courier

Verbiest
Quarterly Bulletin
Verbiest Foundation Leuven • Vlamingenstraat 1 • B-3000 Leuven

summary
June 2018 • Vol. XXX

We commemorate Theofiel

Editorial
Editorial p.1
Jeroom Heyndrickx
Theofiel Verbist, founder of CICM, died 150 years Verbist, founder of CICM
ago. He has a message for all of us today p.4
Two important topics in this issue:
Jeroom Heyndrickx
The transfer of the mortal remains of Theofiel Theofiel Verbist 
Verbist To Belgium p.16
Pieter Ackerman and the agreement between
Will 2018 be the year of truth and
reconciliation for the Church in China? p.21 Pope Francis and China
Jeroom Heyndrickx
Jeroom Heyndrickx
Parolin, “Why we are in dialogue 
with China” p.23 150 years ago Theofiel Verbist, founder of the Congregation of the
Gianni Valente Immaculate Heart of Mary (also called “Missionaries of Scheut”) died
Cardinal Zen is just wrong p.26 in Laohugou (Tiger Valley – Hebei Province) in China. In this issue we
Michael Kelly publish some mostly unknown pictures on how his body was brought
back by boat from China, in 1931, and was solemnly welcomed in
With China, Vatican diplomats must make the Antwerp and in Scheut.
best of a bad situation p.28
Thomas Reese When Verbist suddenly died of typhus (23 Feb. 1868), less than three
China, the “underground” bishop: we will follow years after he arrived in China, the Chinese Christians insisted on
the Pope, because we trust the Lord p.30 keeping his body and bury it in the little church of their remote poor
Gianni Valente village of Laohugou. He had become one of theirs. The pictures of the
return of his coffin and the large crowds welcoming him back home
Photo report p.32 in 1931 remind us that Verbist and his confreres, when starting the

Students from the Chinese College (Leuven) place a “hata” on the coffin of Theofiel Verbist in Scheut. The Mongols welcome guests of
honor by putting a “hata”, i.e. a scarf, around the neck.

Verbiest Courier June 2018 

 CICM China Mission had left the Low Countries with the full
backing and support of their families and their home Church.
The same bishops, priests, religious and faithful of the Low
Countries welcomed his body back home in 1931. As a true
missionary he had grown roots both sides: in his home country
and his newly adopted country China. That is the message of
this issue.
But our commemoration still has another important meaning.
Originally Verbist’s China dream was very small and limited. He
dreamed only of going to China with a small group of dioce-
san priests of Brussels to open there an orphanage taking care
of abandoned children. That dream grew bigger only because
Rome and his own bishop insisted on it and advised him to
start a missionary congregation which became the “Missionar-
ies of Scheut”….Today, 150 years later, that congregation, CICM,
consists of 800 members not only from the Low Countries but
from 20 different countries. They are working in 26 different
countries in all continents on the earth. They, together with
all these local Churches now commemorate Founder Verbist.
They are inspired with Verbist’s missionary spirit which itself
has been enriched with the ideals of Vatican II living “Mission
to China” not as a movement from West to East as it was at the
time of Verbist, but living it as an activity of evangelization in
the whole modern world by all local Churches enriching and
confirming each other in faith. This is the meaning of Verbist’s
new China Mission Today.

A second photo-report illustrates that Theofiel Verbist’s dream
is alive today. It shows the respect with which he is remem-
bered not only by CICM missionaries who go on pilgrimage
to the village where he died but by Chinese and others who
come in pilgrimage to his tomb in Scheut praying for unity in
their Church.
Will Pope Francis sign an agreement with
Beijing?
The question has been raised in the media since several
months.  Some experts even announced precise dates, f.e. the
signing was supposed to happen during Holy Week. But all
this was, apparently, only speculation not based on solid in-
formation. Nobody seems know the time of the signing since
neither Beijing nor Rome have given us any indications. But we
do believe that an agreement on the appointment of bishops
will be signed in the near future. It appears that the time when
this will happen has not yet been fixed. The reason for this
“postponement”? We can only guess. Perhaps Rome is watch-
ing from afar the important evolutions that are taking place in
China in recent months, some of which are directly related to
religion and freedom of religion.
Already before the 19th Party Congress in October 2017 a new
set of more strict regulations for religious activities was pub-
lished. They are activated since February 1, 2018. There is ex-
traordinary stress on the need to “sinicize all religions” in Chi-
na. We still wonder about what is really meant by “sincization”.
Doubts about freedom of religion in China were raised when,
once again crosses were removed from churches; this time in
Xinjiang and more recently in Henan. During the “2 govern-
ment meetings” in March 2018 some important administrative
changes were introduced. The State Administration for Reli-
gious Affairs (SARA) which previously was under the govern-
ment is now directed by the UFWD (United Front). This means
that the Communist Party will from now on supervise and di-
rect all religious activities in the country. Some persons, previ-
ously known for their hardline decisions concerning churches
in China received an important promotion giving them author-
ity to supervise religion in China.
Maybe Rome is also observing these evolutions? The chang-
es in themselves, we think, do not allow anybody to decide
whether they will be for the better or worse of the Church.
An CICM delegation in Beijing in 2016, in conversation with Chinese bishops.
They will probably not change anything to the decision of
Rome to sign an agreement, so we believe. But it is obvious
and clear that China prepares a more strict control and super-
vision over religious activities. Nobody will be surprised when
we say that this worries all of us.
Verbiest Foundation is active with programs of exchange with
China in the field of academic research and cooperation with
the Church in China. Since two years we have been discussing
several projects of cooperation and exchange. From now on
we will obviously take into account the changes that take place
in China but we do not see the need to change the proposals
that are on the table (see picture). Just as Rome hopes that
signing an agreement will be for the good of the Church, so we
hope that cooperation in the academic and pastoral fields will
be for the good of both partners involved. Our dialogue goes
on, on the basis of equality and mutual respect. That is crucial.
Verbiest Courier June 2018 
 Theofiel Verbist, founder of CICM,
died 150 years ago. He has a 
message for all of us today
Jeroom Heyndrickx

