- The missionaries
- Difficulties in the vicariate of Jaffna
- Relations with Bishop Bravi, coadjutor and then Apostolic Vicar of Colombo
On August 10 and 11, 1847, Bishop Orazio Bettachini was passing through Marseilles and he asked Bishop de Mazenod to send some Oblates to Ceylon. At this time Bishop Bettachini, an Oratorian from the Congregation of Saint Philip Neri, had been a missionary in Ceylon for five years. In 1845, the Congregation of Propaganda had appointed him titular bishop of Toro and coadjutor to the Apostolic Vicar of Colombo, Bishop Gaetano Musulce, with responsibility for the northern part of the island.
This was the second request the Bishop of Marseilles had received for this part of the world. In 1846, Father Valentin, who was a missionary in Ceylon after he had left the Oblates, had written to the Founder requesting Oblates for Kandy where he was stationed. The Founder had informed Propaganda of this request and stated his willingness to send some priests. The reply of Propaganda, dated August 24, 1846 stated that four missionaries had been sent and that it was sufficient for the time being.
In 1847 Bishop de Mazenod’s response to Bishop Bettachini was enthusiastic and positive. On August 12, he informed Father Vincens, superior of Notre-Dame de l’Osier, of his decision. “What a field of labour is opening up before us! One million five hundred thousand Gentiles to be converted in the most beautiful country in the world. One hundred and fifty thousand Christians to be instructed; what an immense population, disposed by their goodness of character and their natural attraction for things religious to listen docilely to the voice of God’s messengers proclaiming the Good News to them; on the other hand, there is heresy to be warded off … How would it be possible to resist so many pressing motives and not respond with gratitude to cooperate powerfully in such a great good work? I have therefore accepted this new mission, one of the most beautiful in the world. I foresee that one day this great island will become an endowment which our Congregation will sanctify entirely.”
The Founder’s enthusiasm is explained by the fact that the needs of the country corresponded exactly to the ends of the Congregation: to regenerate a Catholic population which was abandoned and which needed instruction, and especially to proclaim the Gospel to “one million five hundred thousand Gentiles to be converted!”
But what a promise Bishop Bettachini had made to him? It is surprising to see that already the Founder foresaw, from the moment Ceylon was mentioned for the first time, that “this great island would one day become an endowment of our Congregation which it will sanctify entirely.”
The missionaries
In October 1847, Bishop Bettachini left for Ceylon with Father Semeria, who had been appointed superior of the Oblate group and his fellow Oblates: Fathers Keating, from Ireland and Ciamin from Nice, as well as Brother De Steffanis who came from Genoa. It seems that they were hoping to work with Father Reinaud in the central province but when they reached the island at the end of the year, Propaganda had put Kandy under the authority of Bishop Musulce and appointed Bishop Bettachini Apostolic Vicar of Jaffna in the north. Father Semeria did not hesitate to follow Bishop Bettachini to the north where there were already six Goan priests who were soon to join their compatriots in Colombo, two Spanish Benedictines, three priests from Lombardy and an Italian Oratorian.
It was doubtless in the hope of “sanctifying the whole of the island” that Bishop de Mazenod sent 31 Oblates to Ceylon from 1847 to 1861. Of these, 22 were French, 4 Irish, 4 Italian, and one Belgian. Three others were to enter the Congregation in Ceylon: Christophe Bonjean, Patrick Flanagan and Paul Poorey. There were, therefore, thirty-four Fathers and Brothers who ministered in Ceylon during those years. Seven had died before the end of 1861: Fathers Leydier, Ciamin, Lacombe, Flurin, and Crousel and Brothers Byrne and Poorey. Two others became ill and were sent back to France: Fathers Lallement and Vivier.
Writing to Propaganda on August 11, 1847, Bishop Bettachini informed them that he was leaving soon with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate but he wanted Propaganda to lay down the condition that they would depend on him and not on their superior in Marseilles. On the same day Bishop de Mazenod also wrote to the Roman Congregation telling them that he was sending Oblates to Jaffna on condition that “they would not depend on the caprice of the Goan priests but that they would work under the direction of Bishop Bettachini.”
These conditions were respected. Father Semeria always cooperated with Bishop Bettachini who made him his secretary. He accepted that Bishop Bettachini placed the three priests in three missions distant from one another: Father Semeria in Jaffna to the north, Father Ciamin in Mantotte to the west and Father Keating in Batticaloa to the East. Later, Father Semeria would see to it that the missionaries were allocated two by two in the missions. When the second group arrived, Fathers Semeria and Le Bescou were in Jaffna, Fathers Ciamin and Leydier in Point Pedro and Fathers Keating and Mouchel in Batticaloa.
