couldn't even find a chalice to say Mass. The situation at Skuly was equally catastrophic. The Swedes murdered the parish priest, burnt the church down and destroyed the missionaries' cowsheds and wine cellar. Meanwhile, Fr. Ozenne followed the court from one place to another, keeping pace with the enemy's advance. At Cracow, which was the last place of refuge for the worn out monarchs, he and the Daughters of Charity, devoted themselves to caring for the wounded.
As last the course of the war began to change. The Swedes were repulsed and Warsaw was reconquered in October, 1657. Ozenne returned to a desolate sight. Not a single building belonging to the Company remained standing.
Faced with such an accumulation of disasters Vincent's reaction showed the same generous resignation as that aroused in him by the fate of the missionaries in Scotland. Referring to Fr. Desdames and Fr. Duperroy, he said to the community:
"What things did they suffer in that country? Famine? That reigns everywhere. Plague? They both caught it and one of them had it twice. War? They were in the midst of armies and both fell into enemy hands. In short, God tried them in every possible way. My God, may you be for ever blessed and glorified for the graces you bestow on those who abandon themselves to you. Be, yourself, your own praise for having granted the Company two such wonderful men as these. [84]
"It wouldn't have been right for you to have been spared"
He consoled Fr. Ozenne, exhorting him to show solidarity with the sufferings of the people.
"You tell me that three of your houses in Warsaw and five in country parts have been destroyed in the war. That is a big loss but it wouldn't be right for you to have been spared the sorrows that affect the people. God has allowed this and he will take care of repairing the damage in the measure that his Providence thinks fitting." [85]
Vincent, for his part, was not discouraged by adversity. He immediately began to prepare another expedition to replace the men lost. Yet another, and an equally sad loss, was to come. On 14th August, 1658, Fr. Ozenne died from a violent attack of fever. He was forty six. In his typically spiritual way, Vincent broke the news:
"He had been preparing for this (to leave this life and be united with Our Lord) ever since he entered the Company where he always avoided evil and did good in a most zealous and fruitful way. He was very open, amiable and edifying. God is now his reward." [86]
The mission in Poland survived all these disasters. Circumstances had rendered the usual ministries of the Company virtually impossible. On the other hand, they were able to take on woks which were equally in keeping with its objectives; helping the sick, the soldiers and the injured. And it had ripened two men for heaven. Throughout the mission's eventful history it would be called on to practise the same virtues and to fashion the same sort of men. The spirit of the community was beginning to be lived out in different ways. France, Italy, Ireland, Scotland and Poland, all represented the start of different traditions within the Congregation of the Mission.
Sweden on the horizon
At that time, two further traditions (those of Sweden and of Spain) were strangled at birth. Throughout the whole of 1654, attempts were made to send missionaries to Sweden and in the beginning there was talk of sending men to Denmark, too, with a similar commitment to the work done on the Scottish missions to strengthen the faith of the few Catholics who had kept up the practice of their religion in that Protestant country.
On two occasions Propaganda Fide instructed Vincent to organise the work; the French ambassador, baron d'Avaugour kept on asking for it, Fr. Guillot wanted to do it. There was a time when everything seemed set. The Superior in Poland was told to give Fr. Guillot all the help he needed. But then came the difficulties. The Queen of Poland refused to let Fr. Guillot go, and so the ambassador looked elsewhere for workers. Vincent saw this as a manifestation of God's will and, not without some pain, abandoned the plan. He had lost the opportunity to extend the work of his missionaries to anew field of endeavour but he had shown the measure of a zeal that was ready to go wherever God's glory and the salvation of souls was at stake. [87]
Spain, the unfinished project
There were three attempts at making a foundation in Spain and each one was for a different diocese; Barcelona in 1644, Toledo, 1657 1658 and Plasencia in 1660.