As we commemorate Theofiel Verbist we wish to understand his message to us today. We first answer two
questions
1. About Verbist himself and the disastrous start of CICM in Xiwanzi (China).
2. How did CICM survive in China after Verbist died and what did CICM achieve there? And how is CICM
doing today?
Then we answer the question
3. What is Verbist’s message 150 years after his death?

CHAPTER 1
WHO WAS THEOFIEL VERBIST?
HOW DID HIS PLAN COME ABOUT TO START A MISSIONARY CONGREGATION ?
WHY DO WE CALL THE START OF HIS MISSION DRAMATIC AND EVEN DISASTROUS?

Theofiel Verbist was born in Antwerp (June 12, 1823) and or-
dained a priest in the diocese of Malines where he was as-
signed as student supervisor in the Minor Seminary, then as
chaplain of the Military School, also chaplain of the Sisters of
Namur (Brussels) and finally as director of the Holy Childhood
Work in Malines Diocese.
This last appointment brought him in direct contact with the
needs of missionaries working for abandoned children in Chi-
na. It confirmed in him the missionary vocation which he had
already felt several years before. He shared that dream with
Alois Van Segvelt his friend and colleague priest in Mechelen.
Later both of them lived in Brussels. In 1860 the media spread
the news that, thanks to a treaty between China England and
France (China calls it the “Unequal Treaty”) missionaries would
be allowed to evangelize in China. This accelerated Verbist’s
plan which was in fact quite limited. All they were dreaming of
was to go to China, work there under a bishop in one diocese
and set up an orphanage to take care of aban-
doned children. Two more friends – Remi Verlin-
den and Frans Vranckx -- assistant parish priests in
Brussels, also joined them.
hundreds of missionaries would leave later to evangelize
around the world, stood an old chapel where since the 1400’s
people came on pilgrimage to “Our Lady of Grace”. And even
more significant was the fact that centuries before that Car-
thusian monks had a monastery there, where they lived a life
of meditation and prayer. Verbist’s missionary congregation
found its early roots in a place of prayer and meditation.
From the very beginning Verbist, who was the founder and
superior of the new missionary community, called on the bish-
ops, priests and faithful of Belgium, asking them to join as
missionaries or to support this new initiative. Already in 1861,
one year even before his plan to found a religious congrega-
tion was finalized, he and Van Segvelt sent out a folder to all
faithful in Belgium calling on their support. It shows that he
wanted his project to be carried and supported by the whole
local Church. Verbist travelled to the Netherlands seeking also
vocations there; and immediately some Dutch candidates

But the cardinal of Malines did not find his plan

realistic. Also Rome told Verbist that working
with such a small group under a bishop in China
was not practical. More contacts with his bishop
in Malines and also with the Propaganda Fide in
Rome changed his original plan of a “Belgian Mis-
sion in China” into the foundation of a missionary
congregation called “Congregation of the Immacu-
late Heart of Mary” (CICM), also called Missionar-
ies of Scheut. Scheut is the name of the district in
Anderlecht (Brussels) where the new, still small,
community obtained a plot of land to build their
motherhouse. That event in itself was meaningful
and symbolic because on that land, from where
Part of Xiwanzi as it was when Founder Verbist arrived


