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Mission Library
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SEMINART
JESUIT
BIBLMAJ.
Beheaded for the Faith in Core. a,
March 8, 1866
FOR THE FAITH
LIFE OF
JUST DE BRETENIERES
Martyred in Korea
March 8, 1866
Adapted from the French of C. Appert by
FLORENCE GILMORE
V
CATHOLIC FOREIGN MISSION SOCIETY
MARYKNOLL. OSSINING. NEW YORK
43070
ARTHUR J. SCANLAN, S. T. D.,
Censor Librorum
^Imprimatur:
PATRICK J. HAYES, D. D..
Archbishop of New York
COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY THE
CATHOLIC FOREIGN MISSION SOCIETY
OF AMERICA
CONTENTS
Preface.
CHAPTER I. Page
Birth and Early Childhood I
CHAPTER II.
Boyhood 10
CHAPTER III.
The Seminary at Issy 24
CHAPTER IV.
The Foreign Mission Seminary 36
CHAPTER V.
Ordination and Last Good-byes 58
. CHAPTER VI.
The Long Voyage 74
CHAPTER VII.
A \Yinter in Manchuria 95
CHAPTER VIII.
Korea at Last 106
CHAPTER IX.
Life in Korea 121
CHAPTER X.
Persecution 133
CHAPTER XL
Martyrdom 150
CHAPTER XII.
The Rendezvous 160
Appendix 161
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Opposite Page
Where Just Discovered His Call 8
College of St. Francis de Sales, Dijon 20
Just s Mother and Brother 32
Church of St. Michael, Dijon 44
At the Paris Foreign Mission Seminary .... 58
Choir Boys in Taikou 72
Hongkong, the Gateway of China 88
Mukden, Manchuria 98
Koreans in Mourning Garb 106
Under the Thatches of Quelpaert 114
Little Ones of Korea 126
Korean Types . t 134
Christian and Pagan Seoul , . 144
Yhe Cathedral of Seoul 154
A Workroom in the Benedictine Trade School . . 162
The Much-Loved Bishop of Seoul 174
PREFACE.
Shortly after Monsignor John J. Dunn of
New York began his epoch-making work for the
cause of foreign missions he published a Life
of Just de Bretenieres under the title of "A
Martyr of Our Own Day." Several thousand
copies were printed and found interested readers
in many sections of the English-speaking world.
No plates were made and the edition is now out
of print.
In the meantime, Father Appert, a professor
at the College of St. Francis de Sales in Dijon,
France, prepared under the direction of his Super
ior, Father Christian de Bretenieres, the young
martyr s brother, a new and more complete Life.
In a letter which I received from France while
the work of Father Appert was in preparation,
Father Christian de Bretenieres wrote:
"As to the now Life of my reverend brother,
I would say to you that it is coming slowly.
"The author is most of all anxious to get
together some new and interesting documents.
He is in correspondence with many persons, in
cluding important witnesses and especially the
Bishop of Seoul and his missioners in Korea.
"The work promises to be new from many
points of view."
It Is this Life which Miss Gilmore has trans
lated; and as one who has been privileged to
meet the martyr s brother in France and later to
visit, in Korea, the scene of the martyrdom, I
desire in this foreword to express my apprecia-
tion of the present volume and the hope that
it will fulfill its purpose to raise up Catholic
souls who will push the Standard of the Cross
further into the regions now held by the hosts
of Satan.
JAMES ANTHONY WALSH,
Maryknoll, Ossining, N. Y.
"Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved. How then shall they call upon him, in whom
they have not believed? Or how shall they believe
him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall
they hear without a preacher? And how shall they
preach unless they be sent, as it is written: How beau
tiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of
peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good things!"
Rom.X, 13-13.
FOR THE FAITH
JUST DE BRETENIERES
CHAPTER I.
BIRTH AND EARLY CHILDHOOD.
A young priest, passing St. Peter s church in
in Chalon-sur-Saone on the morning of July first,
1829, was surprised to see a crowd gathered
about its doors, and stopping he asked the reason
for the excitement. A great wedding was being
solemnized within, the people told him: Anna de
Montcoy was marrying Edmond de Bretenieres, 1
son of the first chairman of the Royal Court of
Appeals of Dijon; and the villagers vied with one
another in telling him of the exalted dignity of
both families and the extent of their fortunes.
As for Mademoiselle de Montcoy, one and all
loved her and could not say enough in her praise.
The young priest was not greatly interested in
the information showered upon him, and the im
pression he received was of a marriage richer in
the things of earth than in those of heaven. He
entered the church to say a little prayer for the
young couple, and left it convinced that their
1 Pronounced Brct-on-yalr.
2 For The Faith
union would be signally blessed by God. Some
years afterwards this priest was made pastor of
St. Peter s in Chalon-sur-Saone. He became the
friend, confident, and spiritual director of M. and
Mme. de Bretenieres, and later of their sons.
Mademoiselle de Montcoy had wealth, beauty,
and social position; she had, also, ideals so high
that, as a very young girl, she had thirsted for
sacrifice and penance, and longed for a life given
to God and Him alone. To become a Carmelite
had been the dearest wish of her heart. Mme. de
Montcoy, a good woman and a wise one, under
stood her daughter thoroughly, and she doubted
the reality of her religious vocation. Following
her mother s advice the girl become engaged to
Edmond de Bretenieres.
In mind and soul the young man was worthy
of her. On leaving college he had obtained his
father s permission to study art. At Dijon, and
later at Paris, in the studios of well known mas
ters, he had been faithful to the traditions of a
family unfalteringly loyal to the Faith and true
to its teaching. Kind, courteous, high-minded,
reserved in his friendships, devoted to his work:
such was young Edmond de Bretenieres. At the
desire of his father he had laid aside the artistic
work he loved and accepted a political position
which had taken him successively to Vassy, Cha-
tillon-sur-Seine and Chalons-sur-Saone, where he
met and learned to love Anna de Montcoy.
Their marriage was blessed by a son, but while
they were rejoicing over his birth he slipped away
Just de Bretenieres
from them to heaven. Shortly afterward the Rev-
olution of 1830 placed Louis Philippe on France s
unsteady throne, and unwilling to serve under a
government which he did not like M. de Breten
ieres resigned his office, and he and his fa r young
wife travelled through Switzerland, Italy, Ger
many and Greece. The political troubles of he
day weighed lightly on their young hearts, b
that the passing years brought them no other
rhild was a sorrow deep and ever present.
Mme. de Bretenieres prayed without ceasing
that God would send a little one to fill their empty
cradle and lonely hearts, and eight and a half
years after the death of her first child, on Febru
ary twenty-eighth, 1838, a second son was born
to her at Chalons-sur-Sa6ne. He was baptized on
the same day, receiving for patrons .our Bl
Mother and Saints Just, Simon, and Anthony.
As he developed little Just showed himself to
be straightforward, obedient, and natural, affec
tionate but undemonstrative, master of himselt
to a degree unusual in a child, and remarkably
thoughtful, tender, and sympathetic Fond of play
as are all healthy children, he deeply loved prayer
and the things of God. His grandfather, a victim
of rheumatism, was confined to his chair and often
suffered excruciating pain Sometimes when his
mother was called from the old man s side Just
little as he was, would interrupt his play to ake
her place. He would sit silent and motionless,
watching to turn his grandfather s page at the
proper moment, if he chanced to be reading, c
4 For The Faith
if he was in pain would very gently wipe from his
brow the sweat of agony, as he had seen his
mother do.
A portrait of Just, painted when he was four
or five years of age, has been preserved and is
very winsome. The little face is sweet and smil
ing. The eyes are dark and bright, and the fore
head high. The cheeks, destined to be thinned in
youth by fasts and penances, are round and very
rosy.
In August, 1840, a third son was born to M.
and Mme. de Bretenieres, and received the name
Christian. Just was no longer lonely in his fath
er s big, well-ordered chateau. Throughout their
childhood and youth the brothers were close com
panions, and so happy together that they did not
feel the need of association with other boys of
their own age, of which they were deprived by
their father s conviction that it was best for them
to be educated under his eye by private tutors.
Whatever the ordinary drawbacks of this system
they were offset in the case of Just and Christian
by advantages so unusual that the carefully iso
lated boys grew to be men of broad culture. Sterl
ing principles and fervent piety prepared one to
become a saintly priest and the superior of a col
lege, the other early to shed his blood in the cause
of the Lord and Master for whom he had un
hesitatingly sacrificed "all save the sweetness of
treading where He first trod."
The family spent part of every winter at Dijon
in the beautiful old home of the Baron de Bre-
Just de Bretenieres 5
tenieres, their grandfather, whose learning and
worth were so well known that the government of
the Restoration had named him first chairman
of the Court of Appeals. His life had been a
checkered one. Obliged to emigrate during the
Revolution, he went to Italy where he supported
himself as best he could by giving lessons in paint
ing. More of the children s time was spent with
the Baron de Montcoy, father of Mme. de Bre
tenieres, a courtly old gentleman, whom much suf
fering of body, mind and heart had chastened and
made strong. To the boys he was a hero, and
they listened with rapt attention to his stories of
the dangers through which he had passed, and of
brave deeds that he, himself, had witnessed and
whose memory was enshrined within a heart too
noble ever to forget the nobility of others. Doubt
less his tales made heroic self-devotion seem beau
tiful and almost commonplace to the little boys
listening open-eyed at his knee; doubtless, too,
they formed part of the remote preparation for
the sacrifices which were one day to tear Just
from all that he loved and to lead him, step by
step, to the Foreign Mission Seminary, to Korea,
and to martyrdom.
Young at the time of the Revolution the aged
Baron had seen its perils at close range and had
drunk deep of its horrors. Forced into the army
of the Republic that was charged with chastising
recalcitrant Lyons, he had deserted to offer his
services to the valiant city. The history of its
defence is one long tale of heroism crowded with
6 For The Faith
such incidents as children love and never forget;
for instance, at a certain point in the city the artil
lerymen lay huddled about one of the batteries,
wounded or discouraged. All but one of their
guns had been silenced when Marie Adrian, a
girl thirteen years of age, dressed like a boy that
she might do her work more easily, began to fire
the remaining gun, indifferent to the bullets that
fell on every side. She did not stop until her
ammunition was exhausted. After the surrender
of the city she was dragged before a tribunal
set up by the conquerors. "How did you dare
to fight against your own country?" she was
asked. "On the contrary, I was defending it,"
she replied. She was sentenced to death, and
went bravely to the scaffold.
When Lyons fell the Baron succeeded in mak
ing his escape. He wandered about the woods
of Forez until he was arrested by two soldiers.
Their prisoner seeming to be meek and quiet they
took no special precautions to guard him, and
suddenly he threw one of them from his horse,
snatched his pistol, and shot the second. Free
once more he resumed his wandering life, tak
ing refuge, at last, in the hut of a poor laborer.
Soon two soldiers came upon him there, took
him captive, and dragged him back to Lyons
where he was thrown into prison, there to await
execution as a deserter and an enemy of the Re
public. One day when the names of those to be
guillotined were called the doorkeeper cried out,
"Plantin de Montcoy!" No one went forward
Just de Bretenieres 7
and he repeated the words. "The prisoner s
name is Lantin," his associate said, and as that
name was not on the list insisted that they had
no right to take the Baron. That day Robe
spierre fell, and on the next all the prisoners
were set free.
Nor was their grandfather the only hero whom
the children revered with boyish whole-hearted-
ness. The Abbe Pagnier, a friend of the Baron s,
a virile old man of strong and simple piety, had
also proved himself fearless in the days of the
Terror. One morning he was taking Holy Viat
icum to a poor man in a farm house. Reaching
a river he saw two Revolutionary spies stationed
at the end of the bridge. To save his life it
was necessary to get the better of them which
he promptly did. Having carefully hidden the
Blessed Sacrament, bare-handed he seized one,
threw him into the river, and quickly sent his
companion after him. Calmly taking the Sacred
Host from Its hiding place he then crossed the
bridge without waiting to see how his enemies
made their way to land. Another old man, also
a friend of the family, had been closely associ
ated with the unfortunate Louis XVI. He had
great affection for Just whom he always greeted
with the words, "Justus ut palma florebit." 1
Of Just s early childhood there is little to tell.
He was pious, but so are many children. He was
studious and docile and loving. Only one inci
dent of his first years has been preserved, prob-
1 The Just shall flourish like a palm tree.
8 For The Faith
ably because it is the only one that marked him
as in any way different from other children sur
rounded by every care and naturally devout. The
spot on which it occurred is now marked by a
wooden cross. One day when Just was six years of
age and Christian four they were playing together
under the watchful eye of a German governess.
To amuse themselves they dug into the earth with
little sticks. Suddenly Just said to his brother,
"Be very quiet for a moment;" and bending low
over the hole which he had made, he cried joy
fully, "I see the Chinese! I see the Chinese!
Let s dig deeper and we ll soon come to them!
Christian looked into the hole but could see noth
ing. Just stoutly insisted that he did, and digging
excitedly described to his brother how the Chinese
looked and what clothes they wore. Some, he
said, were on horseback, some afoot. And he de
clared that when he put his ear close to the hole
he could hear their voices. After a few minutes
the children went back to their ordinary play and
the incident was not mentioned between them or
to their parents.
Years passed, and one day the two brothers,
both in ecclesiastical dress, were seated under a
tree in the forest of Meudon. There were tears
in their eyes and their voices often trembled as
they talked. Just had been ordained only a few
days before and was waiting to be told what for
eign land was to be the field of his apostolate,
and perhaps though he hardly dared to hope for
such joy perhaps of his martyrdom! At last
Just de Bretenieres 9
Christian s voice failed him, and Just said very
tenderly, "Don t imagine that it does not cost me
dear to go. It is hard, terribly hard, Christian,
for me to leave all whom I love, but God s call is
irresistible, and ever since the day " He went
on to recall the morning on which he had seen and
heard the Chinese in his little hole. He had a
vivid remembrance of the whole scene; Christian,
too, he found, had cherished every detail of it.
Only once in all the intervening years had Just
ever referred to the incident. He and one of his
fellow students of the Foreign Mission Seminary
had gone to see a poor child whom Just had
been instrumental in placing in an orphanage.
To make conversation he asked his protege what
he was going to do when he grew to be a man.
The child declared so positively that he intended
to be a missioner that the other seminarian was
surprised. Just said, "I am not. My own voca
tion manifested itself earlier than this boy s."
And he told his friend of the vision of his child
hood.
It would be easy to see in the incident no more
than a childish fancy had it not so deeply im
pressed both brothers, and so providentially in
fluenced Just s whole life. Besides, Just, calm
and thoughtful, even as a child, was not one to
be carried away by his imagination.
10 For The Faith
CHAPTER II.
BOYHOOD.
During their childhood the boys occupied ad
joining rooms, and every evening after their
mother had embraced them and gone down-stairs
to rejoin their father, Just preached a little ser
mon to which Christian listened attentively. "You
see," Just said one night, "we ought to aim at
perfection; but perfection isn t easy. It s like a
high mountain whose summit is hard to reach,
but if we try for a long time we can get to the
top, and then God will reward us." Christian
never forgot these words though he was only
four years old when they were uttered and it
was many a year before he understood them.
It was about this time that Just made his first
confession, and afterwards made the following
resolutions, remarkable for a little child, however
pious and intelligent: "I will try to be good al
ways and everywhere in spite of the temptations
of the devil and bad example. Every morning I
will ask God to give me grace to be good during
the day, and when evening comes I will try to
remember whether I have done my duty. I will
often talk to my Guardian Angel and beg him to
help me, and I will always remember that I am
in the presence of my Creator. Every Sunday I
Just de Bretenieres 1 1
will read these resolutions, and if I forget them
I hope that Father and Mother will remind me
of them."
Naturally modest and retiring, Just kept him
self in the background except when there was
question of the services of the Church. He was
eager to serve Mass, but the first time he tried
was so overcome with shyness, and consequently
made so many mistakes, that when all was over
he burst into tears and only the kind cure could
console him.
Even as a child he loved to pray. The boys
said their morning and night prayers with their
tutor, and for two or three years, on the pretext
that the teacher was frail and needed all the rest
that he could get, Just rose before anyone else,
made the fire, put the school room in order, and
then passed in prayer the time remaining before
the others joined him. However tired and sleepy
he might be, he never went to bed without saying
his beads slowly and fervently. Each spring he
and Christian built an altar in honor of our Blessed
Mother in one of the rooms of their father s house
and kept it covered with flowers throughout her
month. Day after day they held short May de
votions before it, at which little Just always
officiated and Christian played the part of con
gregation. After a time, with the cure s permis
sion, the boys did even better. They built their
altar out-of-doors, and every evening they rang a
bell to announce the beginning of devotions.
Soon the old women, young girls, and children of
12 For The Faith
the neighborhood joined them, and Just sweetly,
gravely, and reverently read a page from a devo
tional book: such, for two years were May devo
tions in the village of Bretenieres. One of the
old peasants used proudly to exclaim, "Master,
Just is the makings of a saint!"
His piety was not the fruit of lively sensibility,
or of an imagination inclined to mysticism. It
was born of a calm, well-balanced mind, enlight
ened by faith as logical as strong, and proved
its genuineness by kindness to all and tenderest
love for those bound to him by ties of flesh and
blood. He was devoted to his brother, his little
brother, as he always felt Christian to be, and
whom he treated accordingly. To forgive him
everything, to find excuses for him under all cir
cumstances, to efface himself in his favor, this was
Just s policy in regard to Christian. There were
seldom any contentions between them, but when
one did arise Just nearly always yielded with
perfect good humor. One day, after a very
heavy fall of snow, the boys built a snow house
twelve feet in height. They were sitting on the
top of it, admiring their work and planning some
sort of ornamentation, when a dispute arose as to
just what it should be. Christian insisted that his
idea should be followed, Just liked his own better,
and in a sudden burst of anger Christian snatched
a tool which his brother held in his hand. Not
prepared for the jerk Just lost his balance and
fell to the snow-covered ground below. For a
moment he was stunned, but as soon as he could
Just de Bretenieres 13
rise laughed good-naturedly over the mishap,
which he attributed to his awkwardness, and the
two boys amicably resumed their discussion. To
the end their brotherly love was deep and tender.
The last letter that Just wrote before he left
France forever was his farewell to Christian.
Towards the servants he was particularly
gentle, never asking special service unless he was
obliged to, and then always politely. Only once
did his mother hear him give an order imperi
ously. Reproved and told to make some sort of
reparation, Just instantly went in search of the
man to whom he had been rude. Finding him in
the midst of the other servants of the household
he said bravely, "I beg your pardon for having
spoken so brusquely."
In 1848, when Just was ten years of age, the
great Pere Lacordaire preached the Advent ser
mons at Dijon and during his stay there called
upon M. and Mme. de Bretenieres. Just chanced
to be in the room at the time of the visit and his
mother made him a sign to come forward and ask
the famous preacher s blessing. Instead of giving
it Pere Lacordaire took the boy into his arms,
saying, "This child is already blessed."
The love of work which became one of Just s
marked characteristics manifested itself at an age
when most boys must be driven to their tasks.
Even his play usually took the form of some use
ful occupation. He was only six or seven years
of age when he cultivated a little garden, with all
the ardor of which he was capable; at eight he
14 For The Faith
began to collect specimens of minerals and in
time learned to judge fossils with unusual accur
acy. One by one, and almost unaided, he learned
several trades and arts; he became carpenter,
joiner, sculptor, doing each kind of work ex
ceptionally well.
Everything about their father s household was
made subservient to the boys best interests. Their
parents put aside all that might have interrupted
their lessons or in any way interfered with them.
The house became like a college, almost like a
monastery. Study hours and classes succeeded
each other in unvarying routine, and recreations
were as systematically arranged. For a few years
M. and Mme. de Bretenieres kept the children s
education almost entirely in their own hands, but
in 1849 they engaged as tutor a French priest-
Father Hilaire who was witty, learned, and de
vout, but very frail. The delicacy of his health
gave Just innumerable opportunities to exercise
his thoughtful kindness. For many months he
hurried to Father Hilaire s room early every
morning to help him to dress, and in many other
ways showed a sympathy and tenderness unusual
in a boy of his years.
When, at length, the state of his health obliged
Father Hilaire to give up all work M. de Bre
tenieres chose the Abbe Gautrelet to^replace him.
At first sight the new preceptor was impressed by
the gentleness and candor of the boys and the
extreme simplicity with which they were dressed.
It was in the garden that he met them. After a
Just de Bretenieres 1 5
few minutes they led him to the house, talking
of a trip which the family had taken a short
time before. When they reached the library Just
spread a map on one of the tables and pointed
out the way over which they had traveled, charm
ingly relating little incidents which had occurred
during the trip. Suddenly interrupting himself, he
said, "It s your turn now, Christian; I am tired."
And his brother continued the story as interest
ingly as it had been begun.
The boys were delighted to have a young
teacher, full of life and fun, and the Abbe Gau-
trelet was charmed by his new pupils. Just he
described as having an attractive face, framed
by light brown, waving hair, and he admitted
that the extreme fineness of temperament be
trayed by his voice, his manner, his features, had
troubled him. "All through the first night that I
spent in the house," he related, U I lay awake
trying to foresee Just s future, but my dreams,
bright as they were, were far surpassed by the
glory destined to be his."
"From that day," the Abbe Gautrelet wrote,
years later, "there began for me a joy which
lasted for several years. I determined from the
first to do all in my power to keep those dear
boys, as I found them: gentle, and good, and very
close to God." In notes which he wrote at the
request of Just s first biographer the Abbe Gau
trelet said that the boy was attractive and love-
able, and so even-tempered that during the nine
years which he spent with the family only two
16 For The Faith
or three times did Just become irritable. He
habitually considered the comfort and conven
ience of others before his own; he played all
games willingly, but more often from a desire to
give pleasure than because he cared for them.
For a time both boys found a certain game of
cards very amusing and played it frequently.
One day their game was postponed because a
trifling incident interfered with it. Just com
plained, and cried a little, saying that there was
no reason why they should not play as usual. As
a punishment the boys were not allowed to play
that game again.
Intellectually Just was richly endowed. He
seemed to have a special aptitude for every
branch to which he applied himself. He studied
well, but as a child was subject to rather long
periods of distraction. He would lose himself
and dream probably of the priesthood, the goal
of all his desires^ until his attention was called.
He would blush then, and disarm reproof by ad
mitting that he had forgotten himself and by
promising to try to do better.
It would seem that a pupil so pious, docile,
studious, amiable would have won the affection
of a master who could find in him no fault ex
cept a too great shrinking from suffering. But,
though appreciating his remarkable qualities of
mind and heart the Abbe Gautrelet grew to feel
a sort of antipathy for Just and did not hesitate
to show it. He thought mistakenly that M.
and Mme. de Bretenieres favored Just above
Just de Bretenieres 17
Christian, and resolved to balance the prefer
ence by giving his to the younger brother. He
feared that Just s rapid progress would discour
age Christian, less gifted and of less even dis
position, so to the boys themselves and to their
parents he spoke only of Just s mistakes and of
Christian s successes. His intention, originally
good, if a little unwise, developed into a real pre
judice against Just, who never complained and
never resented it.
"Christian s affection for me," the Abbe Gau-
trelet wrote, "was very demonstrative, and I re
turned it. Just, as willing as his brother to be
friendly, I repulsed so often that at last the child
understood and held himself aloof. He said
nothing, but in the course of time a trifling incident
showed me that he keenly felt my coldness. One
day I was walking up and down reading a book.
Just came close to me and thinking he was Chris
tian I put out my hand and pressed his affection
ately. As quick as a flash he threw his arms
around my neck, crying, Oh, thank you! Thank
you ! Do you love me a little, too? The incident
made a deep impression upon me, and from that
hour I changed my manner towards him.
"I confess that during my first years with the
family I did almost nothing to stimulate Just s
progress, spiritual or mental, but he had so strong
a sense of duty that he worked steadily despite
my negligence and my rebuffs. It is true that I
knew his rich nature and relied on his excellent
dispositions, and acted as I did in the interests of
18 For The Faith
his brother. I feared the too rapid progress of
the elder boy whose future gave me no uneasiness.
For him I dreaded success, for Christian discour
agement. This is my only excuse."
The boys made splendid progress under the
Abbe Gautrelet s tuition, and the watchful care
of their parents who took a deep interest in their
studies. "I am certain that from the time they
were mere children neither Just nor Christian
was ever idle for a quarter of an hour," the Abbe
Gautrelet testified. By way of recreation from
their studies and other duties, the boys made col
lections of minerals, birds, and fossils. Every
year excursions, taken during their vacations, gave
them opportunities to enlarge these collections,
and the winter evenings were spent in classifying
their finds, labeling the fossils, and analyzing the
minerals. Just became expert in stuffing birds.
Christian told in later years how they had had
but one gun between them. "Of course," he said,
"Just left for me the pleasanter part in our hunt
ing expeditions. He pretended not to see well
enough to take accurate aim, so the gun was
nearly always in my hands, and he carried our
provisions and our booty. However, on the rare
occasions that he did shoot he was very success
ful, so I knew that he had other motives than
those he gave for leaving the better part to me."
Thus did the boys grow up, most carefully
guarded and guided, protected from idleness and
all its dangers, and stimulated by good example.
They responded admirably to their training, be-
Just de Bretenieres 19
coming strong of mind and body, tender of heart,
pure of soul, the joy and comfort of their pa
rents, and the edification of the parish. Their
piety was practical, undemonstrative, deep. Of
Just the Abbe Gautrelet said, Unless I am
greatly mistaken he never lost his baptismal in
nocence." And among notes made by his mother
the following was found: "One of the great sor
rows of Just s life was that he once told a lie.
He was accused of a great fault which he had
not committed. Seeing that his accuser was con
vinced of his guilt and determined that he should
avow it, and in his purity not even understanding
the nature of the fault, Just said that he had
committed it. It cost him dear to refrain from
speaking of the matter to me, as he was told to
do. It was only on the eve of his ordination to
the sub-deaconate that he talked to me about it.
He was still inconsolable over having been un
truthful."
In 1851 began a series of excursions which for
nine years filled the boys vacations, and made
them familiar with every corner of Switzerland,
Savoy, and parts of the surrounding provinces.
These journeys were made afoot, with a sack
strapped to each one s back and a geologist s
hammer in his hand. Their father and some
times even their mother took part in the excur
sions. Rain, heat, cold, fatigue, hunger, and
thirst were often the portion of the travelers,
and more than once they saw danger at close
range. Recreation and instruction were not the
20 For The Faith
only ends M. de Bretenieres had in view. He
wished to strengthen the bodies and the charac
ters of his sons by accustoming them to hard
ship. Just loved the wandering life of these
vacations, not because of an intense interest in
their collections or from a thirst for adventure:
he considered it a novitiate for his future labors
as a missioner. He made a point of bearing
gaily fatigue, heat, and thirst. He never even
showed that he was tired. No matter how great
the heat he did not drink at the springs which
the others hailed with delight. Whether the
day s walk was through a hot valley or over the
snow of some mountain-top he made no differ
ence in his clothing, and was ingenious in manag
ing to get for his share the greater part of
their specimens and provisions. He never al
lowed his father or Christian to be burdened,
but for hours would carry a very heavy load,
smilingly, merrily; and even if it was late when
they reached the end of the day s march he did
not go to bed until he had sorted whatever spec
imens they had found. So deeply did he appear
to be interested in these things that more than
once his father said to Mme. de Bretenieres,
"You see Just no longer thinks of becoming a
priest." But year after year when they reached
home and the winter s work was about to begin
Just would whisper to his mother, "Don t worry
about my future. You know my intentions."
His first reason for the ardor with which he
entered into the family excursions was, undoubt-
Just de Bretenieres 21
edly, a desire to accustom himself to hardships
such as fall to the lot of every missioner. After
his entrance into the seminary he said, when
Christian recalled the fact that he had always
refused to make himself comfortable by taking
off his coat or vest, "I wished to see how a priest
suffers who cannot remove his cassock however
intense the heat. Was it not well to accustom
myself in advance to the little discomforts of the
state I longed to embrace?" He wished, too, to
nourish in Christian a love for pleasures which
would be a safeguard after he was gone. Shortly
before he left home he admitted to a priest who
was a close friend of the family that he had
never had any interest in their collections except
for his brother s sake.
In the autumn of 1857, when Just was nine
teen years of age, by the advice of his director
he spoke to his parents of his intention of be
coming a priest. They made no objection, but
believed that they did well to ask him to wait
for two years and to say nothing of the matter
to Christian. Just submitted. For two years
more he continued to be his brother s constant
companion and devoted friend. Their studies
were continued together; their usual trips were
taken, and others which secured for them glimp
ses of the world to which their social position
gave them entrance.