Difficulties in the vicariate of Jaffna
The life of the Oblates in those first years of their sojourn was anything but easy. First of all, there were several outbreaks of cholera from 1850 to 1855 during which time there were many deaths among the Ceylonese and a few among the Oblates. The latter often risked their lives to administer the sacraments to the sick. There was another tragedy that saddened the missionaries and slowed down their work of evangelization: the Goan schism. When Bishop Bettachini first arrived in Jaffna, there was only one Goan priest left in the vicariate and he was soon joined by another who arrived directly from Goa. They proclaimed themselves proprietors of the churches and refused to allow the missionaries to enter. This happened in Mantotte, Mannar, Kayts and Jaffna where for some years a Goan priest took possession of the church of Our Lady of Refuge.
Relations between Bishop Bettachini and the Oblates were generally good whereas the bishop’s relations with Bishop de Mazenod tended to be strained. At first the latter complained that the Apostolic Vicar wanted all the grants from the Propagation of the Faith for himself. Starting in 1850, Bishop de Mazenod wrote numerous letters to the Congregation of Propaganda Fide and to Bishop Bettachini asking that Father Semeria be appointed coadjutor. Bishop Bettachini acknowledged that Father Semeria was the most likely person to succeed him but he believed that the appointment of a coadjutor was “premature and inopportune” because he was in good health and the vicariate was very scarce in priests. He held on. For his part, Bishop de Mazenod continued to insist because he wanted to ensure the position of his sons. In 1852, he wrote: “It would not be becoming for me if, at my death, I were to leave my Congregation with an uncertain future in a distant island as if they were merely missionaries.” Bishop Bettachini lost his patience and wrote a less than courteous letter to the Bishop of Marseilles who complained to Propaganda. Cardinal Franzoni then wrote to the Apostolic Vicar: “The letters which you write … are conceived in such terms as to cause suffering, as far as possible, to your correspondents… I urge you therefore to observe that Christian moderation which will refine this excessive ardour and bitterness of expression… which serves no purpose except to alienate minds and hearts.”
In all his letters to Propaganda, Bishop Bettachini continued to postpone until later his request for a coadjutor, but he was also consistent in saying that he would obey when Propaganda wished to give him one. On January 25, 1856 he finally accepted the decision of Propaganda but he reminded the Prefect: “The one thing I beg of you is that you do not give my incapacity as a reason or present arguments to convince me that I am a fool and an imbecile, because I would find that too painful.” As can be seen from these words, the Apostolic Vicar’s language that was not very polite and that he easily lost his patience. In fact he was not well loved. Father Semeria, in a courageous and charitable letter written on July 26, 1855, wrote: “Try to make yourself loved rather than feared by the missionaries and by the faithful.” On the previous day he had written to Propaganda that Bishop Bettachini “is inspired by a holy zeal” but “he is far from winning the hearts of the missionaries or the Christians and far from gaining the respect, affection and devotion which are so necessary for a superior who wants to do good.”
Bishop Semeria was appointed coadjutor in 1856 and then became Apostolic Vicar in 1857, on the death of Bishop Bettachini, which took place on July 22. He was then able to put into action the plans he had been making for so long. He established a team of missionaries, of which he himself often took charge, and he preached parish missions according to the traditional method of the Congregation, in the isle of Kayts, which was troubled by the schism, in Valigamme, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Jaffna. These missions proved to be as fruitful as those preached in Europe and Canada. He also worked on another point in his plans: providing schools and even a seminary in which to prepare catechists and priests.
In his report to the Chapter in 1861, Bishop Semeria wrote that there were 55,000 Catholics in the vicariate, distributed in 240 Christian units which formed eight missions or districts: Jaffna, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Mannar, Mantotte, Point Pedro, Valigamme and Kayts.
Relations with Bishop Bravi, coadjutor and then Apostolic Vicar of Colombo
The Apostolic Vicariate of Ceylon was erected in 1834 and divided in two vicariates in 1845. Bishop Antonio Gaetano Musulce was Apostolic Vicar in 1843. In 1849 he was given as coadjutor for Colombo, Bishop Bravi, a Sylvestrian Benedictine. In 1849 Bishops Musulce and Bravi asked the Congregation of Propaganda to send European missionaries but not from France. Propaganda could not find any Italian missionaries and so they transmitted the request to Bishop de Mazenod who gave a positive reply on December 18, 1850. He added, however: “I do not understand why Bishop Bravi so discourteously excludes French missionaries who are certainly not less zealous than others.”