A chapel in a
cave dwelling
in Xiwanzi in
the 1800’s
joined. It was not to be a “Belgian Mission” any more. The
little “China Mission Dream” of Verbist had become a Mission
Project of diocesan priests from the Low Countries supported
by their Local Church. Rome appointed them to evangelize in
Inner Mongolia, the North of China, where French Vincentian
missionaries had so far been working. Because of lack of per-
sonnel Vincentian superiors in Paris wanted to leave part of
their huge Mission territory to other missionaries.
The CICM Mission in China had a very
dramatic, even disastrous start
In August 1865 four CICM missionaries – 3 from Belgium one
from Holland – left Scheut together with one lay assistant. They
travelled by steam boat from Europe to Hong Kong, Shanghai,
Tianjin and Beijing arriving in December at their destination,
the Catholic village Xiwanzi (then part of Inner Mongolia) after
travelling more than 100 days. They were tired to death but
they happily sang the “Te Deum” in the Church where they
were welcomed by the faithful, the priests and missionaries in
Chinese sisters washing clothes for the orphans in Xiwanzi
Xiwanzi. Their arrival was celebrated Chinese style with music,
firecrackers….
Geographically they had travelled a long distance. Soon they
would experience – especially 3 of them who were over 40
years old -- that culturally and pastorally the distance from St
Michael’s cathedral in Brussels to Xiwanzi in China was even
much longer. In Brussels they had lived a rather comfortable
life as parish assistants. They generously accepted the chal-
lenge of Mission in China but without fully realizing how hard
life would become for them. Spiritually they were fully pre-
pared for that. Humanly and culturally perhaps very little or
not at all…That shows the measure of their vocation…blindly
accepting the calling and go….
But shortly after their arrival and warm welcome in Xiwanzi
they already ran into an unexpected surprise… Totally unex-
pected, and against the mutual understanding, the Vincentian
missionaries withdrew from Inner Mongolia only months after
the arrival of CICM. “Lack of personnel” was the reason why the
Vincentian superiors had wanted to transfer Inner Mongolia to
the care of CICM. But their missionaries in the field disagreed
and were not happy to leave Xiwanzi. Soon after the four CICM
missionaries had arrived the Vincentian missionaries decided
to leave. Several diocesan priests and most of the seminari-
ans joined the Vincentian congregation and left also. That was
a shock which caused confusion for CICM and the faithful in
Xiwanzi! But Founder Verbist was a wise and generous man
who avoided misunderstanding and conflict. He allowed the
Chinese diocesan priests to stay or to leave as they wished.
He did not object when missionaries took along sacred vessels
from the churches, ornaments, books and even furniture. Im-
mediately Verbist and his companions started to send out let-
ters to benefactors in Europe to replace what was taken away
so that they could equip their churches and chapels which, as
they said were “indicent” and “bare”….That’s how the 4 CICM
pioneers took over their mission stations…not quite as they
had expected…
Four CICM missionaries were left alone with the care of a huge
mission territory, taken care of before by the 14 missionaries
who left. The newly arrived CICM’s did not even know the lan-
guage yet nor did they understand properly the situation in
which they lived. They were helped by 6 young
newly ordained Chinese priests with who they
communicated in Latin and also by catechists and
virgins whose language they did not understand.
Only a few seminarians were left in the seminary.
The communication between the missionaries
and their Chinese community happened in broken
Latin, yet they had to make decisions on situations
which they hardly understood.
From the beginning there was a problem of fi-
nances: some unpaid bills and debts…These
soon emptied their financial reserves. The mon-
ey which Verbist had brought along was spent
in no time. He had to start immediately begging
for money and also for more personnel from Bel-
gium. Barely two months after arriving in Xiwanzi
Verbist urgently wrote: “We are without a penny
and we have to face great needs”. But he received
the shocking news from Scheut that they too had
Verbiest Courier June 2018 
 unexpected financial problems. They even had
already used money from the small “reserve
fund” which they were not even supposed to
touch.

These material and financial problems would

even get much worse. As of mid 1866 there
had been no rain which caused drought and
famine that very first year of the CICM’s stay in
Xiwanzi. This continued all through the year
1867. There was no harvest, no food. Prices for
food doubled and tripled. Verbist wrote again
urgently “our poor people are happy to eat the
skin of millet and leaves of trees”. He ran en-
tirely out of money and was so disappointed
that he had to close an orphanage and refuse
to accept new orphans…yet these were the
priority institutions for which he had come to
China….He wrote to the Holy Childhood for Florent Clayes CICM guiding a procession in the steppe in Boro Balghasu
help. In that letter he mentions that in a few
weeks time more than 70 orphans had died…By October 1866, got sick himself and died on April 1867, only little over a year
still confronted with famine the financial crisis had become so after he had arrived in China. One can imagine the sadness this
harsh that he had to consider to borrow money for 30% to 40% loss caused for his close friend Verbist and the other members
percent yearly…They were nearing financial disaster! of the CICM pioneers. Much less did they realize that even a
bigger sacrifice was awaiting them….
At the same time Verbist had to deal with even more delicate
and complex problems than the financial ones. The spirit among The first Mission Visitation of Verbist…his
Chinese priests and seminarians was no good. The few priests
and seminarians who were left behind were influenced by false
Way of the Cross…his ultime sacrifice…
rumors that were spread by some of the priests who had left In January 1868 Verbist thought that, two years after he had
Xiwanzi. The seminarians were warned that they faced a dark, arrived he should make his first mission visitation. He lived
hopeless future. They would even never be ordained priests in Xiwanzi, in the middle of Mongolia. He needed to explore
because Theofiel Verbist, so they said… had prepared dozens also the Eastern and Western parts of this huge territory. He
of missionaries who would come from abroad to take over all knew that winter weather would still continue for months but
the work so that they would need no Chinese priests at all. The time pressed and he chose not to postpone it. He would travel
opposite was true of course but these false rumors had a nega- to Eastern Mongolia as far as the Black Waters where Hamer
tive effect upon the atmosphere and discipline in the seminary. lived. But he would cover first only part of that distance trav-
Verbist suffered. Seriously hampered by his inability to speak elling to Laohugou (Tiger Valley) a small Catholic village. That
Chinese he had to intervene and convince the priests and sem- first visitation of Verbist became a real ordeal: a trip of 330
inarians telling them that the opposite was true. He painfully km in winter weather, over icy and snowy mountain roads ac-
tried to regain trust and confidence by communicating in Lat- companied only by one catechist and a horsecart driver. Trav-
in…a language which most of them barely understood. elling in a horsecart was tiring. The horses could hardly climb
the icy mountain roads…often he had to walk in the cold…
Having arrived only in December 1865, Verbist and his con- and descending was even more dangerous… They passed the
freres were from the beginning of 1866, all through 1867 con- nights in poor, cold inns along the way, sleeping on hard beds
fronted with the above described critical and confusing situa- with bedding infested with lice. That’s how he got the sickness
tion, financial and otherwise. There had never been question of typhus himself…Tired, with high fever he arrived after 11
of a gradual introduction into their Mission work via a friendly, days at the small Catholic village of Laohugou (Tiger Valley)
welcoming environment. Yet, little did they realize that the where he died only seven days later….Fr. Mathias Zhang, who
drama of the beginning two years would soon turn into dis- was preaching in a mission 30 travelling hours away, hurried
aster. to Laohugou and came just in time to anoint the dying Father
Verbist. A confrere who came from much farther arrived late…
Fr. Alois Van Segvelt had been a friend of Verbist since his ear-
lier years in the seminary of Malines. It was with Van Segvelt The Christians of Laohugou had prepared to welcome Verbist
that Verbist first shared his missionary dream and Alois joined who had told them in advance that the day after his arrival
him immediately. Once they arrived Van Segvelt was sent to he would hear confessions, then they would celebrate. Instead
the far Eastern part of Mongolia 400 km away from Xiwanzi. they now had to prepare his funeral. Their joy turned into
His departure was painful because communication would be- mourning…The road which he travelled, 330 km over icy roads,
come most difficult, yet with all the problems they had Van had become his Way of the Cross…Until today local Christians
Segvelt remained his closest adviser. However in the Catholic remember and commemorate this. They even investigate to
village where Van Segvelt was living – Xiamiaoergou – typhus know exactly which roads Verbist travelled…considering it as
broke out in early 1867. Van Segvelt took personally care of a possible Pilgrimage Itinerary they wish to travel themselves
the children in his orphanage who were sick with typhus. He (cfr infra).