When the appointed time had passed Just
begged his parents permission to leave home,
arguing that he was twenty-one years old and
For The Faith
would not be ready for ordination at the per
mitted age if he waited longer, and reminding
them of the crying need for priests. M. and Mme.
de Bretenieres gave their consent and it remained
only for Just to decide what was his exact voca
tion. He longed for the most entire sacrifice
possible and felt that perfection pointed to a
union of religious life with work in a foreign
land. The missions held first place in his heart.
For years his favorite reading had been the his
tory of the cruel persecutions of the Orient and
the lives of martyrs and confessors in China,
which had strengthened ever more and more his
love for the foreign apostolate. The Dominican
Order, with its high ideal of the religious life
and the precious treasure it possessed in the mis
sions confided to its care would, he believed, sat
isfy all his longings. Because he knew, loved,
and revered many Dominican Fathers his direc
tor, as well as M. and Mme. Bretenieres, feared
that his devotion to the great Order had its roots
in mere natural feeling, so they advised him to
go to Paris and consult some one entirely dis
interested. Just made some objections to the
plan, but did as he was told, Christian all of
this time knowing nothing of the momentous in
terviews which were being held between Just and
their parents, nothing of the proud but lonely
tears of the old people nor of Just s tremulous
joy.
The superior general of the Sulpicians, whom
he consulted in Paris, advised at least one year s
Just de Bretenieres 23
sojourn in the seminary of Issy, during which
time Just could prayerfully consider his vocation
to the Dominican Order. Just prepared to fol
low this advice, though in his own heart there
was no doubt that he was called to the religious
life.
On the first day of October Christian and he
were together in what had been their school
room. Christian outlined an elaborate course of
study for the coming winter. Just said nothing.
"Well, shall we begin it?" Christian asked. "For
me all this is over," his brother replied, and he
explained that he intended to enter the seminary.
Christian was deeply moved, deeply grieved, and
much surprised. Many things in regard to his
brother which he had not understood before be
came clear to him at that moment. Just s sweet
ness, his spirit of mortification, his whole man
ner of life were explained. Not for an instant
did he doubt the reality of his brother s vocation.
He saw plainly evidence of God s call on the one
side, and on the other of constant fidelity to
grace. Instead of trying to hold the brother
who was his best, almost his only friend, he did
what he could to strengthen his resolution.
24 For The Faith
CHAPTER III.
THE SEMINARY AT ISSY.
On the nineteenth of November, 1859, Just
entered the seminary at Issy. From the first joy
overflowed his heart in his new surroundings.
He was more completely at home than he had
ever been before, reveled in the spirit of the
place, and laughed at the little privations that
fell to his lot. The discomforts of his cell,
which had an unsatisfactory grate and was in
credibly small, he found extremely amusing. "I
should be miserable with a big room and an
antechamber," he told his grandfather. His
fellow students edified him, and of the profess
ors he could not say enough in praise. To the
Abbe Gautrelet he wrote, "Here a newcomer is
received like an old friend. He finds himself in
the midst of a hundred brothers who do all in
their power to make him feel at home, and
simply load him with kindness." And in a letter
to one of his relatives, he said rapturously, "Pic
ture to yourself our big household where the pro
fessors are fathers rather than masters, where
we students kindly point out to one another our
little faults and treat one another with a gentle
ness, charity, and affability which remind me of
what one reads of the early ages of the Church
Just de Bretenieres 25
picture all this, and you will have an idea of
the atmosphere in which I am living."
Class work was new to him and he found it
delightful. "I had imagined," he wrote, "that
nothing could be graver than a professor of
philosophy in his chair. I was greatly mistaken.
Our classes are so attractive that even if it were
not of rule to assist at them, we should do so
voluntarily. Two or three of us recite, and if
we say something ridiculous the rest laugh but
no one minds that. Discussion of the subject
matter follows, then explanations, given with so
much spirit and gaiety that the hour passes all
too quickly."
Richly endowed and very studious Just did
remarkably well in his classes. To the work re
quired he added the study of harmony, and he
volunteered to give a German lesson each week
to one of the professors. "Often," as this pro
fessor afterwards related, "we began to talk
of God, and Just would tell me of his desire
for the Foreign Missions. It filled me with ad
miration to hear him speak of holy things. Many
a time German was forgotten, and at the end of
our hour we laughingly put off the lesson until
the following week."
Appointed to serve in the refectory, Just loved
his humble work and was greatly amused over
his difficulties. It was customary to feed the
poor after dinner time, and he was overjoyed
whenever his turn came, and eagerly replaced
anyone who was prevented from doing duty on
26 For The Faith
his appointed day. It pleased as well as amused
him, to hear the beggars call him Father.
Soon after he entered the seminary .several
of his fellow students received their cassocks,
and envying their lot he wrote to his parents,
"This is a day of days for some of my compan
ions who have the joy of wearing their cassocks
for the first time. How I envy them! Father
Superior, who is very kind, so kind that not
knowing him you have no idea how kind he is,
says that I may ask your permission to receive
mine on the Feast of the Immaculate Concep
tion. May I do so? What a day the Eighth
will be for me if you consent! Do not fear that
this would separate me from you. Quite the
contrary! I think of you constantly, and if
there were no dear Lord and no Blessed Mother
to replace you I should regret having left home.
I find it very hard to fill dear Christian s place.
I am always on the watch among the new broth
ers whom God has given me for those who are
most like him; but no friend, however dear, can
make me forget him. I shall be so happy when
I see him again."
Just, inured to mortification, had expected to
be required to practice it rigorously at Issy, and
at first was scandalized to find the meals so plen
tiful and so appetizing. "I wished to fare like a
Capuchin and I am indulging in sweetmeats!" he
exclaimed. "I tell it in a whisper, for it is shame
ful, is it not, for a seminarian? But I repeat to
you what I heard one of my new brothers say
Just de Bretenieres 27
the other day: It isn t my fault that I dine so
well.
At his advancement in the spiritual life Just
worked with intense earnestness, convinced that
before his entrance into the seminary he had
done nothing. This, indeed, was his life work.
One who knew him well at Issy said, "Just told
me that it was at this time he really learned to
pray. God began to draw him very close to Him
self by the prayer of simplicity. He prayed with
out distractions. His director, not quite under
standing the way in which God was leading him
and wishing to be certain that he was not de
luded, told him to commit to writing some of his
prayers. Having examined them lie gave Just
entire liberty to continue in the way he had be-
gun."
Meanwhile Just was trying to learn God s will
in his regard. Undoubtedly the union of the
religious life with the foreign apostolate was his
ideal, but the missions had first place in his heart
and if he entered a religious order he could not
be certain that he would ever be a missioner, for
his work would be what his superior assigned
to him. Little by little, after much prayer, much
thought, much suffering of mind and heart, he
came to believe that it was to the Foreign Mis
sion Seminary in Paris that God was directing
him. The way he trod before reaching his de
cision was long, rough, and difficult, and at the
time his studies were unusually exacting because
he had entered the classes two months after they
28 For The Faith
opened. The strain was too great and affected
his health. He became subject to violent head
aches, he slept poorly, and his appetite failed.
Given permission to go home for a rest he
availed himself of the privilege only when he
was too miserable to do his work, and always
returned as soon as he felt better. During the
days spent with his family he and Christian re
sumed their long walks in search of specimens
and worked among their collections.
Shortly after Pentecost Just received tonsure.
He had fallen ill with an acute attack of rheu
matism and to the day of the ordinations it was
uncertain whether he would be able to go to
the chapel. But when the hour came he had re
covered sufficiently to move about without in
tense pain, and with angelic fervor he took his
part in the long ceremony. Six weeks later the
seminary closed for the summer vacation and
he returned to his family, to carry out at home,
as nearly as possible, the regulation which he
had learned to lean upon and to love. Every
morning he gave the hours from five until eight
o clock to prayer and the hearing of Mass,
after which he and Christian hunted, walked,
or worked among their treasures. Every day,
too, he devoted some time to letter writing, be
lieving that seminarians can more easily keep
their fervor if they are closely united during
vacation-time. As to choice of correspondents
he did not consult his natural affection for some
Just de Bretenieres 29
of the students, but wrote to those whose names
had been given him by his director.
A letter written to the Abbe Gautrelet during
a trip which the family made relates the follow
ing incident, with the charming gaiety which
characterized Just: "Without preamble I am
going to copy for you a passage in the Gazette,
a paper printed here three times a week, which
you are not at all likely to see. The day before
yesterday three men, suspected of the robbery in
the church of Tresse-en-Comte, were arrested in
the railway station of our city. Evidently they
were attempting to escape to Switzerland. One
of them, who said he is the father of the others,
is of medium height, has gray hair, and a short
gray beard. He looks to be fifty-five or sixty
years of age, but is hale, erect, and full of en
ergy. The second is tall and thin. He had
probably stolen his clothes in an attempt to
disguise himself, for his coat is much too small
for him. The third, 1 who appears to be the
youngest of the party, wears ecclesiastical dress
as his disguise. They carried hammers, scissors,
and other tools which told against them. Of
course all three feigned to know nothing about
the robbery, but five policemen took them in
custody and conducted them through the crowded
streets of the city to the police station and from
there to the court house where they were closely
questioned. The eldest of the party insisted on
telegraphing to the mayor of Dijon whom he
1 Just looked younger than Christian.
30 For The Faith
claims to know. They were all allowed to re
turn to their hotel for the night under the sur
veillance of two policemen. The case was to
be tried in Lure, and on the following day they
were taken there by railroad, instead of on foot,
as they offered to pay the fare. At Lure a num
ber of policemen awaited them and the party
could hardly make a way through the excited
crowd which had gathered to see the criminals.
Our correspondent in Lure has not yet sent his
account of the sequel of the affair, so our read
ers must wait for the next issue to learn the end
of the story. "
Just broke off at this point to admit laughingly
that there was no such paper as the Gazette, and
that his father, Christian, and himself were the
three men who had been arrested and dragged
before two judges and from one town to an
other before they were able to prove their inno
cence. Aferwards, he told some one at the semi
nary that it had cut him to the quick to see his
ecclesiastical dress share in humiliations which
otherwise would have filled him with joy.
^ In October, 1860, Just returned to Issy for
his second and last year there. He was ap
pointed organist and infirmarian, so his hands
were full indeed. As he wrote, in one of the
few letters for which he found time, "I have
just passed my half yearly examinations and we
have very little sickness now, so I have a few
free hours on my hands. This year we have been
through a siege of fevers, grippe, sore throat,
Just de Bretenieres 31
and all known maladies. The strangest part of
it all is the blind confidence my fellow students
have in me simply because I am infirmarian.
They are so good-natured that I gain no merit
in waiting on them. I am afraid that at first I
grieved a little over this, but I do so no longer.
I see that God fits the burden to my back in
giving me only good patients." By nature Just
had no aptitude for nursing. Careless of physical
comfort for himself, he was not ingenious in pro
viding the little devices which help so much in
the sick room. But charity is a good teacher, and
his kindness, gentleness, and willingness were
powerful helps.
On a certain day in May he spent some
hours at home, and afterwards his father ac
companied him to Issy. On their way Just told
him that he wished to enter the Foreign Mis
sion Seminary. Soon he spoke of the matter
again to both his parents. The interview was
heartrending. M. de Bretenieres foresaw for
his wife, himself, and Christian a future over
shadowed by the pain of separation with no hope
of a return; for Just, the hard life of a mis-
sioner, perhaps a cruel death; and he felt that
he could not bear so great a trial. The mother
was braver. She was able to thank God for
having given her son so sublime a vocation, and
heroically and promptly made her sacrifice.
Just explained his plans with no trace of emo
tion in his face or voice.. When he was done
and his parents made no reply he was discon-
For The Faith
certed, and fearful of giving way, said with en
ergy: "Nothing will ever turn me from the path
God is pointing out. I know a young student
who, unable to obtain his parents permission,
secretly set sail for the East, after having spent
a few months at the Foreign Mission Seminary."
Later, Just bitterly regretted having spoken thus.
He misjudged his father and mother in fearing
that they would put obstacles in the way of his
vocation, and they were cut to the quick by his
lack of trust. So willing were they to accept
God s will that in the evening of that same day
M. de Bretenieres went with his son to the sem
inary and introducing him to the superior beg
ged that he might be admitted as an aspirant
for the missions.
Just had two months more to spend at Issy,
and with characteristic tranquillity continued his
ordinary life there as if nothing of importance
were pending for him. After his martyrdom
Father Marechal, superior of the seminary and
Just s director, wrote to M. and Mme. de Bre
tenieres, "My recollections of the two years
which Just spent with us are sweet with the per
fume of his virtue, but they offer few incidents.
His life was without display or ostentation, but
beautiful and attractive. The following is the
entry which I made in our register when he left
us: Just de Bretenieres for two years the edifi
cation of the seminary by his piety and amiabil
ity. His good qualities, the fruit of an excellent
education received entirely at home, fit him for
gn
sa
Cd 5fl
o w
is
HW
>E
^
XJM
O^
S
HB
w
Just de Bretenieres 33
great things. Several times I thought of chang
ing the last words, thinking them out of place in
reference to the painful and hidden work of a
missioner. Now I understand them."
Just would have liked to go to the Rue du Bac
immediately on leaving Issy, thereby sparing him
self and his loved ones the trial of sad last days
at home. But his director counseled otherwise,
and he went with his family to Bretenieres to
pass the last vacation he could ever have with
them, as students of the Foreign Mission Semi
nary spend their holidays together at a country
place called Meudon. During this difficult time
Just was so calm, even gay, that M. de Breten
ieres was hurt, believing that his son had lost all
love for home. Even his mother did not fully
understand the soreness of the tender heart that
deeply loved her, his father and brother, the old
servants, the house, the grounds where he had
played as a child, and the little church in which
he had made his First Communion. During
those days his affection clung to every old as
sociation with a tenderness such as many never
feel. But though he could be calm he did not
trust himself to talk of the coming separation,
and whenever Christian mentioned it would turn
the subject with a little joke or some remark
about the collections at which they worked to
gether to the last.
Poor Just! He was trying unselfishly, though
perhaps not very wisely, to make the parting as
easy as possible for his father and mother. To
34 For The Faith
know that he was breaking their hearts was al
most more than he could bear. To one of his
friends he wrote, "Help me by your prayers to
take this step that I find so painful. I hope by
it to learn my first lessons in detachment and
abandonment of all things to God. My own de
sire is to return to Paris in ten or twelve days,
but I feel that I ought to give more time than
that to my poor parents. I would a thousand
times rather have to combat opposition. As it
is, I see my father pine in silence, and my mother
grief stricken. Christian talks constantly of the
things we used to do. God grant me grace to be
firm ! It is hard to make others suffer so much.
But it is a joy to know that I am doing God s
will. Do pray for my parents."
The end of the vacation came, and accom
panied by M. and Mme. de Bretenieres Just
passed for the last time between the gates of
the magnificent home of his childhood. For a
moment his sorrow slipped beyond his control
and with a deep sigh he exclaimed, u At last it
is done!" On the nineteenth of September the
family knelt side by side at Mass in the church
of Fontaine-les-Dijon, built on the site of the
chateau in which St. Bernard was born, and that
evening they started together for Paris. To the
end Just s courage never failed. Long after his
parents had fallen into silence and began fur
tively to wipe their eyes, Just talked calmly and
Just de Bretenieres 35
encouragingly to them, trying to share with their
hearts the deep peace that reigned in his. 1
1 Father Walsh, the Superior of Maryknoll, recalls in connection
with the departure of Just from his home an incident mentioned by
a saintly Marist priest, Father Barbier, who died in Boston a few
J C cil S Q$"O.
Father Barbier happened to be at the station when Just de Breton-
iores stepped out of his family carriage to take the train for Paris,
[hat young fellow is a fool!" said the driver to a bystander as
the young apostle passed out of hearing. "He is giving up a line
Home and everything worth living for to go out to China and get
killfcl. He <s certainly a fool!"
And so he was for Christ s sake, and of such is the kingdom
of lieu veil.
36 For The Faith
CHAPTER IV.
THE FOREIGN MISSION SEMINARY.
Just s reception at Rue du Bac was most cor
dial, but to one accustomed to the atmosphere
of an aristocratic home and the quiet refinement
of Issy it seemed unceremonious to a degree that
was a little embarrassing. The students gathered
around him, laughingly saluted him as "Father
de Bretenieres," and clapped their hands on
his shoulders or fairly hugged him. Discon
certed at first, Just was quick to see what treas
ures of virtue were concealed by the free and
easy manner of his new friends. As he wrote
to the Abbe Gautrelet, "I thought in the be
ginning that I was in the midst of a happy, easy
going crowd who take things as they come and
trouble themselves but little about their inner
lives. I was greatly mistaken. Soon I under
stood that a house from which men are sent
forth to do battle with the devil in his own
strongholds must be the object of God s special
favors. If you come to see me this winter I
shall tell you things that may astonish you and
will surely convince you that the day of saints
has not passed."
But having come to regard his fellow-students
as saints Just felt himself unfit to be their asso-
Just de Bretenieres 37
elate. As he expressed it, he dared not raise
his eyes to them, and he really suffered from a
sense of his unworthiness, until he learned to
think not of what he was but of what he wished
to be. By this road he went forward rapidly
and courageously, accepting without flinching the
conditions imposed by Our Lord on those who
would follow Him closely: complete detachment
and entire renouncement of their own will. Con
scious of his inexperience in the spiritual life he
took the simplest possible means of overcoming
the difficulty and made a vow of obedience to his
spiritual director. In spite of this safeguard he
often went to extremes in his mortifications and
acts of humility. He was young and lacked the
balance which only time could give. Still, taken
all in all, his life at the seminary, even in its
earliest days, was admirable; it was earnest, gen
erous, ardent.
The words of Almighty God to Abraham,
"Leave thy country, thy family, and the house
of thy father and go to the land which I shall
show you," were often put before the students
of the Foreign Mission Seminary to remind them
that perfect detachment was necessary if they
were to become exemplary missioners. Just took
them a little too literally. In some notes, written
by Mme. de Bretenieres, she says, "In the be
ginning of his stay at the Foreign Mission Semi
nary Just tried to break entirely with his family
that he might belong solely to God. This was
38 For The Faith
very painful to us. Soon he, himself, understood
that the thing was impossible."
He was in love with poverty. "All my life,"
he wrote, "I have intended some day to embrace
a life of poverty not merely in my affections but
effectually. Day by day my longing for poverty
increases. It seems to me that everything I
read, everything I see, everything I hear tells
me, You are meant to be stripped of all things;
keep only what is indispensible and deprive your
self of all else. They tell me that affective pov
erty suffices, but in the bottom of my heart I
feel that I must go farther, and all that I hear
does not convince me. However, I am resolved
to follow exactly and unquestioningly whatever
Father Albrand tells me in regard to this, which
is the only way I can be content. Probably I
am talking foolishness of things which I do not
understand at all." Certainly Just wore the liv
ery of the Lady Poverty. His hat became a
by-word at the seminary; one pair of stout, un
sightly shoes served him for five years; sun and
rain and long wear did their worst for his cas
sock. His rabat became so ragged that at last
even he became convinced that it had had its day,
and he secured another out of the sweepings!
He was obliged to wear glasses at his work and
rejoiced to find old iron frames of archaic de
sign.
His love of mortification was not less ardent.
Finding his bed luxuriously comfortable he put
his straw mattress on top of the upper, softer
Just de Bretenieres 39
one, and used his shoes for a pillow. Perhaps
some day on the missions he would have no
other: so he reasoned. It would be well, he
thought, to accustom himself to rest without un
dressing and to sleep from time to time on the
floor. Knowing that in the years to come he
might often be soaked with rain and unable to
change his clothes he tried to accustom himself
not to do so in Paris. An imprudence of this
kind cost him a serious illness. After an ex
cursion during which on two successive days he
had been drenched to the skin and had refused
the coverings which his companions offered him
for his bed, he had a severe attack of inflam
mation of the lungs.
To reassure his relatives, who were greatly
alarmed when they learned of his illness, he
wrote, "Experience has taught me a little pru
dence, so I am going to follow all the doctor s
directions. I am drinking the water he pre
scribed, going to bed a little earlier than usual,
and getting up a little later. I am trying to be
good to my throat by keeping silence, or at least
talking less than usual. But all this does not in
terfere with my ordinary work." Nevertheless,
Christian, who stopped in Paris on his way home
from a trip through Belgium, found Just in such
miserable health that he wrote at once to his
parents, who begged the family physician to take
their reckless son under his care.
"After this illness," Mme. de Bretenieres
wrote sadly, "Just lost whatever remained to
40 For The Faith
him of the appearance of vigorous youth. His
cheeks, until then round and full of color, be
came thin and pale; his body became thin and
the bones in his hands very prominent. He
looked more like an anchorite than a twenty-
four year old seminarian. But his gaiety re
mained to testify to the joy and peace of his
soul. The mortifications which he practiced cer
tainly caused the change in his appearance."
Meanwhile Just s soul was ever reaching for
higher and higher things. From St. John of the
Cross, whom he deeply loved, he learned that
the man of God should renounce spiritual as
well as earthly joys. And promptly did he re
nounce them. On the days that the students
were free to leave the seminary he had become
accustomed to go to the chapel of some religious
of Perpetual Adoration where amid a wealth of
flowers and lights Our Blessed Lord was always
to be seen under His Eucharistic veils. To Just
the place was almost heaven. Perfectly happy
he would kneel for hours in a corner of the
chapel. "How easily one prays here!" he ex
claimed more than once. He acquiesced readily
when asked to say one of his first Masses there,
but as the time approached excused himself. To
his mother he confided the reason for his re
fusal. "I should have had too much happiness
in saying Mass in that lovely place. A missioner
should not be on the watch for spiritual joys."
In his desire for humility Just learned to seize
every opportunity of lowering himself in the
Just de Bretenieres 41
eyes of others, and as far as possible stripped
himself of all that in gesture, manner, or way of
speaking would betray the refinement and ele
gance of his early surroundings. He endeavored
to conceal his accomplishments, and to hide him
self in the crowd. Often he stole noiselessly
behind the priests as they prayed alone in the
chapel and falling on his knees kissed the hem
of their cassocks. The most menial tasks were
his choice: he swept the corridors, he cleaned
the lamps, he waited upon all. On the streets of
Paris his shabbiness and pretended awkwardness
sometimes called forth joking remarks that de
lighted him. It must be admitted that in his
pursuit of humiliation Just more than once went
to an extreme that bordered on eccentricity.
After all he was little more than a boy: a defect
more easily and more quickly remedied than any
other.
At least one incident greatly troubled Just s
peace of soul at this time. He expected to be
called to Minor Orders at the close of his first
year of theology, as was the custom at St. Sul-
pice, and when the time approached and the
subject was not mentioned he suffered cruelly,
believing that his superiors had found him unfit
for the work for which his soul yearned with
ever growing intensity. He thought it best to
say nothing to his director, but to await in pa
tience the awful sentence which, he became con
vinced, was hanging over him; but he spoke of
the matter to Christian. "For two days," he
For The Faith
said, "I have been in anguish. Before speaking
to my director I wish to give God this sacrifice,
if he wishes it of me, and to place myself en
tirely in His hands. It seems impossible to me
not to become a missioner. I have not been able
to sleep these last nights, but when I was too
much troubled I sang softly some hymn to the
Blessed Virgin. I have put the matter in her
hands, which gives me courage and makes me
better disposed to accept whatever God wills."
It was only after he had reduced his suffering
soul to indifference, or at least to perfect resig
nation, that he decided to speak to Father Al-
brand who reassured and consoled him. The
rule of the Foreign Mission Seminary did not
permit any student to receive Minor Orders as
soon as Just was expecting it. He could not
hope for ordination for several months.
Just suffered, also, from time to time, from
the discouragement and disgust that may assail
even the strongest souls. Two or three times at
Issy community life had seemed to him an in
supportable burden, and he had longed with all
his heart to return to his own people. But the
trial had passed quickly. At the Foreign Mis
sion Seminary, also, he felt for a time an intense
disgust for his work, his surroundings every
thing. Thinking one day that he could bear it
no longer, he went to Father Albrand and told
him that he could not remain in the seminary,
that he had no vocation and was obliged in con
science to return to the ordinary walks of life.
Just de Bretenieres 43
Father Albrand heard him to the end, then
asked, smiling, "Is that all you wish to say to
me?" "Yes, Father," Just replied. "Now go
back to your room and think no more of the
matter." Instantly the temptation lifted. Speak
ing of the matter afterwards Just would laugh
heartily.
Ordinarily he was radiantly happy. His ex
uberant gaiety was proverbial. The merest trifle
sent him into peals of laughter even in class and
in the refectory where more than once he was
reproved for what was deemed unseemly merri
ment. This light-heartedness was to serve him
well during the long, painful journey to Korea
and amid the hardships of the life that followed.
In the woods that surrounded Meudon Just
found a retired spot greatly to his liking. There
he often went to pray for the success of the
missioners already at work and to seek close
union with God; and there his prayer was so
blessed that it became a foretaste of heaven.
On the pretext of accustoming himself to the
hardships awaiting him he obtained permission
occasionally to pass a night there. One morn
ing a seminarian who had risen very early sur
prised him in his retreaft. Just was kneeling
with his forehead against the trunk of a young
oak, completely wrapt in prayer and so motion
less that rabbits were frolicing close beside him.
It was under this tree that Just and Chris
tian had their last visit together, and after their
son was gone M. and Mme. de Bretenieres
44 For The Faith
loved to go there to weep and to pray. A cross
cut in the bark now marks what to this day the
seminarians call "Just s tree." Every Friday
they gather around it to sing the Passion of
Our Lord on the spot where one of His friends
found courage to follow Him unto death.
While Just was at the Foreign Mission Semi
nary he began to hope that Christian, too, had
a vocation for the priesthood. He did all in his
power to encourage it and was overjoyed when
at last his brother s hesitation and trouble of
mind ripened into a resolution to enter the semi
nary at Issy. When Just s vacation came he
went there with Christian, both of them being
eager to make a retreat. They had parted to
begin their days of prayer when Just, thinking
of the temptations and trials certain to beset
Christian during the long hours of solitude,
hastily wrote him these lines: "Don t be sur
prised, dear Christian, to receive this little word
from me. I am writing so soon after leaving
you to say once more, do not be afraid if during
this retreat and your first days as a seminarian
the devil tries to conquer you by temptations to
ennui and regret for the past. Don t let such
feelings get the upper hand. Offer all the pain
to God, and be joyous always, however trying
the feelings that may assail you." Henceforth
he and Christian were closer to each other than
ever before. Their natural tie had been strength
ened and elevated. Just could open his whole
heart to his brother, and no longer hesitated to
n
Just de Bretenieres 45
urge him to a sanctity satisfied only with per
fection.
Nor did Just forget his parents. Realizing
that God had required tremendous sacrifices of
them in taking both their sons for His special
service, he tried to help them to bear their lone
liness by raising their hearts ever higher and
higher until they would seek nothing but Mis
love and His grace. Sometimes his exhortations
were playful in tone, as when he wrote, "Per
haps, Father, you will call me preachy, but I re
peat that the day will come when you will clap
your hands over having made of your sons, not
daring cavaliers, but God willing good fathers
of families. For we aim, Christian and I, at
being nothing less than fathers of families, after
a fashion which does not require much house
keeping."
In his desire to prepare them for the complete
separation to come he so arranged his time that
they saw him but seldom and then only for a
little while; and believing that they should know
the dangers awaiting him he sometimes repeated
to them stories of the missions that came to his
ears in the seminary. "We have just learned,"
he wrote one day, "that a ship bearing six priests
who left us last March took fire near Hong
kong and was entirely destroyed. They say that
every one was saved, but we are not yet certain
of this." In another letter he was able to tell
more: "I am going to give you the details
some of them funny, some tragic of the wreck
46 For The Faith
of our priests. On the evening of July twenty-
fourth they were preparing for bed when the cry
of fire sounded on all sides. They ran to the
deck and found that in a few minutes the fire
had made such headway that the captain an
Englishman had lost all presence of mind. He
and all on board knew that there were two hun
dred barrels of powder in the hold. Our priests
gave one another absolution. In the confusion
two of the life boats were badly damaged. Only
two remained, and our six missioners crowded
into the same one, which carried twenty men and
had room for only ten. It was impossible to
take with them more than a little water, some
bacon, some crackers, and some live ducks. Af
ter a few minutes the ship blew up making a
wonderful display of fireworks. Remember, all
this was in the middle of the night, a stormy
night, with lightning, thunder, and high waves
for setting.
"By morning the two boats had drifted apart
but were headed in the same direction and about
two hundred and fifty leagues from shore. For
six days, during which the heat increased hour
by hour, all hands rowed, the missoners like the
others, on rations of half a glass of water, a
little bacon or duck, and a few crackers each
day. After the sixth day all except the mission
ers lost hope and would row no more. The boat
was pursued by pirates and escaped only because
richer prey came in sight. At last the party
reached Macao, worn out with fatigue and hun-
Just de Bretenieres 47
ger, especially the priests who during the last
two days had been obliged to do all the work.