The house at Barcelona was meant to be a French, not a Spanish foundation. At that time the Catalans were in rebellion against the policies of Count Duke Olivares and had proclaimed Louis XIII of France as Count of Barcelona. Between the years 1641 and 1654 there were ten French Viceroys and several of these had some acquaintanceship with Vincent. [88] These were Brezé, Richelieu's brother in law (1641 1642), La Mothe Fénélon (1643 1644 and then 1651 1652), who surrendered to the Spanish troops and so brought about the expulsion of the French from the Catalan peninsula, and the Duke of Mercoeur (1650). [89]
The real cornerstone of French politics in Catalonia was Pierre de Marca (1594 1642), former president of the Parlement at Pau and nominee for the bishopric of Couserans. A fanatical supporter of Mazarin, he eventually became archbishop of Paris. If the viceroys had military power, then civil and ecclesiastical authority was vested in Marca who in his capacity as Inspector and Intendant General, took responsibility for civil and ecclesiastical government, assuming all these power in the interregnum between each of the six viceroys who succeeded each other during the period that he was in office. (1643 1651). [90] The main feature of his ecclesiastical policy was the persecution of Catalan priests and religious who were opposed to the French government. [91] This policy proved to be counter productive since he, himself, stated in 1645, that most of the clergy, monks, nobles, great ladies, people of rank and prominent business men... were openly declaring themselves in favour of the Spanish party." [92]
One aspect of this policy of Frenchifying the Catalan Church was the project to bring French religious to Catalonia. On 4th December, 1645, Louis XIV (or rather, Mazarin), wrote to the viceroy of Catalonia:
"Your reference to the advisability of sending French religious to Catalonia comes at an opportune moment and this would be very much to my advantage but I would need to know beforehand what needs to be done before I send them and I would have to be informed about who should be admitted. So Monsieur Marca should send us a very detailed report about the status and the qualities we should look for in such religious, the manner in which they are to be introduced into the country, and as many details as possible about how the plan is to be put into operation." [93]
The plan to bring Vincentian missionarties to Barcelona in 1644 was one more aspect of Mazarin and Marca's ecclesiastical policy. This is shown by the fact that the initiative came from Queen Anne of Austria who promised Vincent 3,000 livres for the foundation. Vincent showed little enthusiasm for the idea. Did he realise that he was only being used as a pawn in a game of political chess? Although he was ready, as always, to comply with a sovereign's wishes, he was very sceptical about the Queen's intentions and about her reliability. After a while the matter was dropped. [94] We shouldn't be sorry about this. If Vincentian missionaries had gone to Catalonia as agents of French oppressors it might have ruined for ever any future hopes of establishing them in Spain.
The plans for Toledo and Plasencia during the final years of Vincent's life were quite different from the Catalonia project. The idea for both foundations was first thought of in Rome. A representative of the archbishop of Toledo in Rome was an Irish priest, James Dowley, (the Latinised form "Loeus" appears in Vincent's correspondence) and he interested his prelate, Monsignor Moscoso y Sandoval (1646 1665), in the work of giving missions and retreats to ordinands, a work he had seen Fr. Jolly's companions doing. Vincent was pleased to hear this and began to think of possible candidates for the Spanish mission. The most suitable choice seemed to be Fr. Martin but he was needed in Turin. Fr. Bryan, who had returned from Ireland, was equally suitable. However, the cardinal of Toledo didn't make any firm offer and Vincent, true to his principle of never starting a foundation on his own initiative, buried the project." [95]
The Oratorian priest, Luis Crespi y Borja (+ 1663) who was bishop of Plasencia and Spanish ambassador to the Holy See, showed a closer interest in the possibility of such a foundation. A priest in his diocese who had made a retreat in the house at Montecitorio, told him about the aims and the methods of the Congregation of the Mission. The bishop had organised missions in Plasencia which were very similar to those given by Vincent's followers but retreats for ordinands were new to him. He asked Fr. Jolly to send him a report on their method of working and he let it be seen that he wanted to bring the missionaries to his diocese. Vincent had many reservations. He doubted whether he could find in the Company subjects who were on the same cultural level as the Spanish clergy and he recommended Jolly to drag his feet in providing the report requested by the bishop of Plasencia. Again, he didn't want to be the one to initiate a foundation. [96] Providence's clock had not yet struck the Spanish hour for the Congregation of the Mission.
Even excluding Spain, at the time of Vincent's death the Congregation had taken solid root in European countries outside of France. Its international vocation was assured. The Vincentian way of interpreting Church reforms had shown that it could be adapted to societies which were very different from the one it was originally designed to serve.