In 27 months Verbist experienced 4 main
hardships his missionaries would meet in
China
The news of his death shocked the faithful in Xiwanzi. Togeth-
er with Verbist the faithful, seminarians and priests had faced
shortage of personnel, famine and other crises. Through all
these hardships they had learned to love this kind and gener-
ous Father Verbist. Now the whole mission was in mourning
praying daily in their church…. Months later the news shocked
the confreres in Scheut and the Church in the Low Countries..…
It was a lethal blow to the young CICM China Mission. Every-
body wondered whether CICM in China would survive. Did
they survive? Yes they did. They survived in China and did to-
day remaining inspired by the example of their founder.
Overlooking this short span of Verbist’s mission experience it
is remarkable to note that in these 27 months of time he faced
the 4 main hardships which his missionaries would have to
CHAPTER 2
HOW DID CICM SURVIVE IN CHINA AFTER VERBIST DIED?
WHAT DID CICM ACHIEVE IN CHINA?
HOW IS CICM DOING TODAY?
The sudden and unexpected decease of the Founder of CICM
brought the small community in crisis. Many questions about
the ‘religious life’ as well as the Mission in China were not yet
settled. Yet the young community showed great courage in the
common search for solutions. Only after the period from 1868
up to 1885 and thanks to the skillful leadership of Jaak Bax
(Weelde), of Frans Vranckx (Antwerp) and especially of Jeroom
Van Aerselaer (Hoogstraten) the Scheut Community found its
balance. During these years the community had been grow-
ing noticeably. Rome had extended significantly their mission
territory in China. As from 1874 CICM had become in charge
of the evangelization in the whole North of China: from Man-
churia (N-E China) till Inner-Mongolia, Gansu, Xinjiang until Yili
(N-W China) over a distance of 4.000 kilometers. This whole
region belonged to the less developed areas of China. There
were hardly any roads. Missionaries travelled hundreds of kilo-
meters on horse-back or mounted on a mule or camel.
Fr. Rutten cicm and Fr. J. Desmet cicm at the Normalschool of Nanhaoqian
deal with during the years after him, in China and elsewhere:
1. Learning the language. He experienced the hardship of
not knowing the local language.
2. Formation of priests. Lack of personnel made him feel
powerless in front of so much work. It made him realize
the priority need of the formation of qualified local priests
to take over the mission of CICM.
3. Option for the poor. He lived with his people through ex-
treme poverty.
4. Health care. He and Van Segvelt were the first two victims
of the 88 CICM victims who died of typhus.
The “story of CICM in China” – that follows here after -- reveals
that the 679 CICM’s who walked in the footsteps of Verbist be-
came famous for their efforts to learn the Chinese language
well, for organizing a solid formation program of Chinese
priests in seminaries, for their option for the poor (their care
for the poor farmers & health care through hospitals), for pro-
ducing a vaccin to fight typhus.
Together with the Chinese peasants and Mongol nomads, they
cooperated in the whole of North China beyond the Great Wall
to build up local church-communities. They cooperated to de-
velop agriculture, education, sick-nursing, combating epidem-
ics and by scientific research. That was “development aid avant
la lettre”.
250 Scheut Fathers died in China and were buried there.
Among these were 88 who died mostly at an early age from
typhus. They aided the inhabitants in their fight against the big
gangs of robbers. They built six meters high protection walls
around more than 200 villages to protect the people against
attacking robbers who plundered the villages every year as of
September after the crops had been harvested.
CICM Missionaries built up Boro Balghasu,
the first Mongol Christian community ever.
Catholic missionaries had been working
among Mongols since the 14th century. First
the Franciscans, then the Jesuits, next came
the Lazarists. However, never had a Catholic
Mongol community been established. In this
the Scheut Fathers succeeded.
In 1874 Remi Verlinden (Heffen) and Alfons De
Vos (Mesen W.VL.) journeyed to the Mongols in
Ordos and founded Boro Balghasu, a Catholic
Mongol village. Mgr. Alfons Bermyn (Sint Pau-
wels, O.VL) continued to build up the Ordos
Mission. The village was plundered several
times and destroyed during the Great March
of the communist army. In that fire Bermyn lost
his priceless Mongol manuscript of a dictionary
with thousands of Mongol words and expres-
sions. It was the research work done by Bermyn.
Verbiest Courier June 2018 
 many religious worked in 212 remote villages
in Inner Mongolia and served 600 substations.
They attended to wounded persons and sick
people among the local population. Gravely
sick people were brought to the hospital in
Suiyuan.