It seems that their landing was really funny:
twenty living skeletons, but half clothed, whom
the people flocked to see, curious to learn who
they were and from what strange country they
had come.
"The governor of Macao received the mis-
sioners kindly, provided them with clothes and
lodging, and two days later sent them to Hong
kong where the procurator of the mission re
ceived them with open arms. Not one of the
band was ill, so all prepared to go at once to
the various posts assigned them. Everything
they had brought from Europe had been lost,
but they were delighted to find themselves as
poor as the Divine Master who had not a stone
on which to rest His head.
"So you see, dear Father and Mother, that
the Blessed Virgin never abandons missioners.
You may feel very safe about me who longs to
be one, since you have placed me in her hands.
Don t be afraid; nothing can happen to me ex
cept by God s permission."
Nor was this the only letter in which Just
gave his parents a glimpse of the dangers which
might fall to his lot. Later he wrote, "The
mandarin who put Father Neel to death has been
promoted. It looks as if God wishes to chastise
the province in which our brother was martyred
for it is in the clutches of a famine so terrible
that the people are killing and eating little chil-
48 For The Faith
dren and those too weak to defend themselves,
and a typhoon made horrible havoc in Canton.
From beneath the debris they had recovered fif
teen thousand bodies when our letters were writ
ten, and it was estimated that its toll was at least
forty thousand victims in that one city! But not
a Christian perished. In Cochin-China, affairs
are going badly for the missions, and again
priests are being hunted. Thibet, too, is mis
treating them. In short God still has good things
in store for those whom He calls to the for
eign apostolate.
"Yesterday we had a letter from Tongking, the
first for more than a year. Two of our mission-
ers had been arrested and put through three
inquiries during which they not only received
strokes of the bastinado but were tortured in
other ways. Thirty times red hot pincers were
applied to their bodies; fifteen times cold ones
which they say cause more intense pain. We
think that by this time they must be in heaven.
Since 1858 Tongking has martyred fifty native
priests, one of whom during his trial was tor
tured so cruelly on a kind of rack that his arms
were almost torn from his sides, and another
received seventeen strokes of the executioner s
axe before his head was severed from his body.
Bishop Jeanet narrowly escaped arrest. He was
hidden not more than two feet from a place
which was searched. All this news, so sad in
one sense, is consoling in another. It shows
Just de Bretenieres 49
how deeply our holy Faith is rooted in these
countries."
By his fellow students Just was revered as a
saint. "When I wished to excite my devotion
during the recitation of office I used to look
at Just de Bretenieres," one said; and another,
"Each verse of the psalms seemed a prayer
of love on his lips;" and a third told in later
years, "There was not one among us who
did not look upon him as a saint. As for me,
when I heard that nine missionaries had been
martyred, without knowing their names I said,
It is impossible that Father de Bretenieres was
not of the number.
Just s relations with his companions were very
intimate. Instinctively they went to him with their
troubles and perplexities, and he was able to cheer
and to encourage them. The following letter,
written to Mme. de Bretenieres shortly after her
son s martyrdom, gives an idea of the extent of
his influence over many: "It is to Just, after God,
that I owe the happiness of having persevered in
my vocation. My first day in the seminary passed
pleasantly in meeting my new superiors and com
panions, but the following morning my heart was
almost broken at the thought of having left my
relatives and friends and above all my mother
who had been paralyzed for six years. Finding
myself alone I went to the woods where your son
soon joined me. He questioned me kindly, and
listened to all I had to say; then by tender, en
couraging words brought peace to my soul. Later
50 For The Faith
my trouble returned and with it temptations that
gave me no rest, until weary and disgusted, I
thought more than once of leaving the seminary.
I spoke to Father B and it was he who ar
ranged that I should be placed in close relations
with your son. After that when the thought of
home, family, and friends, or the temptations of
the devil threatened to get the upper hand I
went to his room. Whatever the hovr r.nd hew-
ever busy he might be, Just was always ready to
receive me, always cheerful, gentle, kind, and
helpful. One day, for instance, he made me sit
beside him on his bed, and said, You poor little
fool, do you really want to go away? Would
you leave the services of so good a God? And
he spoke so feelingly of the joy of working for
our loving Master, of the Missions, and of
heaven that I was strengthened and encouraged.
Nor did Just forget me after he left us. He
not only prayed for me, but letters from him
came from the Orient to Anjou where I had
been obliged to go to recover from an illness. I
treasure two in which it makes me happy to see
myself called, Dear little Louis, and My very
dear little Louis. One was written in Man
churia, the other in Korea. He had heard of
my ill-health and after some words of encour
agement and sympathy and the promise of his
prayers, he said, And pray much for the poor
sinner who is writing to you, whose heart is
very cold, and who does so little to make Our
Lord forget all his ingratitude. A few words
Just de Bretenieres 5 1
h the second letter give a glimpse of his love of
mortification: Be very careful of yourself. Good
health is necessary to a missioner. Mortifica
tions come from every side without giving one
the trouble to look for them. So, you see, life on
the missions is very beautiful. Good-bye; write
to me every year, and may Our Lord live in our
hearts ! " -
Near the country house at Meudon there are
quarries from which quantities of stone are sent
to Paris and its suburbs. The men who worked
them in Just s time were irreligious, not through
malice but through ignorance, and the directors
of the seminary, yearning over their poor souls,
permitted some of the students to work among
them on holidays and during their summer vaca
tions. Just soon became a leader in this aposto-
late and loved it intensely. He deemed his part
in it the greatest grace that God had ever given
him, apart, of course, from his vocation. He and
his associates would make friends with the work
men by showing an interest in their work, offering
to help with it, and talking affably to them. Stiff
and unfriendly at first, the men s confidence was
quickly won. One and all they liked Just. It
did not take them long to discover that the tall
seminarian with the distinguished air was easy
to talk to, often had sweetmeats for their
children hidden in his pockets, and was inter
ested in all their affairs in their hardships,
their ailments, above all in their families. Many
times Just went to the quarries burdened with
52 For The Faith
bundles of clothing for the children of some un
fortunate laborer, and more than once when a
workman died he found a home for his orphaned
little ones. One or two incidents which proved
to the men that he was afraid of nothing raised
him immeasurably in their regard. Their affec
tion and respect won, it was easy for Just to
speak to them of God and His Mother, of the
Church and the Sacraments, and he did untold
good among them.
In a letter to his parents he explained his man
ner of approaching the men and his attitude to
ward them: "First of all I persuade myself
and it is easily done that those poor fellows
are better than I. They are men like ourselves,
children of God like ourselves, and we should
speak and act as if they were our equals in every
way. I am trying to win souls dwelling in bodies
broken by hard work, and weary, weary; and I
throw aside my hat, roll up my sleeves, slip off my
cassock, and seizing a pick-axe or a crow-bar make
an effort to help. Sometimes I even suggest bet
ter ways of doing the work. When I have con
vinced one of the poor fellows that, in spite of
my cassock, I am a man like himself, little by
little I am able to speak to him of God, of the
Sacraments, and of his own soul. If I were at
Bretenieres I should do the same for the work
ing men there, always beginning with the con
viction that I am no better than those whom I
long to help. Perhaps, in God s sight, they are
better than I. I should talk to them frankly and
Just de Bretenieres 53
very simply, without being afraid of letting them
see the interest such splendid fellows arouse in
me and the tender charity I feel toward them."
One winter night it was past ten o clock be
fore Just and his companion returned from the
quarries to the seminary. While talking to the
quarrymen they had missed from their number
an old man, always faithful to his work, and on
inquiring had been told that he was ill and had
crept away to lie down within one of the caves
in the rocks. Just and his companion feared that
the exposure would cause the old man s death,
and they undertook to find him. The approaching
darkness and the immensity of the quarries made
their task difficult. They had seached for a long
time when, on reaching an abandoned quarry,
some one called threateningly to them. It was
the old man whom they were seeking. Believing
that they were robbers he was trying to frighten
them away. Just and his fellow student had taken
him on their shoulders to a nearby hospital, only
to be told that there was not a vacant bed in
the house. From door to door they had then car
ried the sufferer, begging shelter for him, and at
last had found an innkeeper who was willing to
give their protege a room for ten cents: all the
money they had.
Just sacrificed everything time, rest, recre
ation to his work among the quarrymen. Some
times even his brother suffered through his zeal
for it. "I well remember," Christian told long
afterward, "that shortly after the beginning of
54 For The Faith
my first year at the seminary I obtained permis
sion to pass part of one of our holidays at
Meudon. I had been with Just only a few min
utes when he said that he was obliged to go
away for some hours, but would introduce me
to several other students whom, he assured me,
I should find both agreeable and edifying. It
is true that his friends were admirably zealous
and devoted; nevertheless, I should have pre
ferred my dear Just. It was nearly evening and
time for me to go back to Issy before he re
turned. He had had work to do at the quarries :
so did he understand charity! During that year,
although he passed the door of our seminary on
every holiday, he came to see me only four or
five times, and when I complained of the rarity
of his visits said, My writing to you and seeing
you are two points upon which your ideas will
change. We have found Jesus; what more do
we desire? "
But the quarrymen were not Just s only pro
teges. He was kind to the old men under the
care of the Little Sisters of the Poor, visiting
them frequently, instructing them, waiting on
them at table. The men became very much at
tached to him and it was a sorrow to them
when he said good-bye for the last time. Indeed,
to be poor was to have the key of Just s heart.
His parents were often reminded of this per
haps more often than they relished. His letters
to them are full of appeals for his proteges, each
one more deserving and more destitute than the
Just de Bretenieres
last. "Dear Mother," he wrote one day, "do
not be surprised so soon to receive another letter
from me. I have something important on my
mind to-day. I am going to give you a chance
to place ten dollars at interest in the bank of
our Heavenly Father. I would attend to the
matter without troubling you, but I lack one
thing: the ten dollars.. Perhaps you will supply
them. And it might be well to give four dollars
more, that my poor people may have something
to spend for pleasure, as well as for necessities.
I trust you to plead this cause well with Father.
Many, many thanks ! Always count on the bound
less love of your son, Just."
On another occasion he wrote to tell his pa
rents that four years before one of his fellow
students had burdened himself with the tuition
fees of a promising boy at St. Sulpice. He had
been a little rash, perhaps, having neither means,
nor relatives to whom he could appeal. Just
ended his explanation by saying, "Scold me if
you like but give 1" Again he begged, not
money, but a good, serviceable dress for a coun
trywoman of medium height, and two blouses
for her ten and twelve year old sons. "Don t
be afraid to supply the things, Mother; they
are really needed," he said. And his mother
sent the clothing, as she sent whatever he asked,
never complaining of the generosity of her pen
niless son.
At Christmas-time, in 1862, Just received
Minor Orders. Day by day his fervor was
56 For The Faith
deepening and his character maturing. He was
no longer timid and uncertain of his way. He
saw it clearly and walked in it steadfastly. Let
ters written at this time to a friend, already a
missionary in Siam, give glimpses of his beauti
ful soul. In one of them he says ecstatically,
"Each time that you speak to me of loving Jesus
my heart is deeply moved and my desire to love
Him grows stronger. But how fruitless my de
sires are ! I see that there is one thing which I
must ask for you and for myself: love. In a
little more than a year I shall be a priest. It
seems impossible that God will raise me so high,
I who am so contemptible! I am appalled at
the thought, and tremble before the responsi
bilities I shall assume." A year earlier it had
been the thought of separation from those whom
he loved that pained him. Now, he scarcely
heeds this, so overwhelmed is he at the near
ness of the priesthood of which he feels himself
to be utterly unworthy. Shortly before his ordi
nation, which was to be followed almost imme
diately by departure for the mission to which
he was assigned, Father d Hulst asked Just, u Of
which do you think most, ordination or leaving
home?" "What a foolish question!" Just laugh
ingly replied. "I think only of the priesthood.
To think that I / shall say Mass!"
In the spring of 1863 he was ordained sub-
deacon, and joy overflowed his soul. He had
obtained permission to pass the preceding night
in the chapel: a never-to-be-forgotten night.
Just de Bretenieres 57
From that hour until he was raised to the priest
hood he tried to live in entire recollection, writ
ing few letters, talking little, and passing hour
after hour before the Blessed Sacrament. "I am
alone, all alone with Jesus in my little cell. I
see no one. I am very happy," he wrote to a
friend, in one of the rare letters of those days.
A trial was reserved to him before he was to
taste the joys of the priesthood. His old par
ents, who had so bravely given both their sons
to God s special service, lost courage as the day
of Just s departure drew near. They suffered
intense agony; they felt that they could not see
him go. They believed that he had mistaken
his vocation, and foresaw a thousand dangers
even for his soul. They pleaded with him and
wept over him, almost breaking his loving heart.
The last time that he saw Christian before his
ordination they went together to Just s favorite
retreat in the woods at Meudon. U I could never
give an idea of his conversation that day," Chris
tian told years afterward. "It was full of per
fect peace, and at the same time of a force and
energy that I shall never forget. Just s soul
was open before me. He did not know how to
express his happiness. It was the last intimate
talk I ever had with my brother. After he had
given me excellent advice about my own minis
try we knelt beside the tree and prayed together
for the missions, particularly the one to which
his superiors would assign him."
58 For The Faith
CHAPTER V.
ORDINATION AND LAST GOOD-BYES.
On the twenty-first of May, 1864, Just was
ordained priest by Bishop Thomines-Desma-
zures, vicar-apostolic of Thibet. After the cere
mony M. and Mme. de Bretenieres slipped
away, sacrificing their desire to kiss the loved
hands freshly hallowed by the holy oils, that
nothing might distract their son in the ineffable
joy of his thanksgiving. Just s first Mass was
said in a private chapel of the seminary. Chris-
tain and the Abbe Gautrelet served, and Father
Campian, who for years had been pastor at
Bretenieres, assisted him at the altar. His par
ents and a few intimate friends were present.
When all was over Christian interrupted Just s
ecstatic thanksgiving by touching him gently on
the shoulder and reminding him that their rela
tives and friends were awaiting his blessing. He
arose instantly and going to the altar-rail blessed
first his father and his mother, then all who were
present and at once returned to his unfinished
prayers. "I have just heard Mass in heaven!"
some one exclaimed as he left the chapel.
Before that day Just had hardly dared to ask
of God the grace he desired above all others.
"I am not the stuff of which martyrs are made,"
AT THE PARIS FOREIGN MISSION SEMINARY
128 Rue du Bac
1. Just s Favorite Walk
2. Preparing for the Corpus Christi Procession
3 A Bell from the East, used at the Ceremony of Departure
Just de Bretenieres
he had often said, "only innocent victims are
worthy to follow in the footsteps of the Lamb."
But the hope born in his heart when he was but
a boy would not die. Two years before his ordi
nation, in a letter which told of the death of a
missionary, killed out of hatred for the Faith,
he had exclaimed exultingly, "So martyrdom is
still possible!" A priest, his timidity vanished.
He no longer feared to hope that he might shed
his blood for Christ. To die a martyr became,
not only the goal of his desires, but a constant
plea in his prayers, a hope so sweet that it filled
his soul with joy too deep for words.
When, after the Consecration of his first Mass,
he said the words, "And to us sinners, also, Thy
servants, who trust in the multitude of Thy mer
cies, vouchsafe to grant some part and fellowship
with Thy holy Apostles and Martyrs, . . . not
weighing our merits but pardoning our offenses,"
the familiar words impressed him as they had
never done before. He found in them a meaning
inexpressibly dear to his heart. Writing to Father
Dubernard, a missionary in Thibet, he said, "Beg
of God the grace of martyrdom for me. It is
His will that we should implore this great gift.
Do we not ask it daily after the Memento for
the Dead?"
While awaiting instructions as to his destina
tion Just was absorbed by the joys of his priestly
life. He lived very much alone, prolonging his
thanksgiving after Mass far into the day and
ending it only to begin to prepare for the next
60 For The Faith
day s Paradise. Sometimes his old father served
him, with a pride no words can tell.
On the thirteenth of June, at the close of a
little talk, his superior said to him, laughingly,
"By the way, shall I tell you where you are to
go? What mission do you prefer?" "I do not
prefer any," Just replied. "If I send you to
Thibet will you be satisfied?" Father Albrand
asked. "Perfectly," was Just s answer. "You
are to go to Tongking!" "That will do just as
well," Just replied laughingly. "No, you are to
go to Cochin-China," Father Albrand said next.
"Just as you say," Just agreed. "You really do
not care?" "Not at all, Father." Then, in a
changed tone, Father Albrand said, "Let us talk
seriously." Instantly Just threw himself on his
knees to receive his destination prayerfully, as
from the hand of God Himself. "Oh, if you are
in earnest, that is another matter!" he exclaimed.
"You are to go to Korea," Father Albrand told
him. "If you had bade me choose I should have
said Korea," Just answered calmly; and without
another word he slipped away.
To the Abbe Gautrelet he wrote, "One little
word to tell you where I am to go, for you, as
well as Father and Mother, have a right to know
at once. My dear new country is to be Korea.
Our Lord is giving me the best He has. Just
now it is our most beautiful mission, the one in
which it is easiest to spend oneself to the last
breath in the service of the Master. Hurrah for
Korea, land of martyrs! It is true that at the
Just de Bretenieres 61
moment there is not open persecution, but sweat
is replacing blood. There is a tremendous amount
of work to be done. We shall probably leave
here on the fifteenth of next month. The date of
our arrival is less certain. It can vary as much
as five months, so many mishaps are possible,
and so many risks will have to be run. 1 But the
prospect does not frighten me. Provided we are
where God wishes nothing else matters much.
Pray often for your Korean who will try to re
pay you by mementos in his Masses.
u Good-bye, dear old teacher! In Korea, as
in France, I shall always love you and never
forget our eight years together at Dijon and
Bretenieres.
"God be with you !
"JUST."
1 Determined to preserve the Integrity of their territory, \vliirli
both China and Japan coveted, the rulers of Korea had forbidden
any stranger to enter the country under pain of death, and the
same penalty was paid by any of their subjects who tried to leave
it. The frontiers were closely guarded by a series of military
posts, in the more important of which there lived, as Inspectors
and custom-house officers, police agents chosen for their clever
ness and long experience. Fierce dogs helped them to keep watch
night and day, so it was almost impossible for any one to cross
the frontier unseen.
By land there were but two roads, one from Tartary, the other
from China, on another side the country was protected by moun
tainous deserts and impenetrable forests. The only way to enter
from this direction was to steal between two forts under cover
of darkness, and by scaling the snow-covered mountains reach
the interior. It was thus that the first missioners penetrated
the country, but in times of persecution all the ruses of the Chris
tians had been discovered, and were known, not only to the man
darins, but to custom-house officers, to shepherds, and to farmers
In short, to all the native pagans. Entrance by land was henceforth
impossible. Just and hts companions were to attempt to find some
quiet spot on the coast where they might disembark unobserved:
a project beset with difficulties and dangers.
62 For The Faith
As soon as he knew his destination Just read
everything he could find about Korea, 1 its his
tory and its people. Fathers Beaulieu, Doric,
and Huin were named as his companions and the
four exulted together over their happiness, hop
ing for the gifts which God held in store for
them: four bloody deaths, four martyrs crowns.
They were together constantly, talking in an
earnest way or praying side by side in the chapel.
Before Father Doric was told definitely as to
his new country he ran through the corridors of
the seminary, rapping on each door and announc
ing to his friends that he was to go soon. "But
where?" one asked. "I don t know yet, but I
am to be with Just. That s enough for me," he
replied.
Poor M. and Mme. de Bretenieres were heart
broken when they learned that their son was to
go so far and to so perilous a mission. Just tried
to soften their grief by being with them as much
as possible. In a hundred little ways he dis
tracted and amused them, and did his best to in
terest them in all the preparations for the long
voyage. He begged his mother to treat his com
panions like children of her own, and to provide
them as well as him with whatever was needed:
which was little enough, for all were determined
to accept as few things as possible and only what
might belong to all in common. One day, how
ever, Mme. de Bretenieres was delighted because
she had persuaded Just to accept a relic of the
Appendix.
Just de Bretenires 63
true Cross as a parting gift from her. He had
the precious relic put into a new reliquary and
seemed to be very happy over the possession of
his treasure. When Mme. de Bretenieres told
Christian of the matter he laughed a little. "If
I know Just, you will have your relic back before
long. You have tempted him; that is all." Half
an hour later Mme. de Bretenieres went to the
Foreign Mission Seminary to see Just. He came
hurriedly to the parlor, with the reliquary in his
hnnd. "Take back your relic, Mother," he said;
"I want to have nothing of my own. Do give it
to Christian."
Just agreed to meet his brother on a certain
day at the church of Our Lady of Victory. After
Mass they renewed the consecration of their lives
to our Blessed Mother, and once more M. and
Mme. de Bretenieres heroically offered their
children to God. The remainder of that day Just
and Christian spent with their parents. It was
the last time that the family was ever united on
earth. In an effort a mistaken effort, perhaps
to make the hours pass as easily as possible Just
showed no sign of sadness and seemed not to
see the grief of his parents. He talked of indif
ferent matters, and was perfectly calm, even
merry. M. de Bretenieres, misunderstanding his
son, was deeply hurt and bitterly reproached
him. Afterward, when he had the key to Just s
stratagem, he could not forgive himself.
In some notes which he wrote about Just, he
said, "The three years of my son s stay at the
64 For The Faith
seminary were almost over. During all that time
he had seldom come to see us. He had tried to
prepare us for complete separation from him.
His own sacrifice was made; he wished us to
share it. From the beginning of his life at Rue
du Bac he made an effort to lessen the number of
our visits to him. He came slowly and reluctantly
when called to the parlor. Often his mother saw
him for a few minutes only, and once she came
home in tears, not having seen him at all. I
spoke severely to Just, reminding him of the
fourth commandment. He heard me with the
deference and sweetness and calmness habitual
to him, which, alas! we were more than once
tempted to attribute to a lack of feeling. I know
now that I tortured our dear child. Later we
learned from letters written at this time to his
intimate friends that his heart was bleeding with
sympathy for the grief of his poor father.
Those letters, with all their proofs of the ten
derness of his filial love which I never really
doubted will give me cause for tears to the
day of my death.
"We went to Paris in July. Just was to have a
free day. He arranged to devote a little of it to
some work of charity and to give us the remain
der. All day he was perfectly self-possessed.
Evening came at last. Sitting beside his brother
on the balcony of our apartment, which com
manded a view of a great part of the city, he
watched the sunset, knowing that it marked the
close of the last day we should spend together-
Just de Bretenieres 65
in this world. And as he watched it he laughed,
and chatted gaily, and played little tricks on
Christian. No doubt he saw our frowns and he
was but trying to make things easier for us ! The
moment came for him to leave, that moment
which we had dreaded ever since the sad even
ing when he spoke to us for the first time of his
desire to enter the Foreign Mission Seminary.
Never since that evening had I seen him leave
our apartment without thinking sadly, The day
is coming when I shall see him go for the last
time. That day had come. I listened to the
sound of his step on the stairs. I followed him
with my eyes as far as I could, when he passed
down the street. It was the last time."
Not having an opportunity to see the Abbe
Gautrelet before leaving France, Just wrote him
a farewell letter, very simple, very brave, very
touching: "A last good-bye before leaving home.
It is for good this time that I say adieu. Adieu
for this miserable life. We shall meet again in
heaven. Before going so far I wish to beg your
pardon for all the annoyance and weariness I
ever caused you, and I beg you to give me your
blessing. It will bring me happiness during my
journey, and later in my mission.
"On the fifteenth of this month we shall leave
this dear seminary. Here I have passed the
sweetest years of solitude I shall ever know, but
whatever may be my future difficulties they will
but pave the way for an eternity of joy. I am
sending you a photograph of Christian and my-
66 For The Faith
self. Whenever you see it pray for us, and be
assured that every time I say Mass you will be
remembered at the Memento.
u Once more good-bye, my dear old teacher.
I embrace you with all my heart.
"JUST."
The day of departure dawned. As M. de Bre-
tenieres wrote, "We had been invited to assist
at Just s last Mass in the chapel of the Foreign
Mission Seminary. His mother and I received
Holy Communion from our child s hand, and
this Divine Food alone gave us strength to bear
the last good-byes. I was overwhelmed with
grief. Still, in offering my son to God, I always
tried to ease my sorrow a little by the thought
that perhaps some day Providence would send
him back to close our eyes.
"After Mass we went to the parlor where
Just soon joined us. He was perfectly calm and
made an effort to entertain us, as if we were
soon to meet again. Our conversation was not
long. We stood all the time like travelers who
meet on their way and are soon to separate. We
mastered our emotion, but a word, the merest
trifle, would have opened the flood-gates of our
tears. We knelt, and for the last time Just
blessed us; then, after pressing him to my heart,
I hurried out to call a carriage, for Christian
was not well. When I returned Just was gone.
"Thanks be to God our parting was as the
partings of Christians should be: without weak
ness and without tears!"
Just de Bretenieres 67
To these notes of her husband s Mme. de Bre
tenieres added, "A sad, sad day which I shall
never forget. That on which I learned my child s
martrydom was less painful to me, for then I
knew that he was happy and would be for all
eternity."
A friend of the family thus described the
Ceremony of Departure: "On the fifteenth of
July, 1864, I went to the Foreign Mission Semi
nary to see Father de Bretenieres who had been
assigned to the mission of Korea. I went to his
cell and found the bed dismantled, the mattress
rolled in a corner, and his trunk in the middle of
the floor, strapped for the long voyage. Father
de Bretenieres wore a cassock which, though in
good condition, was not new, and his rabat was
worn. He was pale, and seemed to be deeply
moved. I tried to tell him what I felt in seeing
him go. He clasped my hand affectionately, beg
ging me to pray for him and saying that he was
happy over obtaining what he had asked of God.
I replied, What weight will the prayers of a
sinner like me have besides yours? You are
sacrificing birth, talent, fortune, and home, that
you may spread Christ s kingdom. He replied,
Tray for me; pray that I may obtain what I
desire.
"A bell rang summoning us to the little ora
tory built in a corner of the garden. The mis
sionaries chanted the Litany of the Blessed Vir
gin. At the invocation Queen of Martyrs they
fell on their knees, and a great wave of emotion
68 For The Faith
swept over all of us who were present. Every
heart was beating in sympathy with theirs. The
Hymn of Departure, composed by Gounod, was
sung next. I could see Father de Bretenieres; his
face was flushed, and his eyes shone. I heard
his voice ring out strong and true."
Ten newly-ordained priests were leaving that
day. They went from the oratory to the church
and ranged themselves on the altar-steps, with
their faces turned towards their friends, while
the choir chanted the verse : "Quam speciosi pedes
evangelizatium pacem, evangelizatium bona!"
M. and Mme. de Bretenieres were kneeling in
a dark corner of the tribune; Christian was in
the sanctuary. He wrote, describing the scene,
"They were truly beautiful, those young men
who were leaving all things to set forth for the
conquest of souls; and if my love did not blind
me Just was most beautiful of all. He seemed
to belong to heaven rather than to earth. In
my turn I kissed his feet. He took me in his
arms saying, Courage, courage! Never forget
what I say to you : May Jesus in the Blessed
Sacrament be praised forever!
The ceremony over, the visitors left the church.
Just was surrounded by a number of priests and
students. Reaching over their heads he held out
his hand to his brother. "Until we meet in
heaven! It is over here," he said.
Meanwhile M. and Mme. de Bretenieres stood,
hesitating, on the door-step of the seminary. A
carriage was awaiting the travelers. Would they
Just de Bretenieres 69
wait for a last look, a last word? The father
thought that it would be better to go. "We went
home in silence, absorbed in our own thoughts.
It was about six o clock in the evening," the poor
mother wrote afterwards.
As the party got into the carriage a beggar
pushed his way through the crowd that sur
rounded them and Just gave him five pennies-
all the money he had and laughingly exulted
over being "really poor at last."
So ended Just s days of probation. From the
solitude and protection of the seminary he had
set forth at last on the difficult way that was to
lead to a cruel martyrdom. A beautiful letter,
written to M. de Bretenieres by his son s intimate
friend, Father d Hulst, gives a resume of the
years which had closed. "I saw Just for the first
time on the day of his entrance at Issy," Father
d Hulst began. "His gentle, attractive manner
impressed me at once. From the first I observed
the confidence, I might even say deference, which
he showed towards those younger than himself,
and I soon understood that it sprang from a
degree of humility that astonished and deeply
edified me. After a youth so good and pious
that it was a fitting preparation even for the
dignity of the priesthood he was convinced of
his inferiority in every virtue, and looked up
to students whom he far surpassed. He quickly
attracted the attention of the directors of the
seminary and of the students, by his tender piety,
fidelity to srnall duties, great contempt of self,
70 For The Faith
and unbounded charity. Just was persuaded that
up to that time he had done nothing for God,
and the farther he advanced the stronger grew
this conviction.