In 1851, necessity obliged the two bishops to accept the four Oblates sent at the request of Propaganda: Fathers D. Pulicani, J.-P. Perréard, A, Duffo and L. Lallement. In some of their letters they explained why they wished to have Italians. Most of the missionaries in the vicariate were Oratorians from Goa (15 priests out of 19). The Oratorians had preserved the faith in Ceylon during the Dutch persecution. In 1835, religious institutes were suppressed in the Portuguese colonies and their properties were seized. The priests from Goa who remained in Ceylon were loved by the people but were now aged and not very zealous. They did not want to have any European priests but would accept the few Italians who were already in the vicariate. Besides, they did not like Bishop Bettachini and the vicariate of Jaffna. Bishop Bravi was anxious to maintain friendly relations with them and therefore he feared that the arrival of French Oblates, who were already installed in Jaffna, would bring unwanted interference in the affairs of Colombo. Besides, being a Sylvestrian, he wanted his Order to inherit the vicariate, but the vicariate was too poor in personnel for him to realize his plans. Although he did not refuse the Oblates imposed on him, he expressed clearly his views in their regard: “If the four missionaries must now come as promised, then let them come, but let them come simply as missionaries, alone, isolated, without the least idea of forming a mission for themselves or establishing a house of their Order.” Nevertheless Bishop Bravi assured Bishop de Mazenod that he would be a second father for the Oblates. In return he received the assurance that Father Semeria would only be nominally the superior of the young Oblates and that they should hide their Oblate crosses and be dispersed in poor and distant missions.
The four young priests, with no immediate superior, made no delay in the ardour of their youth and their zeal, to take initiatives that were more generous than prudent. In particular they decided, according to European custom, to give first Communion to young people and even to children, whereas the priests from Goa would often allow Christians to receive Communion only at the hour of death. This brought the fire of the Goans’ anger on their heads and then that of the bishops in the vicariate. Besides, in a long-drawn-out controversy between Bishops Bettachini and Bravi abothird
ut the ownership of certain missions such as Saint Anne of Talavila, Chilaw and Kurunagala, the Oblates in Colombo took up the defence of the vicariate of Jaffna, drawing upon themselves the anger of Bishop Bravi who promised never again to accept any Oblates in his vicariate even if it meant going to look for missionaries in Australia.
Bishop Bravi’s opposition to the Oblates increased towards the end of Bishop de Mazenod’s life. During a visit to Rome in 1851, the intuition had by the latter in1847 was confirmed by Monsignor Buratti, a secretary in Propaganda, who assured him that the whole of the island would be entrusted to the Oblates. In a meeting of Propaganda on April 2, 1855, one of the topics discussed was the advantage to be gained by entrusting the apostolic vicariates to religious Congregations who would be able to ensure the replacement of missionaries. The general opinion was that in the vicariate of Colombo the Sylvestrian Benedictines had few vocations and would not be able to undertake such a burden. It was therefore suggested that the Goan should be replaced gradually by the Oblates, one of whom would be appointed Apostolic Vicar.
Fortified by knowledge of this situation and by his own convictions, Bishop de Mazenod was insistent in his letters to Propaganda that other Oblates should be sent to the vicariate of Colombo where the climate was more healthy and in that way his sons would be better prepared to take over the vicariate. One of the secretaries of Propaganda informed Bishop Bravi of the content of these letters, which, in speaking to superiors, made judgements that were less than favourable to the vicariate of Colombo and to Bishop Bravi. That explains the displeasure of the latter. On the occasion of a visit to Rome in 1856 he obtained an assurance from Propaganda that the vicariate would remain in the hands of the Sylvestrines, who undertook to send missionaries. In 1863, three years after the death of Bishop Bravi, the Sylvestrian Bishop Sillani was appointed Apostolic Vicar of Colombo.
In 1861, the three Oblates who were left on the vicariate of Colombo after the departure of Father Lallement in 1856, were working in Kandy and Siyane Korale. In his report to the General chapter in 1861, Bishop Semeria had special praise for Father Pulicani, whose work had always been appreciated by Bishop Bravi. In the words of Bishop Semeria: “The witness given to the apostolic zeal and the qualities of Father Le Bescou, I owe to the worthy Father Pulicani who works with much zeal and success with Fathers Perréard and Duffo in the vicariate of Colombo. Because he makes himself all things to all, Father Pulicani is loved by all the native Christians and by the foreign Christians as well. He is equally respected by the Protestants and the Buddhists. Wherever he goes there are numerous and sometimes startling conversions; he is the instrument God uses to bring them about. Also, in all the missions which has directed, his departure has been deeply regretted and he has left imperishable memories.”
The desire of Bishop de Mazenod was realized in 1863 with the appointment to Colombo of Bishop Bonjean, o.m.i., The evangelization of the whole island was carried on by the Oblates until 1939 when the diocese of Chilaw was erected, separating it from the diocese of Colombo and entrusting it to the native clergy who were by then quite numerous.
Yvon Beaudoin, o.m.i.