Fight against infectious

diseases, epidemics, typhus
- 88 Scheut Fathers died in Mongolia of typhus;
78 among them were less than 45 years old.
- In 1917 five Scheut Fathers died as a result
of bubonic plague and hemorrhage of the
lungs in Inner Mongolia. All were infected
while caring for their Christians. Piet Mar-
shal (Lummen) 33 yrs; Henri Spierings (Oss,
Fr. J. Vandeputte, Superior General visiting a Catholic school in Balagai in 1948 Holland) 41 yrs; Jules Anicq (Nukerke) 48
yrs; Frans De Boeck (Buggenhout) 54 yrs and
Antoon Mosteart, Henry Serruys and other Scheut Fathers be- Maurice Seys (Ieper) 28 years old.
came world-renowned experts in the study of the Mongol lan- - In 1931 Fr. Joseph Rutten, cicm invited Dr. Weigl to come
guage and culture. The mission is still flourishing today. The from Lwow (Poland) to Beijing to produce a vaccine against
Mongol family Ma counts two priests and two religious, one typhus. Dr. Zhang Han-ming of KULeuven and Dr. Gaydos co-
of them, Mgr. Joseph Ma Zhong-mu, is now the officially not operated in this. Since then no more missionaries died of
recognized bishop of the Mongols in China. There are now typhus.
five young Mongol priests in Boro Balaghsu. Never have there
been so many Mongol priests as today.

A network of schools
CICM Missionaries realized in North China a network
of schools that were accessible for everybody also
for girls, which was at that time epoch-making. In 20
years’ time after their arrival in 1865 they had already
established some 40 small schools. Joseph Rutten,
cicm (Clermon s. Berwinne) was the thriving force
behind many works of the Scheut Fathers in those
years. He did pioneer work in the training of men and
lady teachers by establishing, among others, a Catho-
lic normal-school (Nanhaoquan-Xiwanzi). In the year
1930 and upwards the Scheut Fathers were directing a
thousand small schools with a total of 25,320 pupils
in North China. Dr. Geens cicm & Carlo van Melckebeke & ICM sisters in Catholic hospital
Hohhot
Public Health
In 1921 Leo Vendelman cicm (Gierle) built at the re-
quest of Joseph Rutten (Clermont s. Berwinne) the
Catholic Hospital at Suiyuan (Hohhot) within a circuit
of 600 km the only hospital that could provide special-
ized medical help: 120 beds – equipped for surgery,
radiographic and ophthalmic examination, obstetrics
– electrotherapy – pharmacy – laboratory. Training
school for male and female nurses.
There were 19 missionaries active in the hospital
among also Fr. Dr. Gustaaf Geens cicm (Heist-op-den-
Berg, KULeuven ) , 13 ICM Sisters of de Jacht (Heverlee),
2 Chinese doctors (of Aurora University in Shanghai
with specialized formation at the KULeuven, Belgium)
together with an American doctor of the KULeuven. Fr.
Carlo van Melckebeke (Brussels) and Fr. Frans Peeters,
both cicm, were the successive directors. Health care in Mission stations & School for nurses run by ICM Sisters in
In total, 400 Chinese priests and missionaries and as Hohhot in the 1920’s