"His character then lacked the firmness and
courage which it acquired in time, but almost
timid though he seemed, for six or seven months
he was able to hide from you the struggle which
he passed through before deciding his vocation
and his dread of telling you what was his de
cision. The first time that he spoke to me of the
missions I saw that his heart was wrung at the
thought of the sacrifice he must demand of you
and of his mother. The difficulties of his voca
tion he referred to as little trials, little sacri
fices. He could not imagine himself doing any
thing heroic; besides, to him, all that we weak
men can do for Almighty God seems pitiably
small. He confided to me that to carry your
consent by assault, and later to make the parting
easier, he was determined to be calm and matter-
of-fact and to avoid all tenderness, which ex
plains the apparent lack of feeling that more
than once cut you to the heart, but which helped,
perhaps, ta prepare you for this day. Only God
and our Blessed Mother, confidants of all he
suffered, know what it cost him to be always
calm and strong. That he was bringing you pain
was from first to last his own sharpest pain.
"After Just s entrance into the Foreign Mis
sion Seminary he had his hours of wavering arid
of sadness. He never deliberately spoke to me
Just de Bretenieres 7 1
of these, but a word in one of his letters showed
me that he sometimes suffered thus. Certainly
his tranquillity and firmness made it appear that
heroism was easy to him; and in truth his soul
was so pure and so habitually turned towards
God that it would never have occurred to him
to refuse Him anything. This spiritual vigor
developed greatly during his three years at Rue
du Bac. He admired and praised it in others
without being conscious of possessing it in a
higher degree than they.
"Convinced of his frailty, in proportion as his
strength grew, he longed for the help of others*
prayers, and frequently asked for it. One day
he begged me to obtain for him a share in my
sister s prayers, and added, Tell her that this is
a serious case. It won t do for her to remember
my needs for a few days and then forget all
about them. She must keep on and on. The glory
of God is at stake. 1
"He spoke freely of the mortifications prac
ticed by his fellow students, but always to say
that he was incapable of imitating them; and all
the while we, his friends, were seeing him pitiless
towards himself. He braved fatigue, cold, and
hunger: the rest is God s secret.
"In a word, from the day when I first met
Just until I saw him leave us for Korea he served
God ever more and more faithfully, humbly,
sweetly, valiantly. I will close this letter by tell
ing you what he asked of me before he left.
72 For The Faith
Tray/ he said, that I may be martyred, and
that no one will ever know it.
To return to Just and his fellow travelers: as
soon as they were fairly started on their way
they chanted the Te Deum; then whispered the
prayers which at that hour were being said by
the community at the seminary. Afterwards, it
was agreed that every one was free to sleep, but
all were too happy and too much excited to rest,
and they passed the night in sweet, intimate talk.
The party reached Boulogne on the following
day, July sixteenth, at four o clock in the after
noon. Four brothers, named Germain, whose
lives were devoted to good works, received them
with open arms and took them to the house in
which they were to lodge. The next morning all
said Mass in a convent chapel, and in the after
noon made an excursion to a nearby chateau.
It was on the nineteenth that the party set
sail. After saying Mass that morning in one
of the churches of the city they grouped them
selves about the main altar and offered to the
Blessed Virgin a medallion on which were en
graved their names and their destinations. It
was at three in the afternoon that the Said left
port; by four o clock they were well under way.
Just had written to his parents on reaching
Boulogne, but before leaving France he sent a
last word to his dearly loved brother: "Walk
without faltering in the way of detachment,
which is what Our Lord asks of you. Do not
look back after putting your hands to the plough.
Just de Bretenieres 73
Adieu, dear brother! If you ever come to Mar
seilles remember that the lonely rocks at the feet
of Our Lady s statue offer a splendid place for
meditation. I was there alone at sunset last
evening, and prayed to our Mother for all whom
I love."
74 For The Faith
CHAPTER VI.
THE LONG VOYAGE.
The missioners told the story of their long
voyage to the Orient in happy, playful, often
witty letters, penned under difficulties, in the
midst of hardships and the disappointment of
ever-recurring delays. Soon after sailing from
Marseilles Just wrote to his family, "Some of
us have already learned what it means to be
sea-sick, but that is a small matter. We were
never happier than we have been since leaving
Paris. Every evening we sit in the bow of the
boat and sing the A<ue Mans Stella and other
hymns peculiarly suited to our present needs.
Afterwards, we say our beads and our night
prayers together, and then talk cosily, usually
about our good fortune in being missioners.
Truly ours is a sublime vocation! I cannot tell
you how happy our evenings are ! . . . We see on
all sides only sea and sky, and know that every
moment the hand of the Lord is carrying us
nearer and nearer to our mission.
"We expect to reach Alexandria this evening,
spend the night on board, and at eight in the
morning take a train for Cairo and Suez. This
morning it is Sunday we had Mass on deck,
and after having been deprived of the joy for
Just de Bretenieres 75
a few days, how we did appreciate itl I have no
words to express our happiness but you un
derstand. You can easily believe that this has
been the happiest of all our days on the sea.
We foresee that we shall not have time to say
Mass to-morrow at Alexandria, but may Our
Saviour be praised for all things! Pray often
that I may live for Him alone. This is the grace
that a missionary needs and the one I most de
sire; or, at least, that I long to desire. As for
you, dear Father and dear Mother, may you,
too, live all for Him who tries and blesses you
at the same time, and is preparing for you a
beautiful recompense in the world to come.
"I embrace all at home, Father, Mother,
Brother. Good-bye.
"Your son JUST.
"Aboard the Said, eighty miles from Alex
andria."
At six o clock the following morning a boat
took the missionaries from the steamer to a
train which ran from Alexandria 1 to Cairo. The
locomotive was of a primitive type, and at first
could not be induced to start. The heat was in
tense and the car crowded, so from beginning
to end the trip was uncomfortable, but it was
strange and interesting. As Father de Bretenieres
wrote, "At the first station we found a great
crowd of Turkish men and women, many of
them squatted on the ground and some shrieking
1 The Suez Canal had not yet been opened.
76 For The Faith
in an ear-splitting way. We got out and walked
about for half an hour listening to the hubbub
and seeing so much misery that I went back to
the train with an aching heart. Hundreds of
women reduced to the condition of beasts of
burden, and thousands of poor people living in
the darkness of Mohammedanism! As we con
tinued our journey the roads were literally lined
with a procession of Mussulmen, mounted upon
asses, horses, or mules, or trudging on foot in
a heat far more intense than anything we knew
at home. Whenever we passed a tree we were
certain to see people crowded about it. Men,
women, and beasts would be lying in the shade
and children bathing in dirty ponds in company
with the cattle. You are probably wondering
what was the destination of all this multitude.
Not far from Cairo is the village of Tantah
a group of miserable mud houses covered with
branches dried in the sun. To the Mussulman
the place is sacred, for it contains the tomb of
a Mohammedan monk. On the day we passed
through a great fair was being held there, which
accounts for the enormous and motley crowd
which we saw all along our way. The noise and
confusion were indescribable. Fortunately we
made but a short stop at Tantah. After we left
it the pyramids came in sight, mysterious, calm,
symbolic. We reached Cairo at half past one."
Writing a little later Father de Bretenleres
said, "I should be lost if I attempted to de
scribe to you this country in which nothing is
Just de Bretenieres 77
like our own, neither plants, nor birds, nor beasts,
nor men. My heart aches to see these multi
tudes who in all good faith are serving God so
strangely, but I love my Koreans better than
they and rejoice to know that I am getting
nearer and nearer to my own country. This
afternoon we visited the mosque of Mohamet
AH."
He broke off without giving any description
of the excursion, but Father Beaulieu wrote a
very amusing one. u Towards evening," he said,
"we mounted our asses. Imagine the ten big,
hearty fellows whom you know so well seated
for the first time on poor, little, long-eared
beasts and passing through the crowded, littered
streets of the city in the wake of our guides, and
followed by other Arabs whose business it was
to urge on the laggards of the party. The asses
trotted or galloped through streets as crowded
as the boulevards of Paris with men who did
not take the trouble to get out of our way, with
women and children seated in the dust before
their wretched cabins, and dogs too lazy even
to bark. Thus did we make our way to the
great mosque of Cairo.
"The ascent is easy so we reached Mohamet
Ali s tomb without incident. The same cannot
be said for the descent. After a short visit we
remounted our asses, and imagining that we
had become adepts by this time started off at a
trot. Woe unto us! In the most crowded and
fashionable part of the city Fathers Huin and
78 For The Faith
Lesserteur were unable to check the dizzy pace
of their asses, and suddenly they found them
selves passing over their ears with more haste
than dignity to the great amusement of the
natives. They landed on a heap of rubbish. Do
not think, however, that this little accident dis
gusted us with riding on asses. We made another
excursion that same day."
It was Father de Bretenieres who described
the second trip, undertaken at his suggestion.
"While we were at supper," he said, "we decided
to make another sort of pilgrimage that evening.
In an oasis, three miles from Cairo, there is an
old, old tree at whose base, so tradition says, the
Holy Family rested as they came into Egypt.
You can imagine how eager we were to visit a
spot where our dear Lord probably reposed; so,
at nine o clock, we set out accompanied by native
guides who carried lanterns. We passed through
the streets of the city, looking as strange as we
felt, and softly singing hymns all the while to
the accompaniment of the trotting of our asses.
On reaching the desert they began to gallop. I
assure you that in all your life you never saw
as funny a spectacle as we made. I shall not
attempt to describe it. Imagine it for yourselves.
You cannot make the picture too ridiculous.
We reached our oasis by midnight in spite of
tumbles and somersaults, for such trifles were
not allowed to interfere with the speed of the
party as a whole. Whenever anyone fell behind
he overtook the rest as quickly as possible to
Just de Bretenires 79
escape the jibes of the Arabs, who had great
fun at our expense. We grouped ourselves on
one side of the tree, and twenty or twenty-five
natives, drawn by curiosity, ranged themselves
on the other. We sang the Ave Marls Stella
and recited the prayers we used to say on Satur
day evenings at the oratory in Paris. It was a
sweet reminder of that dear seminary of which
I can never think without feeling my heart beat
fast. You do not know how deeply I love it.
I did not know myself until I came away. It
enshrines my sweetest memories. Praise be to
God!
"We reached our lodging place at three o clock
in the morning. I had not fallen once, but some
of the others -- Father Beaulieu, among them -
count their tumbles by the half dozens. No one
was hurt, however, although Father Huin had
a narrow escape. He would surely, have broken
some of his bones if his ass had not obligingly
landed underneath when they fell into a hole.
We had to pull the poor beast out by his tail.
"At four o clock we began to say our Masses
in the church of the Franciscan Fathers. It was
the first time that most of us had had the joy
since leaving Marseilles. Note that it was July
twenty-sixth, St. Anne s feast day and yours,
Mother. It was your patron which obtained for
me this consolation whose rarity, added to our
isolation in a pagan land, made it extraordinarily
precious." I am sure that our dear Lord gave you
a great part of the merit of the Divine Sacrifice,
80 For The Faith
offered in that stronghold of Mohammedanism.
"At seven o clock that morning we took the
train for Suez and passed almost exactly over
the way which the Israelites traveled from Egypt
to the Red Sea. We can imagine from our short
experiences here what the heat of the desert is.
That evening, after three or four hours delay
in Seuz, a boat took us to our steamer, the
Cambodia.
"Suez is a group of huts made of earth and
rough stones in which live several thousands of
Arabs, Egyptians, Blacks, and Europeans. We
saw no vegetation except a few sickly trees in
the court of a little hotel built by a European
for the accommodation of European travelers.
It is a sad, sad place. There is a poor little
chapel where Our Lord is adored only by two
or three Franciscan Fathers who are alone in
the midst of the pagan multitude. We were
overjoyed to find their haven of rest where we
threw ourselves at Our Saviour s feet.
"The Cambodia is one of the largest of the
mail boats and has a crew of two hundred men.
There are only forty or fifty passengers. About
thirty of the sailors are Frenchmen, and the
rest Chinamen, negroes, Malays, etc., and each
wears the costume of his own country. It is a
Babylon where all languages are spoken and
many religions practiced. I am writing to you
squatted on the steps that lead to the forecastle,
and from here I see three negroes beating their
Just de Bretenieres 8 1
hands rhythmically and monotonously singing
their prayers to I do not know what pagan god.
"I told you that we boarded the Cambodia on
the evening of July twenty-sixth. It was not
until ten o clock the next morning that her an
chor was raised and we set sail on this sea so
rich in associations. We chanted the psalm In
Exltu at the spot where the Hebrews are thought
to have crossed it, and we had a fine view of
Mt. Sinai, so you see how close to the Bible we
are living. We are very happy.
"We are not making good time. It is Sunday
and we have no hope of reaching Aden before
Wednesday, when we shall have been eight days
on the Red sea. Often we make only five knots
an hour, instead of twelve or thirteen, as we
did on the Mediterranean, partly because some
of our boilers burst a few days ago. One by
one they are being mended, so we shall soon be
able to go faster.
"Our captain and several of the officers are
good Catholics. As soon as we came aboard the
captain put at our disposal a little room where
we may say Mass whenever the weather per
mits; in return, he asked our prayers for himself
and the crew, and requested that if the weather
is favorable we should have one Mass on deck
every Sunday, that all who wish may be present.
So, this morning an awning was stretched over
one end of the deck, and on a simple but very
nice little altar Father Beaulieu offered the Holy
Sacrifice. How beautiful it was, that Mass said
For The Faith
on the sea with only sky and water to be seen
in all directions! Many were present, the cap
tain and first mate among the rest, and they
knelt devoutly from beginning to end. Gloria in
excelsis Deo!
"Monday, August first. I am anxious to finish
my letter to-day. We are making better time
now. Our boilers are in order and an English
vessel is giving us chase, and our captain does
not want it to pass us. The heat is so intense
that my paper gets damp as I write, but we do
not find it hard to bear. Fans are suspended
from the ceiling and little Chinese boys pull
strings which keep them in motion. It is funny
to see, and the effect is delightful. In fact, with
out the fans we should be in danger of heat
prostration. Despite the weather we are all
well, thanks to the good Mother who has us
in her care. She fills our hearts with joy, and
the little sufferings which fall to our lot as we
travel are sweetened by the thought that our
Divine Savior endured far greater ones. We
really ought to suffer some discomfort; suffering
is the daily bread of a missionary. ... I hope
that you rejoice, dear Father and Mother, in the
thought of having sacrificed to God s service
what you love best in this world. No matter
how little I am worth, if you make your offer
ing generously Our Lord will reward you super
abundantly.
"Good-bye, my loved ones. God be with you
always !
"JUST."
Just de Brctenieres 83
Only ten days later Father de Bretenieres
wrote another, but much shorter, letter to his
parents, saying, "To-morrow we expect to reach
Pointe de Galle (Ceylon) where we shall meet
the Paris mail, which is the reason that I am
writing a few more lines to you. Our trip has
been very happy. We reached Aden in the morn
ing of August second, but did not land. The
heat was so intense that it would have been rash,
and the officers urged us to remain where we
were. We left there after ten hours stay, and
ever since the sea has been rough, and for two
days the wind was very high. One of our sails
was carried away, and in spite of its size our
boat was tossed about like a cork. Often waves
swept over the deck and carried with them all
that was not nailed to it. I managed to keep
up for two or three hours but seasickness got
the better of me at last. I was obliged to go to
my cabin and did not reappear for several days.
A furious sea is a magnificent spectacle but
oh, if it would only treat us poor mortals better!
We were a ridiculous party those three days, I
do assure you.
"Now the weather is lovely, though you can
judge from my writing that the sea is still rough.
I am squatted in a sheltered corner, or more
than once since I began this I should have turned
a somersault. Again I repeat, we were very
happy. There is a thought that comes often to
our minds: we hope that the little sufferings
which our dear Lord sends us from time to
84 For The Faith
time are good not only for us, but also for the
precious souls to whom we have been sent. It
fills us with joy to believe this.
"We skirted the coast of Africa and the Is
land of Socotra and did not see land again
until last evening when we passed close to a
little island of the Maldive Archipelago. It was
covered with cocoanut trees, and all unlike Suez
and Aden.
u Our greatest privation is being unable to say
Mass. This gives us pain, but Our Lord will not
forget it. Sunday passed like any other day, but
it was God s will. Amen."
Father de Bretenieres wrote again, only a
week later, as the Cambodia passed through the
Strait of Malacca. "Dear Father, dear Mother,
dear Brother," he began; "This is the first calm
day we have had since we left Aden and I am
taking advantage of it lest the good weather
should not last. I expected to be able to send
my last letter by a French mail from Ceylon, but
we were too late to catch it. The Erymanthe
left port two hours before we reached it. It
is a miserable harbor, by the way, and the en
trance is dangerous, especially in a full sea such
as we had at the time. But Our Lady watches
over us constantly so all went well. On Thurs
day, August eleventh, about nine o clock in the
morning we cast anchor close to some English
war ships. Even in the harbor the sea was so
furious that one of our heavy cables snapped
like a thread. A brig which entered after us was
Just de Bretenieres 85
dashed against the rocks and struck a leak, but
every one aboard was saved. Our boat rocked so
violently that only ourselves, two officers, and
two other passengers attempted to land.
"To disembark we were obliged to seize a
moment when the little native boat was lifted on
the waves almost to the height of the ladder of
our ship, and then, just at the right instant to
jump into the midst of the sailors, who caught
us as we fell. The first nine of us succeeded
admirably but Father Huin, who was last to
jump, gave us a fright by missing his aim and
slipping under the ladder, where he hung over
the water by his hands and feet. Some one went
quickly to his rescue, and his second effort was
successful. I have rarely seen anything as funny
as the whole scene.
"On landing, the first thing we did was to rest,
for the long rough passage from Aden had tired
us all. I could tell you many curious things about
this beautiful island of Ceylon, but it would take
too long. Nothing is like what we saw at home.
The costumes are strange and varied. The ca
noes of the natives are made of the hollowed
trunks of cocoanut trees. They are long but so
narrow that it is possible to keep only one leg
inside; the other rests on the rim.
"Of course we went to see the Father in
charge of the mission. He received us like broth
ers and we remained with him for twenty-four
hours. His little church and house are at the
entrance to a great grove of cocoanut trees. We
86 For The Faith
had hardly arrived before boys brought us nuts
to use for drinking cups. We were fed like the
Indians on cocoanuts, bananas, a vegetable not
unlike potatoes, and thin rice cakes baked on the
coals. I was delighted to live as one does on the
missions; such food is more suitable for us than
delicacies prepared by a French cook. In the
morning we all said Mass. For me and for sev
eral of the others it was the second time since
we left Marseilles, so you can understand why
we were so eager to land. Missioners have a
right to privations in this life, but one that cuts
to the heart is being deprived of the privilege
of saying Mass. Our Lord has willed that we
should taste it, and like all else that comes from
His loving hands it brings sweetness as well
as suffering. Whatever comes we can only say,
Blessed be the Lord!
"The roughness of the sea made it difficult to
coal the Cambodia, so we were obliged to remain
at Pointe de Galle for two days. It was not
until Saturday, at two in the afternoon, that we
were ready to set sail."
^ At Ceylon fresh partings began for the mis-
sioners. Two of their number, Fathers Ver-
dier and Barre, there left their friends to go to
Pondicherry. For fear of breaking down good
byes were quickly said, but not so quickly that no
tears were shed. Father Beaulieu s notes, after
a few sad words about the separation, hasten to
change the subject: "On Sunday, and on Mon
day, feast of the Assumption, we were able to
Just de Bretenieres 87
say Mass. The sea was perfectly calm, and is so
still. We hope to reach Singapore by Wednes
day morning. T shall entrust my diary to Father
Patriat whom it will be a great joy to see again.
In two weeks we hope to reach Shanghai, and
will not be sorry to be where we can resume our
quiet, regular, community life."
A few days later another parting wounded the
loving hearts of the missioners. Father Grous-
seau separated from his companions to go to
Siam. The valiant little band counted only seven
when the Cambodia approached the mouth of
the Saigon river. It was going at full speed
when from a little Annamite boat a voice called,
"Father Guerrin, are you on board?"
All the missioners hurried to the deck and
were in time to see two of their old friends of
the Foreign Mission seminary whom they had
expected to meet at Singapore, but who, obliged
to take advantage of the trade winds, had been
unable to wait longer for them. They were on
their way to Cochin-China. Messages were called
back and forth and letters were exchanged, but
very quickly the boats were too far apart for any
communication. The Koreans had looked for
ward to the meeting and were keenly disap
pointed, but their fat was soon said. As Father
de Bretenieres remarked in regard to another
of their trials, u The apostolate is one long re
nouncement."
In Saigon the missioners lodged in the episco
pal palace a pretty little cabin, built of wood.
88 For The Faith
From there they went to Singapore whence they
soon started for Hongkong. When the Cam
bodia was about to pass by night through the
dangerous Strait of Malacca the look-out vainly
tried to see the signal which in those waters took
the place of a light-house. The captain, a man
of strong faith, seeing Fathers de Bretenieres
and Beaulieu standing together approached them,
and said, "Gentlemen, please say a Hail Mary
at once that we may see the signal." Much
edified the two priests knelt where they were
and said a fervent Hail Mary and three times
the invocation, "Star of the Sea, pray for us."
Instantly the signal fire became visible. The next
morning the captain, meeting Father de Bre
tenieres as he left his cabin, said to him, "Your
prayers were answered last night, but say more
of them. We are not yet safe. In half an hour
we must pass between other dangerous rocks."
On August twenty-eight the Cambodia safely
reached Hongkong, the end of its journey. To
transfer the trunks and boxes confided to the
young priests for the missions of Hongkong,
Manchuria, and Korea, from the ship to the
wharf and from there to the mission house
proved to be a difficult task, for modern methods
were then unknown at least in China. The bag
gage being heavy the three strongest were chosen
to care for it, Father de Bretenieres among the
number. Armed with long bamboo sticks, pro
vided by the captain, they started towards the
wharf in a junk. All went well until they tried
Just de Bretenieres 89
to reach an agreement about wages always a
difficult matter to settle with the Chinese, and
the coolies in question proved to be particularly
stubborn and unreasonable. When, after much
wearisome haggling a certain sum was agreed
upon the men seemed to be satisfied, but soon
they stopped working and declared that the
promised wage was not sufficient. More discus
sion followed, interminable and exasperating.
The coolies would not listen to reason. A Chris
tian whispered to Father de Bretenieres, "Un
less the Fathers appear to be angry we shall
never get away from here without losing a num
ber of boxes." Acting on this suggestion Just
said threateningly, "In a moment we shall begin
to strike all who do not obey us. Then you will
see how strong we are." The effect was magical
but not in the way the missionaries had hoped.
The coolies absolutely refused to move at all.
The Fathers talked in loud voices and made
menacing gestures: to no purpose. A crowd had
gathered by this time and there was danger that
all their baggage would be stolen. They had
become terribly anxious when a policeman ap
peared. He dispersed the crowd in no gentle
way and the porters, cowed at last, resumed
their work.
Twenty-four hours later the missioners boarded
a little American ship which took them to Can
ton. The Koreans went there only to accompany
Father Guerrin. On the wharf they had further
trouble about their baggage and no policeman
90 For The Faith
appeared opportunely, but their first experience
had taught them many things and they reached
Bishop Guillemin s house without having lost any
of their precious boxes. Father de Bretenieres
wrote, "A poor episcopal palace: some wretched
huts crowded together and facing on a narrow
alley. But what a bishop, and what a father! I
knelt at his feet and he gave me his blessing."
The four Koreans soon returned to Hongkong,
where they found letters awaiting them which
gave new instructions. They were told to re
main in Hongkong for a month instead of going
directly to Shanghai, which is unhealthful in Sep
tember. "Hongkong is a veritable Babylon,"
Just wrote. "There are people here of all relig
ions. In walking through the streets we some
times see within the shops a greater or less
number of candles burning in honor of the pro
prietor s ancestors. Yesterday I saw a China
man in the middle of the street before one of
the temples, taking great pains to make five or
six little, lighted sticks stand straight between
two stones. The god in whose honor he was
taking so much trouble did not seem to be
pleased with his efforts for the sticks fell in all
directions, extinguishing their fires. But the good
fellow was not discouraged, and tried again and
again. We saw another man walking through the
streets carrying half a dozen paper devils strung
on a stick, each of them painted in many colors
and all horribly grotesque. They were to be
Just de Bretenieres 91
burned in honor of other, more important de
mons. Oh the happiness of being a Christian!"
The instructions sent to Father de Bretenieres
and his companions directed that from Shanghai
they should go by sea to the mouth of the Leao
Ho river and from there travel south-east by
land through the province of Leao Tong in Man
churia. In this province, and under the jurisdic
tion of the vicar-apostolic, Bishop Verrolles, they
were to pass the winter. When spring came they
were to try to enter Korea. Father de Breten
ieres told his parents of these arrangements, and
added, "Since the good Lord wishes us to wan
der a long time before reaching the Promised
Land, His holy will be done! We were never
happier than we are now. As for you, my dear
ones, place yourselves unreservedly in God s
hands. We are all wayfarers here. Our father
land above is surpassingly beautiful and nothing
can satisfy the longings of our hearts, little as
they are, but the eternal possession of Him Whom
we love to folly. They say that I was foolish to
come to Korea, but it is a foolishness that costs
little, and is very sweet to a heart such as I
wish mine to become and as I hope with God s
grace that it will be some day."
This letter gave details of the last stages of
the long journey, and concluded by saying, "Do
not expect to hear from me soon again. After
we leave here communication with the outer
world will be difficult. Good-bye, dear Father
and Mother. Serve God with all your strength
92 For The Faith
and pray that I may serve Him, too. Forgive me
all the pain I ever caused you and forgive this
endless, wordy letter which I send because I
think it may give you pleasure. Good-bye, dear
Christian. Where are you now? I do not know,
but I think of you often and pray much for you.
There is really no need of my writing to you.
The one thing necessary is that we should love
Jesus with our whole hearts. Good-bye, each one,
and may Our Saviour give you His peace and
His joy!"
At the end of September the four Koreans
embarked for Shanghai, and there they took
passage for Leao Tong. The roughness of the
sea and a high wind made navigation difficult,
and the pilot being unskillful they were dashed
against the river bank; and hardly had they
gained the open sea when a storm arose which
for two days and three nights threatened the
vessel with shipwreck and drove it close to the
coast of Korea. How longingly the missioners
gazed upon its rugged outline ! A few calm days
followed, then more bad weather, but the party
reached the Leao Ho safely at last. Writing
aboard ship Father de Bretenieres said,
"Our long journey is almost ended. Please
have some Masses said at an altar dedicated to
the Blessed Virgin to thank her for her protec
tion and to obtain for us all the graces we need
to make us good missioners.
"We shall land at Ing Tze, and there seek
some means of transporting the trunks and boxes
Just de Bretenieres 93
which were entrusted to our care for the mission
of Manchuria and Korea. It seems that they
have little, slow-moving carts, and we are going
to try to rent one. We had to leave Shanghai
without passports but do not anticipate any
trouble on that score
"I interrupted my letter to take a walk with
my brothers. The water is so quiet to-day that
I can almost believe that I am on a Swiss lake.
In two or three hours we shall enter the mouth
of the river. Thanks be to God! After a journey
as long and perilous as ours has been a man feels
like thanking God again and again. Unite your
voices with ours which are so feeble. We are in
the midst of a pagan people and see much to sad
den us, and although we are trying to accustom
ourselves to our surroundings we often think of
the magnificent churches of France and the su
blimity of Divine worship there. But it was for
Our Lord that we left some of the beauties of
our holy religion, and if in reward for this sac
rifice Fie permits us to save souls, how happy we
shall be! God s will now and always! We are
offering Him our little mite of good will and our
little share of suffering.
"We are exceptionally well cared for aboard
this ship. Everyone treats us with utmost kind
ness and does everything to make us comfort
able. The captain speaks English and German,
and his mate speaks English, so I have talked
both languages after a fashion for three
weeks. It is such a pity that these splendid fel-
94 For The Faith
lows are not Catholics. They often ask questions
about our Faith. Sometimes we sing beautiful
bits of plain chant which charm the captain who,
by the way, is full of admiration for all mission-
ers. May God draw to Himself a soul so upright
and so rich in true charity!
"I have read and re-read the letter from home
which reached me at Shanghai, and cannot tell
you all the joy I feel because God asks of you,
dear Father and dear Mother, the sacrifice of
your second son that he, too, may be a priest.