Binding up of the feet of girls -
Fight against opium
Already since the 1800’s missionaries of Xiwanzi forbade the
binding up of the feet of little girls. Making a stand against
such old custom was risky, for there was a lot of opposition.
Any form of use of opium was severely forbidden in the Catho-
lic Mission. It was known at that time in Inner Mongolia. Every-
where opium was growing. But not in the region of Hetao
(Ordos). There where the fields of the Christians started one
could see only grain-fields.
Agricultural development
Irrigation of farming-land
The steppe was cultivated with hoe, ox and cart. The Scheut
Fathers built irrigation canals, using water from the Yellow Riv-
er to make the soil fertile. Alfons De Vos (Mesen) and Edward
Cuissart (Chimay) were living in a Mongolian tent for months;
they bought a canal choked up with sand with adjacent plots of
land and started digging canals. In 1905 Jan Terstappen (Neer,
Holland) and Urbain Maes (Meulebeke) developed a whole ir-
rigation system that in 1925 together with the small branches
was 743.4 km long. People called them “Kings of Houtao” and
“the Canal-diggers”. Thanks to this irrigation, wheat, millet,
buck-wheat, oats, fruit and vegetables could be grown in the
fields of Houtao. In 1926 the Catholic Mission transferred the
care for the canals to the Provincial Irrigation Bureau. New
kinds of potatoes were imported from Belgium and Holland.
Barley also was valued very much. Belgian linen, corn, clover
and hop provided good proceeds.
Forestry
Ordos was a territory without trees. The Scheut Fathers want-
ed to show that reforestation was possible. The Mongols
called them “the tree planters”. Travelers who observed a strip
of trees at the horizon knew that this was a Catholic mission
station.
CICM built an irrigation system of 743 km to develop agriculture
Agricultural development in Inner Mongolia organized by CICM
missionaries
Cattle-breeding
Each mission station lent out annually some twenty, up to
thirty animals to the poor peasants. In 1878 Remi Verlinden,
cicm (Heffen, Antwerp) walked for 20 days through the Ordos
steppe guiding a herd of one hundred cattle which he bought
in Baotou at a distance of 300 km. The cows were intended for
the Chinese and Mongol peasants of his region whose cattle
had perished during the famine.
Scientific Research
In 1947 the Scheut Fathers established the Verbist Academy
in Beijing (the name referred to the Founder Theofiel Verbist).
CICM scientists, mostly self-made experts, did scientific re-
search there. They cooperated also with the research of Teil-
hard de Chardin and Emile Licent. All this was abruptly stopped
in 1949. The rich library of Karel De Jaegher cicm (Bruges) per-
ished.
Here below follow only a few names of these CICM experts
(the whole list would be more than 40 names). We mention
the name and 1 of their publications to refer to the area of
their research.
CICM scholars at entrance of Verbist Academy in Beijing (1948)
Verbiest Courier June 2018 
 Publications about language, literature, philosophy, culture,
and history of China
• Joseph Mullie (Sint Denijs): « The structural principles of
the Chinese Language »
• Willem Grootaers (St Servaas), director Geographic-Lin-
guistic Research-bureau
• Louis Kervyn (Hooglede) discovered the first inscriptions
of the “Kitan” language.
• Jozef Jennes (Mariaburg) “The history of the religious in-
struction in China”.
• Joseph Schyns (Gemmenich) «  Novels to read novels to
banish »
• Martien van Oss (Dreumel NL.) « The Religions in China”
Publications about the language, the history and the culture of
the Mongol people
• Antoine Mostaert (Brugge) « Dictionnaire Ordos », and «
Textes Oraux Ordos »
• Louis Schram (Brugge) «Le Mariage chez les T’ou Jen du
Kan-Sou»
• Henri Serruys (Heule) « The Mongols in China during the
Hung-Wu period »
• Joseph Van Hecken (Aartselaar): « Les Missions chez les
Mongols aux temps modernes »
Cartography directed by CICM missionaries
Minor seminary in Sanshenggong in 1933

Geography, cartography, medicine
• Raphaël Verbrugge (Beveren-Waas) « Au Pays des Tchakars »
• Florent De Preter (Deurne) published in 1905 the first map
of Jehol.
• Joseph Rutten (Clermont s/ Berwinne) fighting the typhus
with Dr. Weigle
Chinese priests and bishops
The local Church in China took over the work of the Scheut
Fathers. Minor Seminaries were opened in some ten missions
in the whole of North China. Major Seminaries were built in
Datung and Suiyuan. When Mao Zedong came into power
245 Scheut Fathers were expelled from China and 257 Chinese
priests took over the work of the Scheut missionaries in North
China.
Chinese bishops took charge of the dioceses
Mgr. Chao (Bp of Chifeng as of 1932), Mgr.Evarist Zhang (Bp of
Wumeng as of 1927)
Mgr. Melchior Zhang (Bp of Xiwanzi as of 1951), Mgr. Francis-
cus Wang Xueming (in Bp of Hohhot as of 1951)
Mgr. Fan Heng-an,
bishop of Wumeng
Seminarians at the entrance of the seminar, 1938
Many sacrificed their lives as martyrs
During the rebellion of the Boxers in 1900, 2000 Christians and
1 Chinese priest were killed. Also Mgr. Ferdinand Hamer and
still 8 other Scheut Fathers died as martyrs.
The CICM martyrs who died during the Boxer Rebellion
When Mao Zedong took power in 1949, 245 Scheut Fathers
had to leave the country. Many of them were imprisoned for
months, where they were tortured before they were expelled.
12 Scheut Fathers lost their lives during that period: some were
murdered, others died in prison or shortly their release from
prison. Fr. J. Schyns and Dries Van Coillie and several others
wrote down their experiences. Some published it. The book
“I was brainwashed” by Dries Van Coillie was translated in 15
languages. He delivered more than 1000 lectures in Italy, Ger-
many, England, France during the years 1960-70.
Today CICM is an International Community
of Missionaries
Theofiel Verbist dreamed initially only of going to China to-
gether with a small group of friends-priests to start an orphan-
age and take care of abandoned children. Even when his supe-
riors – in Malines and in Rome -- asked him to enlargen the
project and start a congregation, he still limited at first the
scope of the congregation to evangelization “by priority” –
CHAPTER 3
EVEN TODAY VERBIST HAS A MESSAGE TO CICM AND TO THE CHURCH OF CHINA
IT COMES TO US FROM XIWANZI FROM LAOHUGOU AND FROM SCHEUT
We read in the biographies of Verbist that he was known as
a very kind man who constantly strived to develop a heartfelt
unity and confraternity among the confreres. Spreading a spir-
it of “One Heart One Soul” was a concern which is expressed in
all his letters. That later became the official moto of the CICM
missionary congregation. More important even, the phrase is
borrowed from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts IV, 32), describing
CICM has become an international community
though not exclusively – to China. But already in the 1880’s his
successors were challenged to widen the scope and also in-
clude Congo. Only a few years later Scheut accepted to go to
the Philippines, then to Indonesia etc…Still, during all those
years almost all members of CICM were Europeans. Their first
missionary priority was to establish local Churches by the for-
mation of diocesan priests, without inviting young men in mis-
sion countries to join CICM. As of the 1950’s however more
young candidates in several local Churches knocked at the
CICM door applying to join CICM. At first novitiates were
opened in the Philippines, in Congo and in the USA. Finally at
the Chapter of Albano (1974) CICM formally became a commu-
nity of missionaries from all different nationalities and cultures
sharing the same missionary vocation. Today there are 800
CICM missionaries from more than 10 different nationalities
and cultures, living in their communities the Universal Brother-
hood of the gospel which they preach. They preach the gospel
in 26 different countries of Africa, Asia, South & North Ameri-
ca, Europe. They are all inspired by the missionary ideal of
Founder Theofiel Verbist.
how the early Christians lived among them the unity in faith
for which Christ himself prayed so fervently before he died (cfr
John XVII). This message of Verbist also joins the call of Pope
Francis to the Church in China which is living through histori-
cal times. Its internal unity has been tested since more than 60
years. Restoring and keeping that unity is clearly the priority
concern of the Church in China today and of Pope Francis him-
Verbiest Courier June 2018 
 Xiwanzi

the faithful of Xiwanzi with the rest of China and even of the
CICM international community meeting in Beijing with Chinese
Church in China. The call to live Christian faith again in a “One
bishops
Heart One Soul” unity with all faithful comes to them as well
today from the Gospel, from the tomb of Theofiel Verbist and
self. This call of Verbist comes to us today from the three places from Pope Francis.
which played a historical role in his life and death: Xiwanzi
where he started, Laohugou where he died and was first bur- The faithful of Xiwanzi, using their own means and expertise,
ied, Scheut (Brussels) where his tomb is today. The historical have just completed the reconstruction of their beautiful ca-
background of these three places in itself adds special mean- thedral. Their village – officially called Chonglixian – will in
ing and strength to the message of Verbist. 2022 be the scene for the skie-events of the Winter Olympics
which are planned to take place in Chonglixian. The whole of
Xiwanzi, where Verbist started
his mission has a history that
goes back as far as the 18th cen-
tury. It became a Catholic village
because Catholic faithful in the
past escaped from Beijing after
suffering persecution. They went
to hide in that mountain village.
More recently Xiwanzi has ex-
perienced very dramatic times
when, in December 1946, the
village was attacked and when
200 of the Catholic faithful were
killed, about a hundred others
including priests were taken
away and never returned. The
cathedral, seminary and more
buildings were destroyed. Un-
derstandably, this drama broke
the unity of the community of Laohugou (Tiger Valley)