Of course your hearts ache, and ache sorely,
but Our dear Lord wishes your gratitude to be
stronger even than your grief. I know that you
praise and bless Him for the great graces He
has showered on Christian,"
Just de BreteniSres 95
CHAPTER VII.
A WINTER IN MANCHURIA.
On the twenty-eighth of October, after twenty-
two days at sea, the weary little band set foot
on the soil of Manchuria. Fathers Huin and de
Bretenieres at once sought out some English
merchants, recommended as honest and reliable,
who procured for them two carts and two saddle
horses, and invited them to a dinner. As soon
as the meal was ended the missioners started on
a strange journey through that strange land. The
prevailing mode of travel was far more pictur
esque than comfortable. Father Doric and Father
Beaulieu mounted the two small, fat, Manchurian
horses. The saddles were peculiar and the stir
rups very high. They were directed to allow
their right arms to hang and to lean forward
after the approved Chinese fashion of the day.
Fathers Huin and de Bretenieres had to make a
running jump to get into carriages painted light
blue on the outside and on the inside ornamented
with white tulle embroidered in black, and so
small that Father de Bretenieres was at a loss
what to do with his long legs. The mules that
drew them set forth at an incredibly slow pace
through mud which often reached to the axles of
the wheels; and later, on getting out of the mire,
96 For The Faith
they trotted over rocky slopes, mercilessly throw
ing the travelers against the top and sides of
their cages, until they were bruised and sore
from head to foot
When night approached the guides insisted on
stopping at an inn, which, in Manchuria, meant
a long hall, inconceivably dirty, with fires kept
burning beneath the brick floor from October
until April so that the guests would not suffer
greatly from the intense cold. Not knowing one
word of the language, and anxious to arouse no
suspicion, and if possible not even to excite curi
osity, the missioners were in a delicate position.
Thanks to their presence of mind, and perhaps,
too, to a boyish sense of fun in the adventure,
they played their difficult parts well. With great
dignity and in absolute silence they took their
places on the floor with as much ease as if they
had never known chairs. Fortunately, they had
been told that each guest s mat must serve suc
cessively as seat, table, and bed.
But they could not escape observation, nor fail
to arouse curiosity, dressed entirely in black as
they were, and despite themselves, foreign in ap
pearance and manner. Soon a circle of curious
Manchurians surrounded them, watching every
movement. Very gravely the missioners lit their
pipes, and seeming to pay no heed to their audi
ence they smoked tranquilly. After a -time a
strange repast was served on stranger dishes.
The missioners knew that it would not be pru
dent for them to eat in public : their fellow guests
Just de Bretenieres 97
would then see how unaccustomed they were to
Chinese food and to Chinese customs, and they
would lose all prestige by making themselves
ridiculous. Father Huin saved the day. By a
haughty gesture he signified that the strangers
desired to be alone, and the spectators reluctantly
withdrew. As soon as they were gone the priests
ate in peace, with no little fun over the queer
dishes and their own peculiar table manners.
Covered with vermin from the filthy inn, they
set forth at daybreak the next morning, and
reached the nearest mission, Yang Kouan (Our
Lady of the Sun) in time to say Mass. Father
Metayer, of the Paris Foreign Mission Society,
was in charge there, and warmed their hearts by
his cordial welcome. Three days later the little
band left Our Lady of the Sun for the residence
of Bishop Verrolles, about forty-five miles away
too long a journey for one day, because the
roads were in a deplorable condition. An an
noying accident interrupted the first day s travel,
when the wagon which carried the priests and
all their belongings overturned in the mud. No
one was much hurt, but to get the wagon on its
wheels once more and to load into it the mud-
covered trunks and provisions was a hard and
disagreeable task. The party passed the night
in the house of excellent Christians, where with
no fear of mockery they ate, or tried to eat,
Chinese-fashion.
The following day they had their first encoun
ters with the brigands who infested all lonely
For The Faith
places in Manchuria; but the outlaws, seeing a
French flag which the rnissioners had placed on
the front of their wagon, thought it best to al
low them to pass unharmed. At dusk other more
desperate brigands surrounded the party and in
sisted on having at least their hand luggage. "If
you dare to touch it you will see what happens,"
the driver said menacingly. Intimidated, but not
yet beaten, the brigands kept close to the wagon
for an endre hour, during which the four black-
clad rnissioners said not a word, and never took
their hands from pockets that, the outlaws feared,
might contain European pistols, of which they
knew enough to be in terror. At last prudence
gained the upper hand and they turned back, leav
ing the priests and their belongings untouched;
and all the while the four had kept their hands
in their pockets because they were cold!
Late in the evening they saw, faintly outlined
against the sky, the little Gothic tower of the
church of our Lady of the Snow, the village in
which Bishop Verrolles made his headquarters;
and a few minutes later he was welcoming them
as lovingly as their own fathers could have done.
Despite the poverty and the smallness of his
house he kept them with him for two weeks.
Father Huin was then sent to The Valley of the
Willow, Father Beaulieu to The Desert of the
West, Father Doric to Wolf Valley, and Father
de Bretenieres back to Our Lady of the Sun, the
mission of Father Metayer.
Manchuria is intensely cold in winter, the tern-
Just de Bretenieres 99
perature often falling to thirty degrees below
zero, and necessarily Father de Bretenieres first
care was to adopt the costume of the country, not
only that he might be inconspicuous, but for the
sake of its warmth. He wrote to his parents,
"My feet are now at home in an immense pair
of fur-trimmed Chinese shoes, and three pairs of
socks, one of them wadded. I wear long trous
ers, also wadded and at least an inch thick, and
over them a long gown lined with lamb s wool,
and over that a kind of waistcoat, black with an
otter skin collar, and last of all a blue vest, also
lined with lamb s wool. For my head I have a
fur cap which I wear under a big black Chinese
hat with a turned-up brim. I shall say nothing of
various other vests, nor of little muffs for each
hand." Thus attired Just, tall and thin though
he was, must have been literally as broad as he
was long!
Under the tuition of Father Metayer he began
to study the extremely difficult language of the
country, and from the first learned with wonder
ful facility. "In this line I am making quite a
reputation among the Christians of Our Lady
of the Sun," he wrote. "Only three or four days
after my arrival Father Metayer asked me to
bless a marriage. To make it possible for me to
do so he wrote in Chinese the questions I had to
ask the bride and groom. As you may imagine I
understood what I was saying about as well as if
I had been talking Hebrew, but succeeded so well
that the people took me for an old missioner.
100 For The Faith
Father Metayer had to bite his lips to keep from
laughing."
Shortly after this Bishop Verrolles went to
Peking, taking Father Metayer with him, and
Father de Bretenieres was left in charge of the
mission. He loved his work too intensely to be
lonely in his solitude. At last he was leading the
life of a missionary priest and his heart was
supremely content. "I am very happy to be doing
my little part," he wrote. "Until now I never
had a real care or a real responsibility. I have
them now. I am making an apprenticeship, and
rejoice to find that things go fairly well. My
life is uneventful and regular, because at present
there is very little sickness. I talk as best I can
with the good Manchurians who come to watch
me eat and to ask innumerable questions about
France, the seminary in Paris from which mis-
sioners come to them, my own relatives, etc. I
give some hours each day to my little exercises
of piety, and to the study of Chinese, that I may
learn both to speak and to write it."
Difficult as the language is, in less than three
months Just was able easily to exercise his sacred
ministry and to talk with the Christians. Father
Paik Chen Fou (White as Snow) was the name
by which he was known. In the modest little
church left to his care he faithfully carried out
the ceremonies he loved so well. In one of his
interesting letters he said, "I am preparing to
keep Holy Week with all possible pomp, but my
best efforts will not rival the splendor of the
Just de Bretenieres 101
services in Paris. My poor little chapel is only
ten feet high, and I have but one voice in my
choi^^While I say Mass I hear rats scurrying
about on the paper ceiling over the altar. Truly
it is all as poor as the stable of Bethlehem, but
sometimes on feast days when I chant the Gloria
or the Credo my heart swells with emotion that
has in it far more of joy than of sadness. . . .
"If I am not too late in saying so, I would
rather have a censor, plain but of good quality,
and an untrimmed alb, than the revolver which
you were asked to send me."
In another letter, written to Father Lesserteur
who was stationed in Tongking, he said, "I wish
you could have seen me pontificate on Easter
Sunday. I had eight acolytes, all as proud as
peacocks in the strangest surplices in the world.
Unfortunately the music was not quite worthy
of the occasion. For choir I have one young
Chinaman who by dint of studying plain chant
for several years has at last learned to sing off
the note. In consequence, the Chinese regard him
as a prodigy. When I tried to chant the Haec
Dies and the verse that follows the unfortunate
man gave me a wrong note three or four times.
In the end I improvised as best I could. But it
made no difference. The people were charmed,
and I assure you that I was supremely happy."
In his hours of enforced leisure Father Paik
Chen Fou sometimes hunted in the mountains,
and when he had unusually good luck would take
his game to Father Beaulieu. "He is my nearest
102 For The Faith
neighbor/ Just wrote. "His mission is only five
hours trip across the mountains, and you can
imagine how great is the temptation to go to
see him from time to time. We drink the health
of our absent friends in a strange beverage which
the Chinese have the audacity to call water of
life. "
To travel on foot was considered unfitting the
dignity of a priest so Father de Bretenieres had
a wild little horse to carry him over the wretched
mountain roads. He wrote laughingly of his ex
periences: "I know now what it means to pass
over the ears of one s horse; however I have
never hurt myself. Little Father Doric, who
came here two days ago, had a tumble or two
on his way but, like myself, escaped without
breaking anything."
While Father Doric was at Our Lady of the
Sun he fell ill with chicken-pox, and for two or
three weeks Just nursed him with brotherly ten
derness. To add to his cares brigands made
their appearance in the neighborhood. "Having
a good gun I slept soundly in spite of them," he
said. "This country is infested with thieves and
murderers. The authorities beheaded whole bands
of them in Kai Tchou which is only a few miles
from here. Not long ago they broke into the
house nearest mine, but they have never come
nearer than that." Later, some of the outlaws
did enter his cabin. After a struggle he suc
ceeded in throwing them out then tranquilly
went back to bed.
Just de Bretenieres 103
That in the midst of his strange and seem
ingly distracting surroundings Father de Breten-
ieres s spiritual life did not suffer is evidenced by
letters written to his confreres. Every hour of
every day he tried to be true to his vocation of
priest and missioner and to keep his soul ever
turned towards God in childlike confidence, and
with the humility which though he did not sus
pect it had always been one of his marked char
acteristics. The following lines, taken from one
of his letters, give a little glimpse of his soul:
"Your letter of last September gave me the
greatest of pleasure. I see how brightly the love
of God burns in your heart and feel ashamed of
my coldness and tepidity. Pray for your poor
brother. I, on my part, will remember you in my
miserable prayers. Let us both meditate often
on Our Lord s passion."
At first Just did not know how long he would
be obliged to remain in Manchuria, but soon
Bishop Berneux of Seoul arranged that on May
fifth the four new missioners should be met on
the little island of Melinto. If this plan failed,
perhaps a second attempt of the kind would be
made on the twenty-fifth of July, but only after
another sort of ruse had been tried: a boat from
Korea Would pretend to be driven by an ill wind
to the coast of Manchuria; the missioners would
steal into it, and concealed in its hull sail for
their Promised Land. During the long weeks of
waiting for winter and spring to pass Father de
Bretenieres left the issue entirely in God s hands.
104 For The Faith
Until the twenty-fourth of April he worked hard
at Our Lady of the Sun, leaving it then for Our
Lady of the Snow where he was to meet his com
panions that together they might make a first
attempt to enter Korea, always most jealously
guarded against all strangers and Christians in
particular.
In a good-bye letter to his parents, he said,
"This is the last letter that you will get from me
for^ a year. I am sorry you must have this pri
vation, but in another sense I do not regret it
because, like every other suffering, it will bring
with it many graces. The way to heaven is strewn
with thorns; the more they tear our feet the
better. An hour of suffering here is worth more
than a year of pleasure." As for himself, a long
novitiate of mortification, of prayer, and of de
tachment had prepared him for the suffering
awaiting him, such suffering as we shrink from
thinking of, but as its crown such glory as only
the " white-robed army" knows.
The last news from Korea had been of a rev
olution in the palace which seemed to promise
toleration for Christianity. In Thibet and Tong-
king conditions were menacing and Just thought
enviously of the missioners in both places for
whom martyrdom was probable. Regarding them
he wrote to Father Albrand, "It is hard on the
missions, but consoling for the missioners, who
can hope for martyrdom. When I think of them
I am tempted to complain because Our Saviour
did not call me to so great a grace. Of course I
Just de Bretenieres 105
am unworthy of it, but have not some great sin
ners received it?"
He little knew that not one of his friends was
as near as he to the goal of his heart s desire.
106 For The Faith
CHAPTER VIII.
KOREA AT LAST.
On the twenty-sixth day of April Father de
Bretenieres joined his friends at Our Lady of the
Snow. Their final preparations made, they con
fided themselves anew to our Blessed Mother s
care and set forth on horseback from Tsouang
Heu, a village on the Gulf of Korea. There
they found at anchor the junk which was to
take them to Melinto. It had nothing to recom
mend it except the fearlessness and honesty of
its Chinese crew, and a nice little deck which
the missioners could enjoy whenever the weather
permitted. They had to share a dirty, ill-smelling
room, six feet square and very low, which was
reached through a hole in the deck.
A very rough sea made it impossible for them
to sail before the third of May. For two days,
then, all went well; on the third, when they were
far from the mainland, the wind changed sud
denly and a severe storm threatened, obliging
them to seek shelter at Kio Tao, a small island
about forty-five miles north of Melinto. It was
inhabited by swarthy savages who refused to have
anything to do with the strangers. For eight days
the party was marooned in this inhospitable place,
while a storm raged which threatened utterly to
Just de Bretenieres 107
destroy the junk, and so terrified the natives that
they shrieked and moaned in a way horrible to
hear. Day and night the sailors worked, almost
in despair, and the missioners prayed unceasingly.
Father Huin afterwards declared that during
those days he did more penance than throughout
the whole of any Lent he had ever passed. Be
cause of the delay the junk s supply of provisions
ran low. A few handfuls of rice and two or three
chickens were all that remained, and to add to
the sufferings of those days the fathers had^the
anxiety of seeing the hour fixed for their arrival
in Melinto come closer and closer with no cer
tainty that they would be able to leave Kio Tao
in time to meet Bishop Berneux s envoys. They
would certainly be too late unless the junk soon
put to sea, so at the close of the eighth day
the missioners forced the sailors to raise anchor,
although the storm still raged. They worked
tirelessly, helping to manage the junk and even
directing its course, but after hours of struggle
they, as well as the seamen, were only too glad
to creep back to the inhospitable shelter of Kio
Tao. The next day the wind was more favorable,
but the sea was still rough, and the Chinamen
refused to leave the island; and on the following
day they began to complain that they could not
work unfed. "Eat all that is left," Father Beau-
lieu told them, u but if after your breakfast you
do not try once more to reach Melinto we will
not pay you half as much as we promised." The
men ate ravenously, all the while raising objec-
108 For The Faith
tions to doing their dangerous work afterward.
"But you are not afraid of death," they insisted:
this was their strongest argument. "All men fear
death," Father Huin contradicted.
A gift of money at length induced them to
raise anchor in spite of an angry sea and a dense
fog. The fog soon lifted, and all went well until
noon when they approached a dangerous cape
which it was necessary to double. Fortunately
the wind was favorable and the passage was at
tempted. The junk was pitilessly dashed about
by roaring, rushing waters which again and again
swept over the deck; and a great gust of wind
tore the sails into shreds and broke one of the
masts. The Chinamen were in an agony of ter
ror. Headed by the pilot they beat their cymbals,
struck their gongs, shot fire crackers, and made
many prostrations, all to placate the evil genii
whom they thought to be hidden in the rocks
about the cape. The missioners invoked Our
Lady as Star of the Sea; and once more she man
ifested her motherly care over the valiant little
band. The passage was made in safety. At
noon, on May twelfth, the missioners reached
Melinto.
A fresh disappointment awaited them: no boat
was there to meet them. A red flag the signal
agreed upon was hung out, but no response came
from any of the junks anchored near the island.
In vain the priests watched and waited through
out the long day and the night that followed, and
hour after hour as the following day wore on.
Just de Bretenieres 109
Towards evening five mandarins boarded their
boat to say that it must not linger in the harbor.
The pilot proved himself equal to the emergency.
He received the officials most cordially and was
so generous with his nasty Chinese wine that
they became very friendly, entirely forgot the
object of their visit, and did not suspect the pres
ence of the living contraband hidden in the hull.
However, the missioners position was still pre
carious. Their red flag had attracted attention
on all the junks nearby. The Chinese boatmen
knew that it indicated the presence of strangers
and to a Chinaman a stranger is at least under
suspicion. For any Koreans to have learned as
much would have further imperiled the already
uncertain issue of the venture.
Day after day the fathers waited in ever deep
ening anxiety. The pilot was determined to start
homeward on May twentieth, and if their friends
did not come before that time the missioners
would be obliged to return with him, making use
less all their efforts, all that they had suffered,
all the dangers through which they had passed.
They would have to go back to Leao Tong
which they thought to have quitted forever. But,
at last, a small boat approached theirs under
cover of darkness, and six Koreans, dressed in
white, clambered aboard. They made the Sign
of the Cross and spoke Bishop Berneux s name
to give the missioners to understand that they
were to be trusted, and offered to take them and
their baggage to the continent the sooner the
110 For The Faith
better. At first the priests were overjoyed, but
happily, before it was too late, It occurred to
them to ask the hurried Koreans if they could
show any letter to prove that they had been sent
by the Bishop, and if they had with them the
mourning garments which he had promised to
send, as furnishing the best possible disguise.
The men had neither; they were smugglers who
had somehow learned of the coming of priests
from Europe.
The missioners did not know what to do. To
place themselves at the mercy of such men was
to risk the loss of their trunks, even of their
lives; on the other hand, to return to China
meant failure to reach posts where they were
sorely needed, and for which, in their zeal, they
longed with all their hearts. In their distress
they begged those among the smugglers who were
Christians to wait until the twentieth, the day
on which their Chinese pilot was determined to
start homeward. They hoped that in the mean
time their friends would come. And how they
prayed!
During the night of the eighteenth they were
rudely awakened by the smugglers, who had come
to say that the missioners must come with them
at once or not at all, as they were in a hurry to
return. After much persuasion the men agreed
to wait until the following evening. As soon as
day dawned the four priests landed and made a
tour of the little island to see if they could find
shelter there. It was a desert. To prevent the
Just de Bretenieres 111
Chinese from settling on it the Korean custom
house officials had destroyed all vegetation.
That long, anxious day crept by, and no help
came. It was necessary to decide what should
be done for this time the smugglers really in
tended to go. The missioners were divided as
to their wiser course. Two of them thought that
it would be far better to return; the other two
had resolved to abandon themselves to the mercy
of the smugglers, desperate men though they
were. All were determined to make as many de
lays as possible, to hope to the last for Bishop
Berneux s men, to pray unceasingly, and to leave
the outcome in God s hands. At the eleventh
hour their confidence was rewarded. The long ex
pected boat arrived! The fathers hurriedly wrote
a few lines to Bishop Verrolles and to Father
Albrand and confided the letters to the Chinese
pilot. Half an hour afterward they were on their
way to Korea, softly singing the Te Deum.
Soon they donned the mourning garments sent
by the Bishop, which would be a great safeguard,
as Korean custom forbade anyone to look into
the faces of those wearing them. The clothes
were peculiar and very ugly. The wide trousers
were made of a coarse, dark material not unlike
sacking and fastened at the knee with strange
garters. An ample mantle of the same cloth fell
from the shoulders. Straw sandals protected, or
rather, were supposed to protect the feet. The
Hair was gathered on top of the head, rolled
around and round, and made to stand upright
112 For The Faith
by a band woven of horsehair. Over this coiffure
was worn an immense cone-shaped hat, eighteen
inches high and a yard and a half in diameter.
The brim reached to the elbows, and the whole
looked like the roof of a pigeon house. A fan,
made of a piece of cloth attached to two small
sticks, completed the toilet. It was used to hide
the face from anyone rude enough to glance at it.
But the missioners troubles were not yet at an
end. The boat was small and made poor time-
hardly fifteen miles in twenty-four hours. It
rained, rained, rained, hour after hour, and they
were obliged to seek shelter in a room under a
deck which, being made of straw, allowed the
water to trickle through it. The room was so
very small two yards long, one wide, and four
feet high that they could neither stand nor sit,
but were obliged to crouch down, one almost on
top of the other. It was infested with vermin;
and as it served as chimney for the fire in the
hull was always full of smoke. Of those days
Father Huin wrote, "We hardly tasted food.
We could get only mouldy bread a month old,
rancid rice, and spoiled fish. One day Father de
Bretcnieres and I carefully cleaned a dirty sauce
pan with our portion of water; then, having
neither salt nor fresh water, we used salt-water
to cook our rice, imagining that it would be pala
table. I cannot tell you how nasty it was! No
one could eat more than a few mouthfuls. Dur
ing the remaining eight days of our journey we
allowed the sailors to cook our meals and ate
Just de Bretenieres 113
them when we could. But not one of us fell ill."
With the cheerfulness which characterized each
one of the brave little band Father Doric said,
"In spite of our sufferings we were happy, for
we were Koreans at lastl"
It was not these hardships alone that tried
the patience of the missioners. Delays had met
them at every stage of their journey and did not
spare them towards its close. They were to have
reached Seoul in twenty-four hours; instead, on
their sixth day at sea they were still going farther
and farther from land. Bishop Berneux had in
structed the sailors to bring their passengers di
rectly to the capital, but on approaching it they
had learned that two vessels, suspected of having
had dealings with the Chinese, had been care
fully searched. Greatly alarmed, not for them
selves alone but for their families, they made
what haste they could to reach their own neigh
borhood, much farther north, and in the heart
of the most Christian part of Korea. There they
would be among friends on landing their pas
sengers.
It was not until the evening of May twenty-
seventh, 1865, that the fathers touched Korean
soil, after an often interrupted journey of ten
months. They disembarked in a swamp not far
from Nai Po, a village almost entirely Chris
tian. In some unaccountable way everyone had
learned that four more Catholic missioners were
attempting to enter the country; nevertheless the
faithful of Nai Po were astonished to see them,
114 For The Faith
having had no intimation where they would land.
Already tried by persecution and very timid, they
feared that the presence of the missioners would
draw trouble upon them, and everyone but the
catechist hid in his own house. In spite of his
terror that good man met them and offered them
shelter. Father Huin described their arrival as
follows: "Out of respect for our mourning the
pagans whom we met on our way to the catediist s
house stepped aside to allow us to pass and dared
not look into our faces. We, in our joy, could not
help laughing behind our veils. After fifteen min
utes walk we were taken into a little hut. Its
mistress was grinding barley for her large family.
Watching her turn the grindstone, as mothers did
in the days of the patriarchs, I was reminded of
Rachel and the other strong women of the old
days. Conditions in this country are in every way
as primitive as in the days of Abraham or Jacob.
"As for ourselves, we ate on mats in that poor
little cabin and looked at one another smiling,
and saying again and again, Now we are safe
and happy! Our good hosts prepared our sup
per with utmost care, and gave us pipes to smoke
while we waited for it. We had rice and two
chickens roasted a la Korean. We preferred
water to the drink used by the natives. You may
be sure that we ate heartily, having been hungry
for days and knowing that at last we and our
boatmen were out of danger."
After the meal visits from the Christains be
gan; but soon the catechist, afraid that so many
Just de Bretenieres 115
people seen coming to his house would arouse
suspicion, suggested that the priests would go to
a cabin, used as a chapel, which was away from
the heart of the village. Under cover of dark
ness their baggage was transferred and they fol
lowed it; and there they passed their first night
in Korea.
The priests were disappointed to learn how
far they were from the capital, and at once be
gan to make arrangements to reach it. At the
moment Bishop Daveluy, coadjutor of Bishop
Berneux, chanced to be in the neighborhood, and
hearing of the arrival of the missioners hastened
to Nai Po. He welcomed and encouraged them;
and that they might more easily escape observa<
tion sent Father de Bretenieres alone to Seoul
and took the others with him to a larger and
safer village.
In his mourning dress, head and face well
hidden and feet half covered by sandals much
too small, Father de Bretenieres set forth for the
capital. He reached it after four days travel.
The country through which he passed during the
first two days was barren and unattractive; the
hills were low, the trees far apart and stunted,
and only here and there had rice or barley been
planted in fields, where but few men labored and
with the most primitive implements. One inter
esting monument he passed: the simple tomb
of Andrew Kim, a native priest who had been
martyred.
On the third day he reached a mountainous
116 For The Faith
region, well wooded, with fertile fields which
were being diligently tilled. He crossed the Han
Yang river and a stretch of sand some miles in
width the arena which his own blood was soon
to water. The place showed traces of many an
execution and must have filled his mind with
grave, sweet thoughts and made his heart beat
high with hope of the palm he coveted.
He entered Seoul by its southern gate, a broad
one, made of pinkish white stones of regular size.
The top has two stories and Chinese cornices with
turn-up edges. The city was poor and ugly. Nar
row streets were flanked by mud huts, all of them
low and covered with straw or rushes, standing
close together and at every angle, and for back
ground a chaos of rugged mountains whose high
peaks were covered with pines. Soon after his
arrival Father de Bretenieres wrote to the Abbe
Gautrelet, "Here I am at last in the capital of
Korea, the city of delights. Do not be dazzled
by its high-sounding name! Everything in this
world is relative, and the delights of Korea would
not enchant a European. Picture to yourself an
immense number of mud huts, crowded one on
top of another, and less prepossessing in appear
ance than the most miserable shacks in Bresse;
and by way of streets, passages so narrow that
two persons go by each other with difficulty.
These streets are the city drains and are always
in horrible condition. I leave you to imagine
how unpleasant walking is in good weather, and
how much worse when it rains. Fortunately new
Just de Bretenieres 117
shoes cost only a few pennies, being a kind of
sandal made of straw. Fashion requires them to
be shorter than the feet. They are not easy to
walk in, until one becomes accustomed to them.
When we landed the first thing I did was to fall
full length, after the example of William the
Conqueror; but I was not hurt, as the beach is
covered with mud."
Bishop Berneux, whom Father de Bretenieres
joined at Seoul, was an apostle worthy of the
early ages of the Church; a hero, a saint grown
old in the Master s service. He looked tall even
sitting, tailor-fashion, on the mat which was the
only vestige of furniture in his room. He was
thin to the point of emaciation; his shoulders
were bent with age; his face, covered by a white
beard, was the gentlest and kindliest in the world.
He had known exhausting labor, heavy cares,
and untold suffering and sorrow, but was still
full of energy and as light-hearted as a child.
Ordered to the perilous mission of Tongking
when he was young, he had written, "I am will
ing for anything that is for God s greater glory."
He landed only to be scourged so cruelly that he
was scarred as long as he lived, and to be cast
into a prison which was exchanged in time for a
bamboo cage. After twenty-three months of soli
tary confinement he was condemned to death, but
a French naval officer obtained his pardon, and
the martyr s palm escaped his grasp. He was to
win it only after many years of toil and suffering.
Free, but in shattered health, he profited by
For The Faith
what was supposed to be a rest to learn Chinese,
and was soon able to undertake the care of an
immense territory. There were few years in
which he did not travel more than two thousand
miles afoot or on horseback, over poor roads,
or in dirty, slow-going boats. And still his frail
body, ill-fed and abused in a hundred ways, was
always able for the work imposed upon it. He
himself said, "I am astonished at the strength
the good God gives me. Without being robust
I go unceasingly from one end to the other of our
mission, in cold and heat, in rain and snow, al
ways half nourished and poorly lodged. But not
once have I been ill ! When I am quite worn out
I rest for two days and then begin again my
vagabond life, a thousand times happier than 1
ever was before I came to the mission." At last
he fell ill with typhoid fever, but slowly recov
ered; with cholera, and recovered again.
In time the Holy Father laid the burden of
the episcopacy on his alreadybent shoulders. He
was consecrated Bishop, with Korea for his field
of labor. An illness which lasted for eight months
made ic impossible for him to go promptly to his
diocese, and when he reached it difficulties in
numerable beset him. When Father de Breten-
ieres reached Seoul he had worked tirelessly in
Korea for ten years, constantly in hiding, always
in danger. Describing his life the Bishop wrote
to a friend, "The axe is always suspended over
our heads, and the least incident may inaugurate
a bloody persecution. Placed as we are, it is im-
Just de Bretenieres 119
possible to have any chapels or regular meeting
places for our Christians. On Sunday they as
semble to the number of ten or twelve, sometimes
in one house, sometimes in another, always as
secretly as possible. that they may escape the ob
servation of the pagans. They recite in a low
tone certain prayers which I have prescribed and
listen to an explanation of the Gospel of the
Sunday. The remainder of the day is spent in
saying the Rosary, studying catechism, and teach
ing it to the little ones. To this is the sancti-
fication of the Sunday reduced in Korea, but
to allow the faithful to assist at Mass would be
rash indeed.
"In September I begin the yearly missions in
Seoul, which continue without interruption for six
weeks. Only once a year do the people see a
missioner, but their reverence for all priests is
very touching. The catechists make all arrange
ments as to the houses to which I am to go.
When I reach one I am put in possession of a
little room, with a Crucifix and a picture of Our
Lady as its only ornaments, where I find from
thirty to forty Christians awaiting me. Examin
ing every one in catechism the old as well as
the children preparing all for the Sacraments,
hearing confessions, and administering Baptism
and Extreme Unction occupies the whole day and
part of the night. This is the only time in the
year that the people can receive the Sacraments
for which they verily hunger and thirst.
u The next morning I say Mass at two o clock,
120 For The Faith
and all receive Holy Communion. I preach a
little sermon on the necessity and means of per
severance, and then go to another house where a
second group awaits me, and carry out the same
programme there. I live thus for forty days
until I am so weary that more than once I have
fallen asleep with one sock in my hand and the
other still on my foot.
"Besides Seoul I care for sixty villages. I give
the same exercises in each one every year, with
the added labor of traveling from one to another,
across the mountains, through rain and snow, in
uncomfortable stockings and straw sandles which
soak up water like sponges. After working in
this way for eight months each of us, worn out,
goes home and passes three months quietly in
prayer and study before beginning again the cir
cuit of his mission. "
One of Bishop Berneux s associates added to
this letter the following lines: "His Lordship
has not told you all. He has not said, for in
stance, that he suffers constantly from a painful
disease, and lives on turnip greens and a little
rice; that he often works twenty-two hours out
of the twenty-four, and considers four hours of
rest, which is the most he ever takes, as a shock
ing indulgence."
It was in the school of such a master that
Father de Bretenieres was about to be instructed
in the work for which he had come so far.
Just de Bretenieres 121
CHAPTER IX.
LIFE IN KOREA.
Bishop Berneux had begun to despair of the
coming of his new priests before Father de Bre
tenieres knocked at the door of his humble little
house. He received him with utmost kindness,
and at once sent porters with sedan chairs for
Fathers Doric and Beaulieu, and dispatched a
letter directing Father Huin to remain with
Bishop Daveluy. The three young priests spent
two weeks with their Bishop, happy weeks of rest,
and spiritual refreshment, and preparation for
the work and trials and loneliness awaiting them;
then, Father Doric and Father Beaulieu went to
missions in country places, and Father de Bre
tenieres, remaining in Seoul, was lodged in the
house of a catechist whose little son, Paul Hpi,
taught him the Korean language.
Just wrote happily, "I am living with a family
of good Christians, and have for my own a room
which Korean custom does not permit strangers
to enter. It is the nicest in the house, but as you
may imagine neither large nor elegantly furn
ished. It is twelve feet square, and between four
and five feet high. The doorway is low and
narrow. The ground serves for chair and table,
and at night I lay my head on a piece of wood
122 For The Faith
and am in bed. I exercise my long legs by walk
ing back and forth, back and forth, like a squir
rel in a cage, and imagine that I am making
delightful excursions in the mountains. But how
careful of my head I have to be! Fortunately
my bushy hair warns me in time when I am get
ting too near the ceiling.
u The national costume for indoor wear is
very simple, consisting of wide trousers and a
short jacket. Whenever a missioner goes into
the streets he wears his mourning clothes. The
food is not very appetizing, and is insufficient in
quantity. A man s strength fails under a diet of
a small portion of rice and barley mixed with
small black beans, to which is added, according
to the season, herbs or wild roots gathered in
the mountains. The mixture is cooked without
salt. The less said of the meat the better. It is
forbidden to kill calves or young cows, and we
eat only animals too old to be of use in carrying
loads. Dogs are in great demand as food. The
pigs are small, and their flesh is used only on
gala days."
Just s apostolate began by long weeks of soli
tude. Until this time his hardships and sufferings
had been lightened by the companionship of de
voted friends; now he was alone with strangers
who spoke a language which he stigmatized as
"diabolic." His own view of the hardness of his
lot is given in a letter to one of his friends. "I
lead the happiest life imaginable," he wrote. "I
am alone in a little room in the interior of a
Just de Bretenieres 123
catechist s house and never go out except at
night. The solitude is good for me after the
dissipation of a long year s journeying. I am
tasting once more the tranquillity of the semi
nary, and realize what a grace it is to have these
months of quiet. Later, I shall be obliged to
unite Martha s life to Mary s."
Prayer, study, and visits from Christians eager
to teach him their language filled his hours of
seclusion. Accustomed from childhood to waste
no time he wasted none then. Apart from his
prayers the study of the language was his chief
occupation. "It is much more difficult than Chi
nese," he wrote. "It will require at least six
months study to be able to preach and to hear
confessions. From morning until night I stam
mer Korean with my little professor and the peo
ple who come to see me. I have been doing so
for a month, but know very little. To give you
an idea of the difficulty of the language it will
be enough to tell you that every verb has from
forty to fifty conjugations, whose use is regulated
by rules so complicated that many of the natives
do not know them all, and the oldest missioners
have but an imperfect knowledge of them." The
punctuation presents difficulties which can be
overcome only by long patient study and prac
tice. A word written in one way is pronounced
in another; for instance, ha-keit-sa/>-ni-ta changes
its p into m when it is spoken and becomes ha-
keit-sam-ni-ta.
Father de Bretenieres studied with all dili-
124 For The Faith
gence, stimulated to extraordinary effort by his
desire to be able to help the overworked older
priests. His only relaxation during those weeks
was to slip out under cover of darkness and go
to see Bishop Berneux, whom months of low fever
had so weakened that he had to be carried to the
sick and could not administer baptism without
pausing several times to rest. His coadjutor,
Bishop Daveluy, was able to do his work only
with the help of Korean medicines, and of the
four remaining missioners three were in wretched
health. "But no one complains," Father de Bre-
tenieres wrote admiringly. "On the contrary all
are happy, because God is signally blessing their
labors. Many envy the lot of missioners in
Korea; if they knew more about it their envy
would grow. Fortunate, indeed, are those whom
Our Lord calls to this little corner of His vine
yard. If I were less lax in responding to His
grace it would not take me long to become holy
here."
Towards the dose of the same letter he said,
"I have not yet heard or seen very much, but
what has come under my notice fills me with
joy and admiration. My associates are models
of humility, sweetness, and self-abnegation. I
have but one ambition: to walk in their foot
steps, instead of being a failure in the midst of
souls sanctified by years of labor in this land of
martyrs. I could never say how happy I am to
see something of a man like our Bishop. To de
scribe him in one word, he is a seconc St. John
Just de Bretenieres 125
of the Cross. He despises suffering, privations,
sickness, contradictions; in the midst of them all
he is always joyous, always gay."
Numbers of extraordinary conversions encour
aged the superhuman efforts of the missioners.
In one of his letters Bishop Berneux left a rec
ord of some cases, of which the following are
typical: "A Catholic book fell into the hands of
an old man who had already heard something of
the teachings of Christianity, and it opened his
eyes to the truth. He held an exalted public posi
tion whose duties were incompatible with those of
a Christian, and at once he resigned it. Finding
it well nigh impossible, even in his own family
and among his friends, to be true to his new
found Faith, he pretended to be insane, would
speak to no one, and lived almost entirely alone.
For several years he persevered in this difficult
manner of life without being able to receive bap-
:-sm, for his sons, suspecting the truth, would
allow no stranger to approach him. I sent a cate-
chist to his house, hoping that he would find a
way to see him. He succeeded at last and bap
tized the old man, who died a few weeks later.
"A young girl, who longed to become a Chris
tian, was given in marriage to a pagan. In her
new home she said many prayers when she was
alone; but in spite of her efforts to do so unob
served her husband s mother and sister saw her
on her knees more than once, at night and in the
day-time; and her sweetness, patience, and obedi
ence were too marked to pass unnoticed. One
126 For The Faith
day the sister-in-law said to her, Tou have a
secret which you are trying to hide from us.*
I, a secret! What could it be? the bride re
plied, laughingly. Laugh as you will, you have
a secret, and it makes you different from the rest
of us/ the other insisted. Certain that she could
trust her sister the bride at last acknowledged
that she had a priceless secret. *I will tell it to
you. she said. I have the happiness of know
ing and adoring the one true God. It was to
Him that I was praying when you surprised me
on my knees in the middle of the night. I dare
neither lie, nor disobey, nor be angry, because
God s law forbids all these things, and I am trying
to keep it and to win heaven. Interested and
edified, the sister-in-law begged to be told about
the true God. The light of faith was given her,
too, and she became very fervent. The intimacy
of the two young women was remarked in the
household, as was the great change which had
been worked in the but lately ill-tempered daugh
ter of the house. Her mother insisted on an ex
planation and on receiving it she followed in her
child s footsteps. The aged grandmother alone
remained, and soon she, too, was told, and she,
too, responded eagerly to grace. The four wo
men were very happy in their new-found Faith
and followed all they knew of its teachings, with
out allowing the men of the household to suspect
what they were doing. The one obstacle to their
baptism was the superstitious practices in which
they were forced to participate. To escape from
Just de Bretenieres 127
them it would have been necessary to say that
they were Christians, which would inevitably have
resulted in ill-treatment and such close surveil
lance that it would have become impossible for
them to perform any religious exercisre. They
decided among themselves that the mother and
the grandmother should have nothing further to
do with preparing sacrifices for the idols, so that
they might be baptised. The two younger women
would attend to all such things, praying to be
delivered from the necessity.
"I could tell you of a thousand such cases, and
how they would make you love my dear Korea,
and how you would pray for us ! Surely God has
His merciful designs over this mission !"
At the time of which the Bishop spoke the
greater number of the mandarins ignored the
Christians; a few mistreated them, and the re
sult was a marked increase of fervor among the
persecuted. In some districts there was entire
liberty, and the faithful wore little crosses on
their breasts and met openly on Sunday. In lo
calities where the laws against Christianity were
severe and the authorities watchful the spread
of the Faith was necessarily slow. Everywhere
the missioners work was overwhelming.
A little later, at the moment in which Father
de Bretenieres and his companions reached Korea,
the movement towards Christianity had somehow
gained a marked impetus, and conversions were
becoming more and more frequent. In the north,
where the Gospel was only beginning to be
128 For The Faith
preached, there were many catechumens so eager
for baptism that they did not wait for the visit
of a missioner, but went in bands to Seoul, even
in harvest time. Their one thought was to be
come Christians. Lacking teachers, they taught
one another as best they could.
Two young men, cousins, having been instructed
by a catechist, the more fervent said, "Let us not
delay an hour, but go at once to Seoul to be bap
tised by the great Bishop." His cousin objected,
"But our rice will die if we go now." "Do you,
then, care more for your rice than for your
soul?" the other cried. "If our bodies die it will
matter little, if we have been baptised and our
souls are safe." "You are right," his cousin
agreed; and that same day they began their
journey of three hundred and sixty miles in quest
of baptism.
One of the missionary fathers told the follow
ing experience: "I often helped Bishop Berneux
when he administered baptism, and saw rude
mountaineers, old men and children, burst into
tears when the saving water was poured on their
heads. I saw women of seventy years who had
walked a hundred and twenty miles that they
might have the happiness of receiving Holy
Communion a second time in the course of the
year. How their souls thirsted for God! It
broke our hearts not to be able often to break
the Bread of Life for them, and to give them
the helps disdained by so many Europeans."
Father de Bretenieres s rapid progress in the
Just de Bretenieres 129
Korean language made it possible for him to be
of use to Bishop Berneux sooner than had been
hoped. After a few months study he could un
derstand and make himself understood.
To the Abbe Gautrelet he wrote, "I wish you
could see me these days with my hair arranged
in the strangest fashion imaginable, arrayed in
wide pantaloons and a little white vest laced in
front with heavy cord, sitting on the ground
with my legs crossed, and taking long puffs at a
pipe with a copper bowl and a bamboo stem
more than a yard long. I am beginning to talk
easily in the strange language of the country
which to you would sound like nothing more than
trik-krok, trik-krok. Does all this remind you
of the Just of other days?
"For nearly a month I have been at work.
It is baptism that the Bishop had oftenest per
mitted me to administer, and I assure you that
many are waiting for it. Catechumens come in
bands, and it is necessary to explain to them any
thing that they do not well understand, to pre
pare them for the Sacrament, and then to ad
minister it. When there are ten or twelve to be
baptized it takes all day without a moment of
rest; but that is nothing, considering the need.
Help us, dear Lord!
"Everywhere there is a dearth of missioners,
and the older men are worn out; so, you see, we
need not fear inaction, and that is a great bless
ing. Thank the dear Lord for me, and redouble
130 For The Faith
your prayers for me and my intentions. You can
imagine how much help I need.
"By the time this letter reaches you I shall
probably be in charge of a district. With my
mite of piety and of theology I should be ap
palled at the prospect did I not count on God s
mercy and His help. Ask Him that in working
with all my might to gain other souls for Him I
may not lose sight of my own, that I may truly
live for Him alone, that I may strive to keep
my heart close to His, that I may live the life
of an apostle of Jesus Christ and die in His
love!"
Father de Bretenieres was working with in
tense earnestness. He quickly won the respect
and love of the good people who went to him.
His great height and distinguished bearing awed
them at first, but his affability soon gained their
hearts. The boy who taught him the language
afterwards wrote the following quaint descrip
tion of their guest and of his life during these
first months in Korea: "In the spring of 1865
Father P. Paik (Father de Bretenieres) arrived
in our country. He was very young. He had a
pleasant face, without beard of any kind. He was
more than six feet tall, and had such large feet
that no shoes could be found to fit him. When
some were ordered the sandal-maker was aston
ished at the measurements given him. Being so
tall he was not easily disguised and rarely ven
tured out-of-doors; this is why he did not go
oftener to see the Bishop.
Just de Brecenieres 131
"He was very gentle, and very kind, and the
sound of his voice was pleasant. He was care
ful to honor those in authority, and to be polite
to every one. He followed all our customs. He
treated his body very severely. He was affable
to all the Christians and never had trouble with
them, although he would not deviate a hair s
breadth from the regulations laid down by the
Bishop. He worked with ardor, was always in a
good humor, and seemed to be unaware of dif
ficulties. Though he did not have time to learn
our language well, his pronunciation* was correct,
and it was easy to understand him. When he said
Mass or took part in any pious exercises his de
votion was so evident that all who saw him were
moved to reverence him. Whenever he heard
our confessions he excited in us deep contrition
and was very kind: Although he did not have
time to go to Hpyeng-an and Hoang-hai many
catechumens from both places came to him for
baptism.
"Without the permission of the Bishop not
even catechists could go to his room in our house,
but whenever he had the opportunity to see any
of the people he was delighted and talked to
them for a long time. Without showing the least
repugnance he ate all kinds of Korean food. One
day when they gave him some strange kind of
buckwheat cakes he ate them at once, and said
gaily, Is it to keep me from getting to heaven
that you give me such good things? He was al
ways ready for a little joke.
132 For The Faith
"When autumn came and the Bishop put him
in charge of the City of Seoul his joy was greater
than I can say."
In the last months of 1865 and the early part
of 1866 Father de Bretenieres heard about sev
enty-five confessions, baptized at least eighty
adults, blessed several marriages, confirmed a few
persons, 1 and administered Extreme Unction a
number of times. Almost constantly shut up in
his little hiding place, and obliged to be watchful
even as to coughing, and sneezing, and moving
about, lest he should attract the attention of pa
gans who might be passing the house, he did go
out whenever a sick person needed the ministra
tions of a priest in the absence of the Bishop.
Two or three times, concealed by his mourning
garments, he even ventured beyond the city lim
its to administer the Sacraments. New to the
country though he was, he was proving a valu
able assistant to Bishop Berneux.
!By special privilege missionary priests sometimes administer
confirmation.
Just de Bretenieres 133
CHAPTER X.
PERSECUTION.
Political events which had occurred in Korea
in 1864 were destined to have far-reaching and
disastrous consequences for the missions. In Jan
uary of that year the king had died suddenly,
and a revolution in the palace had placed the
crown on the head of a child and all real power
in the hands of his father, a despot with no love
for Christianity.
In Korea, if a king is childless, he chooses one
of his relatives to succeed him. At his death the
royal seal is given to the heir if he is of age;
if not, the oldest living queen becomes regent.
But the king who died in 1864 left no child and
had neglected to appoint a successor. There were
four queen-widows in the palace at the time:
Tcho, the dead king s grandmother; Hong and
Pak, his father s wives; and his own wife, whose
name was Kim. The ministers wished Kim to be
regent, but while they deliberated the old queen
Tcho seized the seal and insisted on keeping it.
Through amazement, or respect for her age,
neither the ministers nor Kim opposed her. The
weak old woman then chose for king an unruly
child of twelve years, son of Prince Heung-song-
koun, an able, unscrupulous, violent man, who
134 For The Faith
wrested all semblance of power from Tcho s
hands.
Heung-song-koun despised Christianity, but his
gentle wife knew and loved it. Tcho, widow of
the author of the terrible persecution of 1839,
might feel that family tradition pledged her to
oppose it. For a time the new government gave
no^ evidence of hostility, but it was impossible to
foresee the future.
So, at the moment that Father de Bretenieres
began his ministry, the Church was enjoying com
parative peace, and the Christians believed that
at last liberty was to dawn for them. Bishop Ber-
neux, wiser than his children, repeatedly warned
them, saying, "Do not be deceived; the tiger is
only sleeping."
The fact was that the building of an enormous
palace was absorbing the attention of the terri
ble Heung-song-koun. Two thousand men were
being employed in the construction of this "Sec
ond Louvre." In accordance with the traditions
of the country the royal treasury could supply no
funds for the undertaking; forced contributions
from the people must cover the expense. The
result was arbitrary demands and exorbitant tax
ation which infuriated both rich and poor, al
though no one dared to protest. To have done
so would have cost any man his head.
To add to the widespread misery, terrible
rains flooded Seoul, and the overflowing of a
river south of the city added to the destruction.
Hundreds of houses were washed away; part of
AT SEOUL
1. Publishing a Korean Periodical under the direction of the Ben
edictine Fathers
2. A Korean Priest on his visit home
Just de Bretenieres 135
the palace caved in; the city wall, thought to be
an impregnable defense, crumbled and fell; and
more than three thousand people perished. No
such disaster had ever before befallen Seoul. The
people attributed it to the anger of heaven, pro
voked, they believed, by the wickedness of Heung-
song-koun. Those rash enough to say so above
a whisper were promptly put to death. An edu
cated man wrote to the regent pointing out the
sad consequences of his abuse of power. The ex
ecutioner brought his answer.
The Christians should have been particularly
quiet and prudent in this crisis, for the least in
cident was almost certain to direct the fury of
the tyrant towards them. The tactlessness of a
few was to have dire consequences.
In January, 1864, a Russian ship cast anchor
in a little port on the Sea of Japan. The captain
asked, or rather demanded, of the Korean gov
ernment a grant of land for his country and the
establishment of commercial relations with it.
1 here was deep consternation throughout the
kingdom, and the perplexed regent tried to make
time by replying that Korea, being a vassal of
China, could not take so important a step with
out consulting the authorities at Peking. He sent
a special embassy to China, and the Russians dis
embarked to await an answer. Meanwhile anx
iety was keen throughout poor little Korea.
In Seoul there lived a nobleman, Thomas Kim-
Kei-ho, who had long before lost caste by be
coming a Christian. He had clung to his faith,
136 For The Faith
but was timid and regretful of the past, and now
thought that the danger which threatened the
country offered him an opportunity to regain his
lost social position and at the same time to win
the gratitude of the Church in Korea. His plans
made he went to see Bishop Berneux, and in the
course of conversation with him said, "Do you
think that there is a way to prevent the Russians
establishing themselves in Korea?" "I think that
there is," the Bishop replied. "What would you
do if the regent should summon you to the palace
to confer with you?" "I should go," Bishop Ber
neux answered. Well pleased, Thomas went
away. He and his friends drafted a letter to be
presented to Heung-song-koun suggesting that he
should interview a French missioner who could
ward off the threatening danger. The letter
declared that an alliance with France and Eng
land, made through the mediation of a Christian
Bishop, was the only means of keeping the ag
gressors at bay.
Bishop Berneux s presence in the country was
thus to be tactlessly betrayed to the regent. It
was hard to forsee the consequences, but they
might easily be grave.
Thomas hurried to the palace and eagerly pre
sented his letter to the regent, who received him
coldly, read and reread the letter, and put it
aside without a word. Terrified, Thomas fled to
the country; and about the same time Bishop
Berneux set forth on one of his missionary jour
neys.
Just de Bretenieres 137
The regent s wife heard of the matter and
thought the plan a good one. She loved the
Christians, and through Martha Pak, one of her
servants and a devout Christian, had often beg
ged Bishop Berneux s prayers and his advice.
She said to Martha, "Why don t the Christians
do something? The Russians are at our doors
and the Bishop who might help us has gone
about his mission work when he is needed here.
Another letter should be presented to my hus
band. Believe me, it would succeed. Do urge
the Bishop to return."
A second letter, written by Nam John, a man
well liked in the palace, was more favorably re
ceived by Heung-song-koun. He discussed Chris
tianity with Nam John for a long time, and de
clared that he thought it beautiful in everything
except its prohibition of ancestor worship. Sud
denly dropping questions of dogma, he asked,
"Are you certain that the Bishop could save us
from the Russians?" "I am certain that he
could, "Nam John replied. "Where is he? Is
he in Seoul?" the regent asked next. "No, he has
been away for several days." "Has he gone to
the province of Hoang-hai to administer your
Christian Sacraments?" And when Nam John
answered, "Yes," Heung-song-koun said, "I wish
to see him."
It was a decisive moment for the fate of the
Church in Korea, and every indication seemed
favorable. Long persecuted and in hiding, it had
friends at court and even in the family of the
138 For The Faith
king. The regent had softened, the queen often
prayed to the true God; one of the princesses
was baptizing children in danger of death; the
young king s nurse was a Catholic, and one of
his uncles was kindly disposed towards the Faith.
Surely toleration was at hand. The people were
very hopeful; they even began to talk of build
ing a cathedral.
Unfortunately, after the regent asked to see
the Bishop there was some delay in sending for
him, because of a lack of funds. The necessary
money was at last supplied by a friend of the
royal family. His Lordship reached Seoul on
the twenty-ninth of January, but when Nam John
went to the palace to announce his return he
found that the wind had changed. On seeing him
Heung-song-koun said irritably, "I thought that
you were in the country with your father."
came to the capital on business which you know,"
he began; and the regent interrupted, "There is
no hurry about that. Go back to the country and
stay there."
The terrified Nam John was tenderly wel
comed by his father, an excellent man and a
fervent Christian. "You played a patriotic part,
but it will cost you your life," the old man told
him. "When they make you sign your death war
rant do not fail to erase from it any words injur
ious to the Faith." Nam John hid, but in vain.
There were several reasons for the sudden
change in the regent s attitude. The Russians
had unexpectedly gone away of their own accord;
Just de Bretenieres 139
the ambassadors sent to Peking had returned to
tell that in the "Flowery Kingdom" they were
putting to death all "devils" from the West; and
Korean magistrates, sore-hearted because they
had not been consulted about the Russian trouble,
were determined to revenge themselves on all
foreigners by seeing that the laws against them
were enforced. They had gone to the regent
with the cry, "Death to every European in the
kingdom, and to all Christians!" "But Euro
pean ships will come to avenge the foreigners,"
Heung-song-koun had objected. "Have we not
put many Europeans to death, and who ever
avenged them? What harm came to us because
of them?" the prime minister had urged. The
regent had weakened, hesitated, and come to a
decision terrible for the Christians.
The storm soon burst. A few days later his
wife sent for Martha Pak, who found her weep
ing and wringing her hands. "Oh, Martha !
Martha!" she cried. "Terrible things are to
happen ! The Bishop and every European whom
they can lay hands upon are to be put to death.
All the officials are against my husband, and what
can he do ? Why was the dear old Bishop brought
back to the capital only to be killed? It would
have been so much better for him to have re
mained where he was!" The good woman wept
uncontrollably for a long time; when she could
go on, she added, "Dear Martha, hide yourself,
for I should hate to lose you. Hide in some place
140 For The Faith
where you cannot be found. Tell the Christians
whom you know to hide, too."
All that day and the next the princess was be
side herself with anguish at the thought of the
fate in store for the European priests whom she
esteemed so highly, and the terrible consequences
which might follow upon their deaths. But the
die was cast. The soil of Korea was to be
soaked with the blood of martyrs, and for many
a day the terror-stricken Christians, in hourly
peril of their^ lives, were to hide in their poor
little huts or in the mountains, praying, praying
unceasingly ....
On the twentieth of June two messengers from
Korea reached Bishop Verrolles, bearing the fol
lowing letter from Bishop Daveluy, dated March
tenth: We are in the midst of a violent perse
cution. Bishop Berneux, vicar-apostolic of Korea,
was taken prisoner on the twenty-third of Febru
ary, and since then five of his priests have also
been arrested-- Fathers Pourthie, Petitnicolas,
de Bretemeres, Dorie and Beaulieu. The others
will certainly be found; escape is impossible. Al
ready there is talk of executing the six who are
in prison, and I believe that they will be put to
death in spite of their French and Chinese pass
ports. Whatever comes, God s will be done I My
turn is coming, and I am begging Him to give
me strength to face death as I should. They
pillaged Bishop Berneux s house and secured al l
the money and goods belonging to the mission.
Pray for us.
ANTOINE DAVELUY.
"Coadjutor Bishop of Korea."
Just de Bretenieres 141
A copy of this letter was sent to the Baron
de Bretenieres by Father Wallys, who added,
Bishop Daveluy s messengers waited for three
months before they could secure a boat to bring
them to Manchuria. They say that Bishop Ber-
neux gave his life for Jesus Christ on the fif
teenth of March, and that the five missioners,
arrested soon after he was, followed him to
heaven on the eighth of April.
"My dear Baron, there is little doubt that this
sad news is true; however, as we have received
no account of the martyrdoms by letter or from
eye-witnesses there is still faint hope in our
hearts. The messengers tell us, too, that Bishop
Daveluy was seized before they left Korea, and
with him three other missionaries whose Euro
pean names they do not know, but one, I think,
was Father Huin. The poor Christians have been
trapped, robbed, and massacred, or have died of
hunger in the mountains whither they had fled to
escape their persecutors."
Further details of what had happened were
gathered later.
Reaching Seoul late in January Bishop Ber-
neux waited patiently for a summons from the
regent. On February fourteenth two armed men
presented themselves in his hut on the pretext
of getting a contribution for the great palace
which was being erected. Their visit alarmed the
Bishop s friends who vainly tried to find a safe
hiding place for the money and valuables belong
ing to the mission, all of which were in his keep-
142 For The Faith
ing. His Lordship refused to seek a safer re
treat. "It is I whom they want," he said. "If I
hide they will make a thorough search, and a
general persecution will be the result."
After night-fall on the twenty-second the
armed men returned. With the aid of a ladder
they got on the roof of the cabin, and afterwards
examined the inside of it. The ladder had been
furnished by Bishop Berneux s servant, a traitor
who, not content with betraying his master, de
nounced all the missioners whose places of resi
dence he knew. At four o clock in the afternoon
of the twenty-third the house was surrounded,
and the Bishop was seized and taken before a
judge. After a short examination he was thrown
into the common .prison.
At the moment Father de Bretenieres was in
the house of a Christian where he heard two con
fessions, confirmed a man, and blessed a mar
riage. Returning to his own room he learned
that Bishop Berneux had been arrested. Not
knowing what to expect, or what course to adopt,
he merely sent the news to Bishop Daveluy and
to all the fathers who had fixed places of resi
dence. The next morning he said Mass for the
last time. At dawn on the twenty-fifth the house
was surrounded by soldiers. The catechist was
arrested, but Paul Hpi, Father de Bretenieres s
little professor, was away from home and so was
saved. At first the men pretended not to suspect
the presence of the European priest, although
they closely watched the house. No one ever
Just de Bretenieres 143
knew how Father de Bretenieres passed that day
and the following night, the vigil of his supreme
struggle.
Early in the morning of the twenty-sixth he was
seized, bound, and dragged away. When told of
the arrest of Bishop Berneux he had asked what
shoes he wore when he was taken, and being told
those he used when saying Mass, he had ex
claimed, "Then I, too, will wear my Mass san
dals." And so he did.
A red cord, the badge of great criminals, was
tied lightly about his arms and chest, and thus,
in his indoor dress, head bare, and escorted by
eight men, three before him, three behind, and
one on either side holding his sleeves, he was
taken to the "Tribunal of the Right," so called
because it was to the right of the king s palace.
He was led into a large court room, on one side
of which were seated the judges and a number of
other mandarins. The judges wore their official
dress, consisting of hats made of horse hair with
flaps hanging down on either side, and volumin
ous blue silk gowns confined at the waist by belts
richly ornamented with tortoise shell or precious
stones.
In the center of the hall there stood a chair
meant for the accused. Father de Bretenieres
was placed in it. His feet were strapped together
above the ankles. A rope was placed about his
knees tying them together and at the same time
binding him tightly to the chair, and his arms
and shoulders were fastened to its back, so that
144 For The Faith
no matter what torture might be inflicted it would
be impossible for him to move. Three torturers
took their places on each side of him, holding
their horrible instruments in their hands and
watching the judges for permission to set to
work. Near them, but separated from the ac
cused by a curtain, was a clerk whose duty it was
to take notes of the proceedings. Farther back
twenty-four soldiers, armed with instruments of
torture, were ranged in a semi-circle, and behind
them a second line of soldiers kept the curious
crowds in check. While a prisoner was exam
ined or tortured the twenty-four soldiers always
chanted continuously in low, heavy tones, to
drown his answers or his cries.
From servants and from the executioners them
selves details of Father de Bretenieres s trial
were afterwards gathered. On entering the court
room he had found there his beloved Bishop, and
to show his respect had knelt humbly at his feet.
To the questions asked him after he was tied to
the chair, he replied, "I came to Korea to save
souls. I will gladly die for Christ," and excused
himself from saying more because he was new
to the country and still spoke the language imper
fectly. After his first examination he was thrown
into Kou-riou-kan, a dark, cold, loathsome prison,
reserved for the lowest criminals. The place had
no opening except a low, narrow door and was
dirty and ill-smelling. Father de Bretenieres was
seated on the ground, and left there for the night.
The next day he was taken to another prison,
r
AT SEOUL
1. The Catholic Cathedral
2. In the Emperor s Garden
Just de Bretenieres 145
not so dark as Kou-riou-kan, where each man had
a small cell with a wooden floor. A number of
bells were rung continuously to make impossible
any communication among the prisoners. The
whole was divided into three sections, one meant
for those not in serious trouble, the second for
those to be sent into exile, the third for all who
were condemned to death. It was into the last
that Father de Bretenieres was thrown.
According to the laws of the kingdom four
examinations by different judges were necessary
before a man could be put to death. In the "Tri
bunal of the Left," Father de Bretenieres was
examined by a sombre, pitiless man who never
laughed, would listen to no plea for mercy, and
to no advice. He decided every case as he saw
fit. The regent, also, had intended to question
him, but learning that he spoke the language im
perfectly changed his mind.
For four days Father de Bretenieres was drag
ged from one court to another, each with its ter
rifying equipment for inhuman torture. First he
was subjected to what is called the shienn-noum.
Armed with triangular sticks executioners fiercely
beat the shins, feet, and fingers until the flesh was
torn from the bones and the lacerated legs could
no longer support the victim. Another day Father
de Bretenieres s body was beaten almost to a
pulp with heavy clubs, and it is probable that his
ribs were broken by the blows. He was tortured
other times, but there is no record of the instru
ments used; however, an idea of what his suffer-
146 For The Faith
ings were may be gained from a description of
the punishments in frequent use at that time.
A criminal was sometimes laid face down
wards on the ground, and a strong man beat him
across the legs with a stout club, four or five feet
long and six or seven inches thick, which was nar
rowed at one end to form a handle. After a few
blows blood flowed; a few more, and flesh came
off in large pieces, and by the tenth or twelfth
stroke the club struck the bare bonei. More than
one Christian received as many as sixty strokes
in a single examination.
Another form of torture was inflicted with a
thin board three feet long, and two inches in
width, with which the sufferer was beaten on the
shins. Ordinarily thirty blows were given, and as
an executioner was expected to break his lath at
each one thirty had to be in readiness for each
criminal. A similar form of punishment was in
flicted with very slender sticks, interwoven to
form a kind of rope, with which the whole body
was beaten.
There were three ways in which bones were
bent or dislocated. In one, after the knees and
feet had been tied together, two sticks were
passed through the space between and pulled in
opposite directions until the bones curved out
ward; then they were slowly allowed to go back
to their natural shape. At other times the toes
of both feet were tied together, a thick piece of
wood was placed between the calves of the legs,
and ropes were fastened about the knees on which
Just de BreteniSres 147
two men pulled in opposite directions, little by
little making them almost touch. Again a crimi
nal would have his arms horribly dislocated.
Afterwards the torturer planted his feet on the
victim s chest, seized his arms, and roughly drag
ged them into place. Executioners whom long
practice had made skillful could bend bones
without breaking them; novices broke them so
horribly that marrow as well as blood poured
from the wounds.
Another form of torture consisted in stripping
the victim, tying his hands behind his back, and
hanging him up by the arms. Four men then
beat him with rods. After a few minutes the
tongue protruded and the face became purple,
and death quickly followed unless the sufferer
was taken down and allowed to rest. After he
recovered he was usually suspended again. At
other times criminals were hung by their hair,
with their knees resting on bits of broken glass,
and as they hung they were beaten with sticks.
Still another form of torture was given with
cord made of horse hair, which two men pulled
across the legs until it cut to the bone, when they
would shift their rope and begin to work in an
other place.
The length of time that these tortures were
inflicted depended entirely upon the caprice of
the judges who, when the accused were Chris
tians on trial for their Faith, often gave free
rein to their hatred and devised added refine
ments of cruelty too horrible to imagine. It
148 For The Faith
seldom happened that after an examination fol
lowed by torture the accused was able to drag
himself from the court room. Ordinarily the ex
ecutioners lifted him on two poles and carried
him, limp and bleeding, to the prison.
Under torture Father de Bretenieres kept his
eyes cast down, and neither sigh nor complaint
passed his lips. His silence astonished and an
gered the judges and incited them to still greater
cruelty. All witnesses testified that after Bishop
Berneux he was the most pitilessly tortured.
The terrible ordeal lasted for four successive
days. He was alternately questioned and tor
tured until at length his patient heroism discon
certed his enemies and for very shame they did
no more. Thrown again into prison, his wounds
were dressed with oiled paper and wrapped in a
coarse kind of cloth. On the fifth day he was
taken back to the horrors of Kou-riou-kan,
where the loved companionship of the Bishop
and of Fathers Beaulieu and Doric sweetened
his pain. In the midst of their suffering the four
rejoiced together that they were on the threshold
of martyrdom. How ardently they had longed
for it in their peaceful seminary days and as
they journeyed Eastward or toiled among their
poor people!
Days passed, and still Father de Bretenieres
waited, in darkness and dirt and noise, consumed
with fever, and with no other bed than the
ground for his wounded, pain-racked body. But
even then his gaiety did not forsake him. He
Just de Bretenieres 149
made pathetic little jokes with his jailors, and
tried to be kind to them men whom long years
of service in Kou-riou-kan had hardened until
they knew no pity.
150 For The Faith
CHAPTER XL
MARTYRDOM.
On the eighth of March a white flag floated
over the sandy plain south of Seoul, announcing
the execution of criminals of high station. A tent
had been pitched for the accommodation of a
mandarin and his attendants, and everything was
in readiness.
When the appointed hour drew near four con
demned men were led from their prison: Bishop
Berneux first, Father de Bretenieres 1 next to
him, and after them Father Beaulieu and Father
Doric. Each was placed in a chair; his arms and
legs were tied to the seat, and his head was held
slightly back by strings which attached his hair
to a lathe behind him. Over each man s head
hung a little placard, on both sides of which his
sentence was written. Just s read, "Paik, rebel
lious and disobedient, condemned to die after
having been tortured."
Curious crowds had gathered about the prison
to see the European priests go to death, and
jeered and laughed as they watched the prepa
rations. Bishop Berneux spoke gently to them.
1 Evidently the messengers from Bishop Dayeluy sent to Man
churia had been mistaken in thinking that Bishop Berneux had
been martyred alone on the fifteenth of March, and his companions
not until the eighth of April.
Just de Bretenieres 151
"Do not mock and laugh," he said. "You should
weep to see us die. We came to teach you the
way to heaven, and now we can work for you no
longer. How you are to be pitied!"
Two burly men lifted each chair to their shoul
ders and four hundred soldiers accompanied the
party. It required an hour to go from the prison
in Seoul to the arena. The porters paused several
times to rest, giving the Bishop an opportunity
to advise and encourage his young priests. The
unmistakable joy shining from each countenance
irritated the pagans who watched them pass.
"The fools dare to laugh!" they complained.
Just turned his bright face towards one of them
and said softly, "To die is very sweet."
The mandarin and his numerous attendants
were in their places when the party reached the
arena, and all the terrible instruments of torture
were in readiness. The condemned were sub
jected to rough treatment as they were loosened
from their chairs. Father de Bretenieres, prob
ably in conscious imitation of Our Saviour, said,
"I am thirsty." A Christian soldier quickly
brought some water, but a pagan who stood
nearby would not allow him to touch it.
Bishop Berneux was called first, and soon his
body lay lifeless, and his head rolled across the
sand. Father de Bretenieres s turn came next.
They stripped him of most of his clothing,
threw water on his face and head, and sprinkled
them with lime that they might not show the
effects of the last struggle. His ears were folded
152 For The Faith
over and pierced with darts which were allowed
to remain in the wounds. His arms were tied be
hind his back and a long pole was passed under
them on which two soldiers lifted him to show
him to the crowd. Preceded by three flag bear
ers and two soldiers bearing instruments of tor
ture, and followed by two flag-bearers and three
other soldiers similarly equipped, he was then
carried eight times around the arena, the circles
narrowing at each round so that the last ended
in the center. Meanwhile a number of soldiers
marched and countermarched in elaborate ma
neuvers to amuse the spectators.
On reaching the middle of the arena Just was
placed on his knees. He bent his head forward
and a soldier held the cord with which his hair
was tied. Six executioners took their places near
him, and at a signal from the mandarin danced
about him, brandishing their axes and uttering
unearthly cries, before they began to strike furi
ously and not very carefully at his neck. At the
fourth stroke Just s dear head was severed from
his body, and all the soldiers called out triumph
antly, "It is done! It is done! 7
The head was placed on a board, and two
knives were thrust into it that the mandarin
might turn it back and forth without touching it.
With the head borne before them the soldiers
again marched eight times around the arena,
widening instead of narrowing the circles, until
they reached the mandarin s tent. The bloody
head was presented to him, and after he had
Just de Bretenieres 153
identified it, it was hung by the hair to a post,
with the sentence of death nailed above it.
So did he die, the gifted son of a rich and
aristocratic house, who had preferred suffering
to all that the world could offer, and Christ to
His fairest gifts.
Father Beaulieu and Father Doric passed
bravely through a like ordeal. That day, on a
road leading eastward from Seoul, a servant of
Bishop Berneux s and the devoted mandarin,
Nam John, were also martyred; and in the same
place Father Pourthie and Father Petitnicolas
were put to death three days later. With them
suffered a young Korean and a zealous old cate-
chist who had served his Master long and well.
Bishop Daveluy and Father Huin were martyred
on Holy Saturday, March thirtieth, in a village
far south of Seoul.
No one dared to claim the bodies of Bishop
Berneux and his companions. Hour after hour
they lay on the blood-stained sand, with no one
near to weep or to pray. Ravens hovered over
the spot, but did not touch the precious relics.
After three days the display of the corpses was
considered to have lasted long enough to impress
all passers-by with deep respect for the laws of
Korea; and as no one claimed them the people
of the village towards which their faces had
been turned when they died were obliged to bury
them. The task fell to the pagans of Sai-nam-
hte, a town not far from Seoul. They dug a big
154 For The Faith
trench and threw the despised remains into it.
All was over.
Six months passed. The persecution had abated
a little, and the Christians began to venture tim
idly from their hiding places. Their first care
was to bury decently the fathers who had come
so far to bring them salvation. Poor before per
secution came upon them, nearly all of them were
destitute now, but at the cost of untold sacrifices
they collected sufficient money to defray the ex
pense. Women set the example by selling their
wedding rings, the only jewelry they had, and
inexpressibly precious apart from their intrinsic
value.
All being in readiness, forty Christians met
one night near the grave of Bishop Berneux and
his companions. They dug up the mutilated re
mains, placed each head with the body to which
it belonged, hurriedly laid the four side by side
in the earth once more, refilled the trench, and
rolled stones over the mound; for dawn was
breaking and they must separate without being
seen. Two nights later the same men went back,
carrying coffins, shrouds, and holy water. Four
graves were quickly dug, and with utmost rever-
ance the bodies were lowered into them, while
appropriate prayers were read from books which
had escaped the rage of the persecutors. Each
martyr s name was scratched on a shell which
was buried close to his coffin.
There the precious relics lay undisturbed until
October, 1899, when they were verified by the
THE CATHEDRAL OF SEOUL
(The Pulpit is the handiwork of Korean youths directed
by Benedictine Fathers)
Just de Bretenieres 155
Bishop of Seoul, in the presence of three wit
nesses who had assisted at the exhumation, and
were secretly borne to the cathedral and buried
in its crypt.
It was long before tidings of the persecution
reached France. Late in the summer of 66, five
months after the martyrdoms, English dispatches
reported in a vague way that some Europeans
had been massacred in Korea. Mme. de Bre
tenieres was at Vichy when these rumors reached
her, and was already keenly anxious when Chris-
tain hurried to her from Switzerland to tell her
of a conversation that he had chanced to over
hear there, which seemed to confirm what she
had read. They went at once to Boulogne to be
in closer communication with Paris.
On the fifth of September Father Delpech, as
sistant superior of the Foreign Mission Seminary,
wrote to Bishop Rivet of Dijon, saying, "One of
your children, Father Simon Marie Anthony Just
Ranfer de Bretenieres, member of the Congrega
tion of Missions and Missionary Apostolic in
Korea, has won the palm of martyrdom.
"Your Lordship will learn all the details that
we know from the enclosed letter of Father
Patriat s and the one which I have written to the
father of our dear martyr. I dare not send my
letter direct to him, and am confiding it to Your
Lordship, convinced that you will know how to
soften the sad news with all the consolations
which faith and the hope of heaven can give.
156 For The Faith
"Use my letter as you see fit. Give it to the
poor parents or withhold it, as seems best.
"I lived here with Father de Bretenieres for
three years. He was undoubtedly a saint. It
can truly be said of him : Consummate in brevi
explevit tempora midta! "
The message could not have been confided to
tenderer lips. The kindly Bishop went at once to
see the parents of the young martyr, and with
exquisite tact and gentleness prepared them for
the terrible news before he placed in their hands
this letter, written by Father Delpech:
"Yesterday we received direct news, from our
dear Korea, of grave and important events, never
to be effaced from the annals of God s Church.
The designs of God are impenetrable to us, but
by faith we know that everything permitted by
Providence works for the salvation of souls. Let
us, then, adore the tender Providence of God
that every pain may become for us a means of
sanctification and a pledge of eternal life.
These, my dear Sir, are the details which we
have just received concerning the recent trouble
in Korea: Last January some Russians landed
on the coast of Korea and demanded the opening
of a port to commerce with their country. The
government was greatly disturbed. As the regent
was trying to find some means of keeping them
at bay, and was personally well disposed towards
Christianity, certain Christians thought that they
had an excellent opportunity of serving our holy
Faith. They told the regent that the two Bishops
Just de Bretenieres 157
of Korea and their priests would be the best pos
sible intermediaries in the Russian affair.
"The regent sent for the Bishops. Bishop Ber-
neux, who was working in his country missions
and had little faith in the plans afoot, was not
eager to return to the capital, but his presence in
the kingdom having become officially known he
was obliged to obey the summons.
"By the time he reached Seoul the Russians
had disappeared, and with them the fears of the
Government. About the court there were man
darins intensely hostile to Christianity who, see
ing the Bishop made easy prey, urged that he and
his priests be seized. The regent objected at
first, but ended by supporting them, and Bishop
Berneux was taken prisoner. Orders were given
to arrest Bishop Daveluy and a number of mis-
sioners whose hiding places had been revealed
by a traitor. Soon both Bishops and all but three
of the priests were in the hands of persecutors
who, blind to the consequences of their folly, were
determined to stop at nothing. So the Bishops
and seven of their priests were martyred.
"We have not yet heard all details, but we
know that on the eighth of March Bishop Ber
neux, Father Doric and Father Beaulieu, and one
other, were put to death; that on the eleventh
Father Pourthie and Father Petitnicolas followed
them to heaven; and last of all, on the thirtieth
of the same month, Bishop Daveluy was mar
tyred with Fathers Aumaitre and Huin.
"We know, too, that these nine confessors of
158 For The Faith
the Faith went to their death with a calmness
and joy evident even to the pagans, so happy
were they to leave this vale of tears for the arms
of their Heavenly Father.
"I have named all but one of our venerated
martyrs. I have hesitated to say his name, know
ing the depth of a father s and of a mother s
love. Your own hearts have uttered the word I
dared not say.
"Perhaps I should have counted absolutely on
your faith and unhesitatingly have placed your
beloved son in the band of our holy martyrs.
The day that Father Just was arrested he had
baptized twenty-five catechumens.
"These, my dear Sir, are the only details
which we know now.
"I beg Our Saviour and the Queen of Martyrs
to soften for you and yours the grief which this
news must cause. Faith will teach you, in time,
to thank God for the great glory which He has
deigned to bestow upon your child.
"In the love our Our Lord Jesus Christ and
in memory of our dear martyr accept for your
self and all your family the expression of my
respectful affection and entire devotion.
"DELPECH,
"Missionary Apostolic."
After he and his wife had read this letter to
gether the poor old father wept uncontrollably.
Many, many times he had renewed the sacrifice
of his son to God; still, deep in his heart the
Just de Bretenieres 159
hope of seeing him again would not die. He
knew now that this could never be. And what
torture had preceded Just s death? And where
did his body rest? The mother could not weep.
Bishop Rivet said a few words of comfort, and
soon the broken-hearted old father and mother
knelt together at his feet and in voices broken by
sobs murmured the Te Deum.
Soon letters poured into their hands from
Paris and from the Orient, bringing tribute after
tribute of love and admiration for Just: sweet
comfort for their aching hearts. How those let
ters were treasured! read and reread a hundred
times, until they were known word for word!
A beautiful little incident, cherished by all
lovers of Just, was also a solace to them in the
hard days of their first grief. It seems that when
he was nine or ten years of age the boy planted
a rose bush in the grounds adjoining the convent
of the Sisters of Charity in Dijon. It lived, but
never bloomed. The sisters treasured it as a
souvenir of Just and would not permit the gar
dener to uproot it. To everyone s amazement,
early in the spring of 1866, four buds appeared
upon it, and in time four lovely roses !
160 For The Faith
CHAPTER XII.
THE RENDEZVOUS.
While he was at the Foreign Mission Seminary
Just had written to his parents: "The few days
that we have to spend in this world will pass
quickly, and how happy we shall be when we are
reunited in heaven, never to part again, and lov
ing one another in Our Lord, without uneasiness
or fear of the future."
The Baron de Bretenieres was the first to join
his son. He died in January, 1882, at the age of
seventy-eight. After four lonely years his wife
slipped peacefully away, not long before her
eightieth birthday. Only Christian remained.
He had been for years Superior of St. Francis de
Sales College in Dijon when he died, an old man,
deeply revered and loved.
The family was reunited at last.
Just de Bretenieres 161
APPENDIX.
It is to Bishop Daveluy s unwearied efforts
that we owe the interesting story of the Church
in Korea. Sent there in 1845, for twenty years
he collected everything that could be found re
lating to the establishment and growth of Chris
tianity, and many anecdotes of its times of trial,
its confessors, and its martyrs. Fortunately his
notes were sent to France some months before
the outbreak of the persecution which counted
him among its victims.
Korea is a mountainous peninsula parallel to
the eastern coast of China. It is three hundred
miles in length and a hundred in width. A vassal
of ^ China until 1895, in that year the treaty of
Shimonoseki placed it under the protection of
Japan; but it was always an autonomous king
dom, with a language and customs materially
different from those of either China or Japan.
Until long after Father de Bretenieres s brief day
there the government jealously isolated the coun
try from the rest of the world.
In 1860 China was forcibly opened to Euro
pean commerce, but the Powers made no effort to
enter into negotiations with inhospitable Korea,
and six years later Catholic missioners were still
the only Europeans who, at the risk of their
lives, had succeeded in settling there.
162 For The Faith
Nevertheless the Koreans have always been
singularly well disposed to receive the good seed
of the Gospel. In other pagan lands the Church
has made its way almost entirely through the
children in Catholic schools and orphanages. In
Korea men the intellectuals of the country
were the first converts, and its evangelization
was unique in the history, not only of modern
missions, but of Christianity.
The world marvels at the constancy of the
Japanese who guarded the Faith through two
centuries of persecution, carefully transmitting
its essentials to their descendents. They did this
without priests, or any Sacrament except baptism,
until Japan opened her doors to the world and
missioners again flocked into the country. But
Japan had received the Faith from St. Francis
Xavier, and for a century Christianity had flour
ished there. When it was persecuted, almost
to extinction, the faithful who so tenaciously
clung to it had a precious legacy of Christian
traditions and many examples of holiness to
strengthen them in long generations of isolation.
The story of Korea is entirely different, and
even more extraordinary. A country cut off from
the rest of the world, it had never seen a priest.
Towards the end of the eighteenth century some
of its scholars accidentally came across Catholic
books written in Chinese and brought them into
Korea with a number of scientific works. In 1783
one of these scholars, Peter Seng-Houn-i, was a
members of the embassy which Korea sent an-
Just de Bretenieres 163
nually to Peking, and while there he became ac
quainted with Bishop Alexander de Govea, a Port
uguese Franciscan, and was baptized by him.
On returning to his own country he took with
him religious books, crucifixes, and pictures, which
he distributed among his friends; and with the
aid of Piek-i and a few other earnest men he en
deavored to spread the knowledge of the Faith,
appealing particularly to the most learned and
thoughtful men of the country. The fervent cate-
chists invited public discussions with followers of
other religions, and these debates redounded to
the honor of Christianity, and gave it an assured
position in the world of letters. Thence it was
diffused among the middle and lower classes.
The catechumens baptized by Peter Seng-Houn-i
baptized others. Books, written by Chinese mis-
sioners, were translated into Korean; the neo
phytes were taught Christian practices the sanc-
tification of Sunday, the observance of days of
fast and abstinence, even the rigors of asceti
cism; and the Christian laws regarding marriage
were inculcated to the best of the catechists abil
ity. In a word, a society of the faithful was
established, attached to the church in China by
baptism: and all through the zeal of one convert,
a layman, and not thoroughly instructed.
Such a beginning was marvelous; the sequel
was even more so.
The infant Church of Korea waited ten years
for the first Catholic priest who penetrated into
the kingdom. Again and again the isolated Chris-
164 For The Faith
tians entreated the Bishop of Peking to send
them priests, but he was unable to do so. Long
ing for spiritual help, and in their ignorance not
understanding that they could not transmit the
priesthood even as they conferred baptism, they
consecrated a bishop and ordained several priests,
according to the ceremonies which Peter Seng-
Houn-i had witnessed in Peking, and very care
fully made altar vessels for the celebration of
Mass.
Hearing of all this the Bishop of Peking at
once wrote to them explaining their mistake, and
with childlike docility the so-called priests obeyed
him and they and their fellow Christians renewed
their entreaties for help from China. They were
destined to pass through great trials before it
reached them.
The slender theological knowledge which had
permitted the heads of this little community to
take upon themselves the priesthood was equally
at fault in regard to their duty concerning the
ceremonies held in honor of their ancestors. The
rites practiced in China had, after much contro
versy, been condemned by the Holy See as savor
ing of idolatry. Those in use in Korea were but
slightly different, and the people s attachment to
them not less strong.
When instructions on this point came from
Peking the Korean Christians had no alternative
but to renounce the ancient rites as dear to them
as their beloved dead. A few gave up the
Church. The rest submitted, but the spread of
Just de Bretenieres 165
the Faith was arrested, and in the eyes of the
pagans Christianity was henceforth synonymous
with impiety. The abhorrence which the new re
ligion had aroused in certain quarters then found
a plausible pretext to employ merciless measures
for stamping it out.
The first persecution began in 1791, and the
consistency of the neophytes under torture was
admirable. There were apostasies; even some
who had endured tortures afterwards yielded to
the entreaties of their relatives, or the fear of
involving all their household in a common ruin:
but many gloriously repaired the weakness of a
few and won the palm of martyrdom. The ex
aminations at which the Christians were ques
tioned concerning their belief were always ac
companied by torture, and attracted numberless
spectators, whose attention was thus forcibly
drawn to the teachings of the Church. More
than once even the judges expressed reluctant
admiration of what they heard, and conversions
dated from those sublime instructions delivered
on the rack.
Thus was the Korean Church prepared in tears
and blood to receive the priest who came at last:
Father James Tsiou, a Chinaman, sent in 1784,
exactly ten years after the baptism of the first
Korean convert. On his arrival he found more
than four thousand Christians, many of whom
were living most devoutly. His ministry was as
fruitful as it was difficult and dangerous. The
general persecution had ceased, because the king
166 For The Faith
was opposed to violent measures, but through the
cruelty or greed of certain mandarins Christians
were still put to death in some parts of the
country.
The death of the king in 1799, and the estab
lishment of a regency intensely hostile to the
Church, was soon followed by a general and most
cruel persecution. The avowed determination of
the government was to exterminate the new sect.
Well knowing the hatred of the authorities for
foreigners Father Tsiou gave himself up, hoping
thus to ward off the danger threatening his peo
ple. After enduring horrible tortures he was
beheaded in May, 1801.
But his death did not appease the enemies
of Christianity. The number of victims is not
known, but it is certain that in the capital alone
more than three hundred men and women, of
every age and condition, were put to death.
From time to time the authorities wearied of
their bloody work and persecution ceased for a
while, only to be renewed with increased violence.
Few years passed without seeing Christians im
prisoned for their Faith, tortured, and either
exiled, put to death, or allowed to die of hunger
and neglect in loathsome prisons.
Summarized, the early history of the Church
in Korea is as follows: founded in 1784 by Peter
Seng-Houn-i, it waited ten years for the arrival
of a priest; until 1831 for the establishment of a
Vicariate Apostolic; and until 1836 for its first
European missionary Father Maubant. During
Just de Bretenieres 167
these fifty-two years it had no external assistance,
except that given it by the ministry of Father
Tsiou, which lasted for five years. For forty-seven
years it carried on its work without priests, with
out any Sacrament but baptism, with no preach
ing but that of catechists; it passed through the
general persecutions of 1791, 1801, 1815, and
1827; and it gave to the Church more than a
thousand martyrs and uncounted examples of
exalted virtue.
Again and again the poor isolated Koreans
sent touching addresses to the Sovereign Pontiff,
begging him to send them priests. Pius VII re
ceived such a petition at the moment that the
horrors of the French Revolution were beginning
to alarm the world. He placed them under the
jurisdiction of the Bishop of Peking; but the
Church in China felt the effects of the storm
that was devastating Europe, and the Christians
of Korea had to be neglected. In 1811 Pius VII
received a second letter from them; and then,
imprisoned at Fontainbleau, his hands were tied.
Still another petition, written in 1825, reached
Leo XII two years later; and touched by such
unwavering fidelity he charged the Propaganda
to offer the Korean mission to the Paris Foreign
Mission Society. Poor in men and in resources,
the Society accepted the difficult field and chose
Father Bruguiere to begin their work there. He
was consecrated Bishop in 1829.
The Koreans being incredibly prejudiced
against foreigners, especially those who were
168 For The Faith
Christians, their country had to be entered
secretly; and in three years of effort, amid dan
ger and inconceivable hardship, Bishop Bruguiere
was unable to reach his diocese. His failure was
due in part to a Chinese priest, Father Pacifus,
who had penetrated into Korea and was exercis
ing his ministry there. He filled the hearts of the
people with terror by telling them that the com
ing of the French Bishop would be a signal for
a persecution, and scandalized them by a life not
in keeping with the sublimity of his vocation.
Thus Bishop Bruguiere s already difficult task
was made more difficult. He suffered cruelly
from the hostility of his spiritual children, who
continually raised new difficulties to delay his
entrance into the country imaginary difficulties,
invented for that express purpose, until at last
he was obliged to resort to extreme measures and
to threaten with excommunication those who con
tinued to make his apostleship impossible. The
people resisted no longer and made ready to
welcome him; but the holy Bishop, worn out by
hardship and sorrow, died suddenly in Tartary,
in October, 1835.
After his death Father Maubant, who had
been appointed his assistant, succeeded in enter
ing Korea; and another French priest, Father
Chastan, soon followed him. For five years they
labored alone in that field of martyrs, by their
zeal greatly increasing the size of their flock.
In time a new Vicar Apostolic, Bishop Imbert,
made his way into the kingdom, but the peoples
Just de Bretenieres 169
rejoicing was short lived. A furious persecution
soon broke forth. Imitating Father Tsiou the
three missionaries gave themselves up, hoping
thereby to save their flock. The Bishop, deliver
ing himself first, sent word to his priests to join
him, and all three were beheaded. The persecu
tion thus inaugurated was more general and more
systematic than any that had preceded it. Apos-
tacies were few, and many were martyred.
The Korean Church was again without a priest,
and more than five years passed before another
succeeded in getting into the country. During
this time intermittent periods of persecution fur
ther enriched its martyrology. Father Ferreol,
consecrated Bishop in Manchuria, at last entered
the kingdom from the sea, accompanied by Father
Daveluy, and a young Korean priest, named An
drew Kim, who had been ordained in China a
man of rare promise, courageous, persevering,
and very holy. He had already suffered much,
so much that later, when arraigned before the
judges, the story of his trying adventures drew
cries of admiration even fFom his persecutors.
"Poor young man, in what terrible labors has he
not passed his days!" they exclaimed.
Bishop Ferreol found the Christians scattered
and disheartened. Discipline had been relaxed,
instruction neglected, and many of his people
concealed themselves from him in terror. Every
where he had to begin afresh. Father Kim was
doing good work when he fell into the hands
of some soldiers; and after a heroic confession
170 For The Faith
of Faith shed his blood for Christ with heav
enly joy.
A Korean deacon, who had been sent to China
to complete his studies, forced his way into the
country, where he was presently ordained. An
other French missioner, Father Maistre, came
just in time to see Bishop Ferreol die, exhausted
by privations and by labor too great for his
strength. He was the third Vicar Apostolic whom
the Church had lost in Korea in ten years.
Bishop Berneux was next appointed to the dif
ficult position, and entered the country in 1856,
accompanied by Fathers Pourthie and Petitnico-
las. His first official act was to name Father
Daveluy his coadjutor. Despite the continued
hostility of the government and some persecution,
during the years immediately preceding Father de
Bretenieres s arrival the Church in Korea knew
comparative peace and made great strides. The
Christian population increased to sixteen thous
and. The people seized every opportunity of
receiving the Sacraments, and were docile and
devoted and zealous. Many emulated the vir
tues of their holy missioners, and during the vio
lent persecution which stained the regency of
Heung-song-koun not only priests but . several
thousand laymen gladly died for the Faith.
Three years after the martyrdom of Bishop
Berneux and his companions two priests, Fathers
Ridel and Blanc, attempted to penetrate into
Korea, but found the coast guarded at every
point. Later, in 1876, Father Ridel, who in the
Just de Bretenieres 171
meantime had been consecrated Bishop, man
aged to effect an entrance with some of his
priests. Of the condition in which he found
the mission he wrote: "Several thousands of the
faithful have disappeared, victims of the most
cruel persecution ever waged even in Korea.
Some died of hunger, cold, and disease; others,
especially young girls, were sold as slaves and
taken no one knows where. Those Christians
whom we find are in a miserable condition of
body and soul. Obliged to flee and hide, they lost
their fields and homes and all their possessions.
They have no means of livelihood. I am in hid
ing, surrounded on all sides by pagans. I dare
not speak above a whisper and go out to minister
to the Christians only after dark. So far I have
not been disturbed."
Bishop Ridel had hardly begun his work when
he was made prisoner. His life was spared, but
after being subjected to ill-treatment he was
taken beyond the frontier of the kingdom and
forbidden to return. The more lenient attitude
of the Korean government was due, it is believed,
to the influence of Japan and China.
In 1880 only three missioners were left in
Korea, Fathers Blanc, Doucet, and Robert, and as
they greatly needed helpers Bishop Riclel sent to
their aid Father Lianville and Father Mutel, the
present beloved Bishop of Seoul. These two
priests, after one unsuccessful attempt, gained
entrance in disguise, and for a time secretly min
istered to the Christians. Bishop Ridel died in
172 For The Faith
1884 without having been able to return to his
diocese, and was succeeded by Bishop Blanc, con
secrated at Nagasaki. France now wrung from
Korea the assurance that missioners would be
permitted to live in the kingdom, and this with
pressure brought to bear by other governments,
including that of the United States, inaugurated
an era of toleration and of peace for the long-
tried Church of Korea.
Soon a band of sisters arrived, and, to the in
expressible joy of the Christians, opened an or
phan asylum in Seoul. Land was bought for a
chapel and a seminary. When Bishop Mutel was
consecrated 1890 the future looked brighter
than ever before: and it has gloriously fulfilled
its promise. Once the old enemies of the Faith
organized a rebellion and terrorized the Chris
tians, but order was soon restored. When Bishop
Mutel took charge the Catholic population of
Korea was 17,577; it is now about 85,000.
In a short article which the Bishop wrote for
the Catholic Encyclopedia, he gives this sum
mary of activities: u ln each district some chapels
have been built, with residences for the mission
aries. In 1892 a seminary was built at Ryong-
saun near Seoul. The quasi-cathedral church of
Seoul was solemnly consecrated on May 29, 1898.
Parish schools have been opened anew, or organ
ized upon a better footing. It has been possible
to open in the great centers a few schools for
girls, a thing which Korean usage would never
before have permitted. In 1875 the missionaries
Just de Bretenieres 173
published a dictionary and a grammar in French
and Korean. The movable type then cast has
served as a standard for all that is used to
day. The mission possesses a printing-house for
the publication of Korean Catholic books and of
a weekly Korean Catholic newspaper, founded in
1906, which counts more than four thousand sub
scribers. As a striking event of this period may
be noted the conversion to Catholicism of the
princess, the mother of the emperor, and the
true wife of the terrible regent Heung-song-koun.
Christian at heart even before the persecution
of 1866, she was baptized and confirmed Octo
ber 11, 1896, but in great secrecy and unknown
even to those about her. The following year she
received, under the same conditions, the Sacra-
ments of Penance and Holy Eucharist, and died
piously, January 8, 1898."
To the Very Reverend James A. Walsh, Super
ior of Maryknoll, the American Foreign Mission
Seminary, we are indebted for the story of the
conversion to which Bishop Mutel refers. Father
Walsh has been in correspondence with Bishop
Mutel for several years and recently, on his Far
Eastern voyage in search of a mission-field for
American priests, he remained for several days
at Seoul as the Bishop s guest. During this visit
His Lordship wrote for him the interesting story
which follows:
"The prince, whom the Japanese call Prince
Ri Senior, occupied the throne of Korea, first as
king, from 1864 until 1897; then as emperor,
174 For The Faith
from 1897 until 1907, when he abdicated in
favor of his son, who was dethroned in 1910
and has since been known as Prince Ri Junior.
"Born of a noble family, in 1852, Prince Ri
Senior was only twelve years of age when he
was chosen to succeed a childless king, and the
regency placed in the hands of his father, Heung-
song-koun, principal author of the terrible perse
cution of 1866 which gave us so many martyrs.
Little as the regent suspected it Christianity had
even then won its way, not only into the court,
but into his household. The nurse of the boy-
king was a devout Catholic, and his own wife
loved the Church and believed in it. Shortly be
fore Bishop Berneux s martyrdom she sent a mes
sage, begging him to offer a number of Masses
for the prosperity of the kingdom, and while her
husband was torturing priests and thousands of
native Christians she was secretly studying the
catechism and preparing herself for baptism.
"She was a Christian at heart for many years,
and when, in 1890, 1 returned to Korea as Bishop,
she sent to me begging for baptism. It was im
possible for me to grant her petition, for not-
withstanding her great age she still acted as
mistress of the royal family and among her
duties were the preparation of the pagan sacri
fices and the defraying of whatever expense per
tained to them. I was obliged to reply that she
could not be baptized until she renounced all par
ticipation in the false worship of the court.
"In the spring of 1896, giving her advanced
THE MUCH-LOVED BISHOP OF SEOUL
Rt. Rev. Gustave Mutel of the Paris Foreign Missions
Just de Bretenieres 175
age as excuse, she resigned her place as head of
the royal household, and once more asked for
baptism. The eleventh of October was the day
chosen; the place, a Christian maid-servant s un
pretentious home, outside the grounds of the
palace, but not far from it. I was the first to
reach the house and hid behind the door of its
one room. Soon the princess came, carried in a
kind of chair which is in general use among the
ladies of the palace. The bearers did not know
her and suspected nothing. A pagan woman of
the court, to whom the princess had confided the
secret, accompanied her on foot. When the prin
cess alighted she was greeted as Koreans greet
an aged relative; only after she entered the house
and the door had been closed was more profound
respect shown her.
"The princess was immediately presented to
me. She was simply dressed, and very simple in
manner. Her sight had grown dim, but her hear
ing was perfect and her mind was alert and keen.
We had much to say to each other, but there was
little time for anything but the serious matter for
which we had met. I asked her to repeat our or
dinary prayers and she said them fluently, as one
does who recites them often. I examined her in
Christian Doctrine, and she readily answered all
my questions. I then baptized her with as much
solemnity as time and place permitted. A Chris
tian, the daughter of the king s nurse, was god
mother. All went well, although during the cere
mony we could hear the bearers of the princess
176 For The Faith
chair wrangling over a few pennies just outside
the door. Evidently they had had. too much wine.
When I poured the baptismal water on the
forehead of Princess Mary I saw a look of un
utterable joy illumine her face a look which I
have seen a thousand times on the countenances
of humbler converts. Immediately afterward I
confirmed her, and this time a Christian servant
was god-mother. The ceremonies had lasted about
an hour and we could not tarry longer without
danger. I said good-bye to Princess Mary and
hid behind the door while she went to her chair.
When it passed out of sight I also left the house.
"The following day Princess Mary sent some
one to thank me, to tell me that she had re-
entered the palace without being seen, and also
to ask for a dispensation from abstinence, which
it would have been almost impossible for her to
observe.
"A year later, on September fifth, 1897, the
princess sent a messenger to ask me to see her
that evening, that I might hear her confession
and, if possible, give her her First Communion.
This time it was arranged that I should go to
her at the palace. In a chair not unlike the one
she had used I left my house about nine o clock
in the evening, carrying the Blessed Sacrament
on my breast. I was taken through a side-door
to the room of a Christian servant. The porters
having been dismissed I was led across several
courts to the apartments of a court lady who was
in the secret. On the way I narrowly escaped
Just de Bretenieres 177
running into one of the guards who make the
round of the palace during the entire night. Each
of them is armed with a long stick, bound with
iron, with which he strikes the ground making a
horrible noise. We stood aside in the shadow
until he passed, and continued on our way.
"A very old lady of the court received me in
her room where I found also the lady who had
been present at Princess Mary s baptism. I laid
the Blessed Sacrament on a table which had been
made ready for it, lit a candle, and awaited the
coming of the princess. At half-past eleven I
heard a slight noise and rose quickly. It was in
deed the king s mother who approached, having
profited by a moment when all her attendants
were asleep to have herself carried on the back
of a slave to the room in which I awaited her.
After our greetings and some little conversation
Princess Mary asked me to hear her confession.
I did so at once, and afterwards prayers were
read to her in preparation for Holy Communion.
Shortly after midnight I put on my surplice and
stole and gave her Holy Communion. I can still
see the whole scene: the aged princess kneeling
before me to receive Our Lord, and behind her
two pagan ladies of the palace with a humble
Christian servant between them, all three rever
ently bent low. Such was the First Communion
of Princess Mary in the early morning of the
sixth of September, 1897, when she was eighty
years of age. It was her last Communion as well
as her first. I was obliged to interrupt her
178 For The Faith
thanksgiving to take leave of her, and never saw
her again.
Towards the end of the year she fell ill, but
profited by a day on which she was better to
send me messages, recommending herself to my
prayers, and begging me, if possible to see her
husband, the old regent, Heung-song-koun, who
was also very ill. She hoped that I might be
able to bring him into the Church. I had no
further news of her until the morning of Janu
ary ninth, when word was brought me that she
had died the evening before. In any case it would
have been impossible for me to be with her at
the last. Knowing this she had told a Christian
servant to stay beside her, and in words agreed
between them to suggest pious thoughts until
the end came.
"I felt it my duty to seek an audience with
the king that I might offer my condolence and
tell him that his mother had died a Christian.
Some one s indiscretion had already appraised
him of the fact, and fearing that I should men
tion it before the assembled court he refused to
see me, sending word that he was unusually busy
and would summon me later.
"I asked, also, for an interview with Heung-
song-koun, as the princess had asked me to do.
He sent me effusive messages of thanks, but ex
plained that he was not on friendly terms with
his son and a visit from me at that moment might
get us both into trouble. Perhaps this, too, was
but an excuse.
Just de Bretenires 1 79
"Obliged by ill health to go to Shanghai for
two months rest it was there that I learned of
the regent s death on the twenty-second of Feb
ruary. National obsequies entirely pagan, of
course were held at the same time for him
and for Princess Mary. For her soul she had
only the portion of the poor: the generous suf
frages of the Church and a few Masses said at
the request of some humble Christian servants."
The Martyr of Futuna
{Blessed Peter Chanel, S. AL, First Martyr of Oceania}
Adapted from the French by Florence Gilmore
Due to uncertain conditions
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"Tins simple life of Blessed Peter Chanel will do much to arouse
enthusiasm for foreign missions, and will, we trust, lead many an
American youth to labor in the field afar. " The Catholic World.
"A valuable addition to the Catholic Foreign Mission Society s
list of publications. A copy of this book in the hands of those
interested in the missions may mean an increased number of voca
tions. Catholic libraries especially should not fail to procure the
life-story of this nineteenth-century martyr." America.
Bound in cloth, 208 pp. 16 illustrations, $1.00 prepaid
Catholic Foreign Mission Society
Maryknoll, Ossining P. O., N. Y.
oi
abini ailrj
o} tosjdua
The Martyr of Futuna
(.Blessed Peter Chanel, S. Af., First Martyr of Oceania)
Adapted from the French by Florence Gilmore
"This simple life of Blessed Peter Chanel will do much to arouse
enthusiasm for foreign missions, rind will, we trust, lead many an
American youth to labor in the field afar. " The Catholic World.
"A valuable addition to the Catholic Foreign Mission Society s
list of publications. A copy of this book in the hands of those
interested in the missions may mean an increased number of voca
tions. Catholic libraries especially should not fail to procure the
life-story of this nineteenth-century martyr." America.
Bound in cloth, 208 pp. 16 illustrations ^ $1.00 prepaid
Catholic Foreign Mission Society
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AN AMERICAN MISSIONARY
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THIS new edition of Father Judge s life and
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field flfar tales
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Up at the New Catholic Foreign Mission Seminary
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The volume before us is the second collection of these
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The tales attributed to Fr. John Wakefield are clear
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(New Edition)
THE LIFE AXD LETTERS OF
BLESSED THEOPHANE VENARD
Alumnus of the Paris Foreign Mission Society
" I am very grateful to you for making me acquainted
with A Modern Martyr. I think it is the most fascina
ting book I have read for a long time. I can hardly put it
out of my hands, and have finished reading half of it al
ready. I have instructed the President of our Cathedral
College to place a copy in the hands of each of our petits
seminar istes, and I feel convinced that no better book could
be given them for their spiritual reading." Cardinal Farley.
Thanks, many times over, for Theophane Venard,
not only for the copy of the book itself, but above all for
writing, publishing, and spreading it. It is bound to do
an immense amount of good for the Cause which we both
have so much at heart. . . . Before leaving Mill Hill, I
gave the book to the Rector with instructions to have it read
in the refectory." Very Rev. F. Henry, Mill Hill.
England.
4 A Modern Martyr * has all the charm and interest
of a novel. In variety of incident, in wealth of detail, in
careful analysis of character, it will not suffer by compari
son with the latest production of fiction. It is brimful of
human love and human interest. . . . Nothing so edifying
and inspiring has of late been recorded in our missionary
annals as the calmness and fortitude with which Theophane
Venard bent his neck under the stroke of the executioner s
axe in testimony of the faith delivered by the saints. "-
Catholic Transcript, Hartford, Conn.
Letter written by Fr. Venard from his Cage.
January 20, 1861.
My very dear, most honored and much-loved Father:
I have not had to endure torture like many of my friends. A slight
sabre-stroke will separate my head like the spring flower which the gar
dener cuts for his pleasure. We are all flowers planted on this earth,
which God gathers in His own time, one a little earlier and one a little
later. One is as the purple rose, another as the virgin lily, another the
humble violet.
From His Eminence, Cardinal Farley:
"I am very grateful to you for making me
acquainted with A MODERN MARTYR.
I think it is the most fascinating book I have
read in a long time. I can hardly put it out
of my hands, and have finished reading half of
it already. I have instructed the President of
our Cathedral College to place a copy in the
hands of each of our petits seminaristes, and I
feel convinced that no better book could be
given them for their spiritual reading."
NOTE.
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the title "A Modern Martyr," is a book of about 260 pp.,
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THOUGHTS FROM MODERN MARTYRS
Made up of short sentences from
Just de Bretenicres
Blessed Theophane J cnard and
Henry Dorie all iqth century martyrs and alumni of
the Paris Seminary for Foreign Missions.
Includes also a brief sketch of the life of each.
JUST DE BRETENIERE5
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contains 122 pages, printed in large, clear type, and is illus
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The Field Afar
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Practical editorials, touches of missionary life that ap
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TRIBUTES TO THE FIELD AFAR
The Field Afar is excellent. BISHOP CASARTELLI, Salford,
England.
I am of those who read it from Alpha to Omega. FATHER
FORBES,, Superior of White Fathers, Quebec, Canada.
It is certainly a well-edited paper. Do not fail to exchange
with us. REV. P. PAULO MANNA, M. AP., Editor Le Missioni
Cattoliche, Milan. Italy.
A completely new spirit, an object lesson for the whole
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HEV. H. BROWN, S. J., University College, Dublin, Ireland.
I rejoice to learn that the work of the missioners is being
made known in the United States through The Field Afar.
EDITOR OF ANTHROPOS, Vienna, Austria.
It is most interestingly conducted, the material and form
equally admirable. There is a variety and life in it which our
old countries in Europe have not yet known how to catch.
BISHOP MUTEL, Korea.
It is destined to promote a great and noble purpose, the
work of building up Christ in souls. The work to be performed
here is immense and only awaits missionary laborers and assist
ance, spiritual and temporal, from those to whom the Faith
1 as been preached for centuries. The Field Afar deserves every
encouragement and I shall recommend it to all our Catholics.
M. KENNELLY, S. J., Shanghai, China.
From the " Catholic Transcript," Hartford, Conn.
The Field Afar is a powerful youngster already rejoicing
in a large circulation of 15,000. It aims high and it is devel
oping a rapid stride. We predict that, within five years, another
cipher must be added to the three that stand at the right of
the "15" in order to give an adequate idea of the wonderful
growth of this most interesting monthly.
The success of the paper is an index to the progress of
the movement which it represents. The Catholic Foreign Mis
sion Society of America is in its infancy, but the cause to which
it is consecrated is as old as the Church. The harvest is ripe
and our people are not without the gift of apostolic charity.
The prosperous Church of the United States will not be true
to herself if she hesitates to take part in the perennial and
Heaven-imposed task of evangelizing the heathen. The Mis
sion Society has a glorious field and the laborers who have
already entered it are cultivating the soil with zeal and with a
prudence which gives earnest of a splendid harvest.
TRIBUTES TO THE FIELD AFAR
From " -I inei ica."
The Field Afar, a monthly published in the interests of
the Apostolic Seminary at Maryknoll, Ossining, X. Y., grows
in attractiveness with each new issue. There are sixteen pages
in this little publication, fourteen of them devoted to reading
matter and two to notices and advertisements. A personal
tuueh to all the articles puts The Field Afar in a class by
itself. Jt is most readable and most instructive
In reading the issue for April, we thought what an excellent
paper it is to put into the hands of our Catholic children,
whether attending the parish schools or the Sunday schools.
The fulness of Christian charity is never to be found in
the hearts of Catholics unless there be an expression of the
desire to spread the Kingdom of Christ throughout the world,
especially in those lauds whose inhabitants are still sitting in
the darkness of infidelity and the shadow of spiritual death.
Our fathers did their noble share in spreading the Faith when
they tarried it as a sacred treasure from the land of their birth
and planted it in all its vigor in the land of their adoption.
That the apostolic mission of a former generation was well
.lone, the marvelous expansion and present development in many
States of the I nion amply testify. The children of such sires,
to he worthy of their lineage, must do their share in propa
gating the Faith, and for this purpose a knowledge of what
is done or is planned to be don.- in mission fields is a prime
necessity.
Day after day we read of the departure of Protestants,
men and women, to foreign lauds to join the truly astounding
number of active workers belonging to the sects in all part.-
,,r the globe The eoff.-rs of their missionary societies are be
ing replenished by organized efforts to secure contribution*,
be they over so small, from all the churches that dot the land,
and by tlie colossal fortunes that are bequeathed lor the
furtherance of the same inspiring cause.
\merican Catholics give signs of waking up to that which
is in it-self a duty and the neglect of which will become a
greater reproach if they are less zealous than such as possess
only a tithe of that blessed heritage ol the Faith which all
Catholics possess in the fulness received I nmi Christ and the
\postles There are a score of ways in which zeal and interest
in the great cause of missionary development may be mani
fested. One of the simplest and the most direct, in which
even those may share whose income allows them to spend but
little, is the support of a paper like Tl Field Afar.
Catholic paper in the home is a perpetual mission, a paper
treating of the missions is an inspiration, an inspiration to
share the highest good that man can share with his tellow
man
From the " CdtJiolir fltninlitin." Jaffna. Ceylon.
T)ir Firlil .[fin- is the very bright, sparkling organ of t 1 .
Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America. We note with
extreme pleasure the founding and progress of this Society and
of its college for the training of American priests for the
foreign missions. The young Church in America proves its
vitality bv the truly Catholic zeal wit - which it as taken
u] this IK. hie work. We wish Maryknoll c.ods] d. and may the
example of the younger Church stir up the energies o! her elder
sister in the Hritish Isles .
Bernadette of Lourdes
(Authentic portrait Copyright by
PIERRE-BERXARD SOUBIROUS,
brother of Bernadette)
"A book of special interest to every American and
above all to every American nun." Cardinal Gibbons.
MISSION EDITION
Blue cloth, paper and binding of good grade, 14
half-tone illustrations $1.00
STANDARD EDITION
Paper and cloth binding, both of high grade, pure
gold stamping, hand-printed photogravure illustra
tions. Boxed $2.50
DE LUXE EDITION
Dark blue suede leather binding, pure gold stamp
ing and edge, hand-printed photogravure illustra
tions on real Japan vellum. Boxed .... $5.00
By special arrangement sold for the benefit of its work by
THE CATHOLIC
FOREIGN MISSION SOCIETY
MARYKNOLL, OSSINING, N. Y.
A LIST OF PAMPHLETS
The Mission Field of the Nineteenth Centurv
Cardinal Moran
The Catholic Foreign Mission Field
English Catholics and the Foreign Missions
A Sister of Charity in China
Chinese \\ ayside Tales
More Chinese Tales
( ardinal \ an^lian
St. Francis Xavier
Fr. Daniien
Catholic Church in Ja])an
Martyrs < if Japan
A Martyr of Japan ( Fr. Mastrilli)
The Religions of Japan
St. Peter Claver (The Apostle of the Xe^roes)
Lazarus, an Indian Martyr
The Religion of China
An American Ilindn on Hinduism
Catholic Missions
C atholic Missions in lapan
China and Knrea
Jesuit Missionaries in Northern India
Don I>osco
Indian Lan^ua^es and Early Catholic Missions
An Apology for Foreign Mission^
For further information address the
CATHOLIC FOREIGN MISSION SOCIETY
Maryknoll, Ossining P. O., N. Y.
Recent Mission Literature
With Christ in China Postpaid $1.00
By Rev. J. P. McQuaide, Ph. D.
Mission Literature in Foreign Languages
Theophane Venard in French Postpaid $0.60
Un Martire Moderno Postpaid .60
(Theophane Venard in Italian)
Books under the patronage of Mary knoll
Vocations to the Priesthood $0.10
Rev. F. X. Steinbrecher
Abide With Me 25
Short Catechism of Church History 25
Rt. Rev. Msgr. J. Oechtering
Why is Thy Apparel Red ? . . .60
Rev. M. F. Walz, C. P. P. S.
Bernadette of Lourdes 1.00
Translated by J. H. Gregory
The Church in Many Lands 1.00
Rev. J. J. Burke
The Shepherd of My Soul . . 1.00
Rev. C. J. Callan, O. P.
The Inner Life of the Soul 1.50
S. L. Emery
New Psalter of the Roman Breviary 1.50
Rev. L. C. Fillion, S. S.
Illustrations for Sermons and Instructions 2.00
Rev. C. J. Callan, O. P.
(POSTAGE EXTRA)
Address
The Catholic Foreign Mission Seminary
Maryknoll, Ossining P. O., N.Y.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT CATHOLIC MISSIONS
General
Christian Missions Marshall
The Workers are Few 7*>. Manna
Our Lord s Last \\ ill and Testament Dr. Alums
Mission Work in America
(a) Biographical and Historical:
An American Missionary
Xotes of a Missionary Priest in the Rocky Mountains
The Iroquois and the Jesuits
Catholic Pioneers in America Murray
Over the 1 lucky Mountains to Alaska
Indian Sketches I >e Smet
Sebastian Rasle
Life of Fr. Isaac Jogues, S. J.
Pioneer Priests of North America Fr. Campbell
Across Wildest America Fr. 1 >evine
Western Missions and Missionaries I >e Smet
Life of Bishop Machebeuf, Pioneer Priest of Xe\v Mex
ico, Colorado and t tah
Life of Very I lev. ]]. DeAndreis. First Superior of the
Congregation of the Mission in the United States
Missions <>t tin- Kocky Mountains
Missions among the American Indians
Fr. Lacomtx The Black-Kobe Yoyageur
( b ) Stories :
The Story of a Mission Indian
Lot Leslie s Folks Their Queer Adventures among the
French and Indians
Foreign
(a) Biographical and Historical:
A Modern Martyr
.lust <le Bretenii-res
The Ioininican Martyrs of Tonkin
First Martyrs of Holy Childhood Lady Herbert
Travels in Tartary and Thibet Hue
The Catholic Church in China Itev. B. "Wolferstan, S. J.
Life of \Vn. Colin. Founder and First Superior-den-
eral of the Society of Mary
Life of Bishop de Mazenod, Founder of the Oblates of
Mary Immaculate
The Lepers of Molokai Stoddard
The Catholic Missions of Southern Burma
Thoughts from Modern Martyrs
Dominican Missions and Martyrs in Japan
The Cross in Japan
Japanese Martyrs
Missions in Japan and Paraguay
St. Francis Xavier
Missionary Labors of Mgr. de Mazenod and the Oblates
The Apostle of Abyssinia
( b) Stories :
Love Your Knemies (A Tale of the Maori Insurrection)
Prince Arumiman (A Tale of India)
Maion (A Youth of Lebanon)
The Queen s Nephew <A Story of Early Japan)
The Cabin Boys (A Story for the Young)
Children of Mary (A Tale of the Caucasus)
Laurentia A Tale of Japan)
Chinese Lanterns Alice I >ease
The above lists have been prepared to suggest sources of
information and interest. The supply of Catholic mission
literature in English Is scant, but a growing demand will
doubtless stimulate the production of more books treating of
this vital subject.
For further information address the:
CATHOLIC FOREIGN MISSION SOCIETY,
Maryknoll, Ossining P. O., N. Y.
Maryknoll Outfit
for Mission Training
Sold only to Sisters and others interested in Mission Training
Price $3.50. Regular Price $7.00
Thoughts From Modern Martyrs $ .40
A Modern Martyr (Bl. Theophane Venard) 60
Stories From The Field Afar 60
Field Afar Tales 60
An American Missionary (Fr. Judge, S. J., in Alaska) .60
Theophane Venard (French) 60
The Martyr of Futuna (Bl. Peter Chanel, S. M.) 1.00
Bernadette of Lourdes 1.00
100 Prayer Prints 25
Chi Rho Pin 25
100 Post Cards 50
Set of Educational Cards 50
Half-tone engraving of Bernadette of Lourdes 10
Not including in above list but sold always at discount
of forty per cent to Clergy and Religious:
With Christ in China $1.00
Catholic Foreign Mission Society
Maryknoll, Ossining, N. Y.
43070