Scheut
China, even of the whole world through TV, will focus on Xi-
wanzi. Would it not be a time of glory for the Church in Chi-
na and also for the whole country if during these games they
could welcome international Catholic guests in their cathedral
and celebrate their faith “One Heart One Soul” together with
the Universal Church? This is a dream but it is also a challenge
to be realized!
Laohugou is the place where Verbist died. It is also a very small
Catholic village where Catholics lived since the 18th century
and it also had its own dramatic history. Fr. Peter Lin Daoyuan,
a Chinese diocesan priest – who was personally involved in the
dramatic start of CICM in Xiwanzi -- died a martyr in Laohugou
in the 1891. Fr. Joseph Segers CICM was killed there during the
Boxer uprising in 1900.
Scheut is a district in the city of Brussels. From there, since
1865 till 1949, 679 CICM missionaries left for China. They were
the ones who worked there in the whole of North China. 250
still lay buried there. Today pilgrims pray there at the tomb of
Verbist as we report here below.
The history of these 3 places – Xiwanzi, Laohugou (Tiger Val-
ley) and Scheut -- invites faithful today to pray to restore unity
in “Cor Unum et Anima Una” with the Church. Faithful of Lao-
hugou even dream of making the road which Verbist walked
as his “way of the cross” into a pilgrimage road….
The road from Laohugou to Xiwanzi, a pil-
grimage itinerary for unity
After their past painful experiences, today the faithful of Xi-
wanzi have rebuilt their cathedral. Pilgrims from Europe, from
Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong came to pray for unity in
their Church restoring it to the “One Heart One Soul” spirit of
days gone by. They travelled also on pilgrimage to Laohugou
(Tiger Valley). Already in 2008 Cardinal Danneels (Malines) and
several bishops from Belgium also prayed there for unity. Six
CICM missionaries came in 2017 on pilgrimage praying in both
Laohugou where Christians happen to celebrate with the “of-
ficial Church community” and to Xiwanzi, where the faithful
belong to the “unofficial Church community”. Could there be
a more meaningful itinerary for a pilgrimage in China today
than walking or riding the road from from Laohugou to Xi-
wanzi and praying for unity? That question was raised at first
several years ago.
In 2012 CICM commemorated the 150th anniversary of the
congregation. Groups from Belgium, Singapore and Taiwan
planned to come on pilgrimage. We went to Laohugou to pre-
pare these pilgrimages with Fr. Li Shoushan, parish priest of
Chengde. Together we wondered: would it be possible to in-
vite pilgrims to travel by bus, or partly walk the road between
Laohugou and Xiwanzi which was followed by Verbist in 1868?
That could be a meaningful pilgrimage, we thought. But how
could we know which road Verbist followed in 1868? Several
roads were possible and today there are even new roads. We
were unable to investigate that history in time…..
The graphic shows the
road which Fr. Verbist
has probably followed
according to the
Tiger-Valley research
team
Verbiest Courier June 2018 
 Later on Fr. Joseph Li Shoushan 2nd day: from Mensanying to
himself formed a team with some chicheng: 41 km
of his lay faithful to find out which 3rd day: from Chicheng to Long-
road Theofiel Verbist followed in mensuo: 40 km
february 1868 with his horse cart 4th day: from Longmensuo to Xiny-
over icy, snowy mountain roads ing, 36 kilometres apart. In 4 days
at -30C degrees. They checked he had covered 123 km.
old road maps and found 3 roads 5th day: from Xinying to Nantaizi:
which Verbist possibly could have 30 kilometres
followed. Based upon their own 6th day: from Nantaizi to Wudaoyin,
information but also taking into Fengning Country 27.7 km
account the very limited data 7th day: From Wudaoyin to Fengn-
found in the CICM archives (the ing Country (Dagezhen), 21.2 km
books of cicm historians as Fr. J. 8th day: in Fengning Country
Rutten and of V. Rondelez), they (Dagezhen). They took a full day
excluded two of these roads and rest. This was needed for the trav-
went to explore the 3rd one by fol- elers as well as for the guides and
lowing the whole distance person- also for the horses. They had al-
ally by car. They calculated the dis- ready covered 201 km.
tance covered by Verbist from day 9th day: From Dagezhen to Zhuji-
one on. Here and there they still awopu, 24 km.
found remnants of the old road of 10th day: From Zhujiawopu to
150 years ago. They interviewed Fengshan Country (Fengning),
old people and took pictures of 37.5 km
the roads to give us an idea. The 11th day: From Fengshan Country
results are most interesting. (Fengning) to Poluoruo, 25 km
12th day: From Poluoruo to Laohugou (tiger valley ), 37.9 km
One possible road went via Zhangjiakou (Kalgan). But the team
of Fr. Li excluded this road because there were too many check- From Xiwanzi to Laohugou the founder traveled a total of
points which would have caused more problems for Verbist as 332.3 kilometers. It became his pilgrimage to heaven. He ar-
a missionary. Another road went via the Huapi Ridge, through rived at Laohugou, tired, very sick with high fever and typhus.
the Mongolian Plateau. But the climate and road conditions He died several days later.
did not allow this. The Huapi Mountain Ridge is 2.128,7 meters
above sea level. During winter the roads are entirely covered Faithful of both Xiwanzi and Laohugou
with ice. Horses could not possibly make it on that road. That’s
why they decided that the founder could only have chosen the
insisted on burying Verbist in their church
3rd road which went through the The Christians of Xiwanzi when they
Great Wall pass and crossing several learned that Verbist had arrived sick
mountains of the Yanshan Moun- at Laohugou and died there of ty-
tain Range. The path was danger- phus flocked to their church to pray
ous. Robbers and even wolves could for him daily. They had sent him off
also make it unsafe. But it was still when he left Xiwanzi for his first
safer than the other two ways. Mission Visitation. In two years time
they had learned to deeply appreci-
The team also estimated that it took ate the good and kind Father Ver-
Founder Verbist 12 days, including bist. Now they asked to bring back
one day of rest, from Xiwanzi to his body to bury it in their cemetery
Tiger Valley (Laohugou). The dif- where several Chinese priests and
ference in distance covered per day Vincentian missionaries lay buried.
depends, according to the team, on But the faithful of Laohugou dis-
whether the road is flat or moun- agreed. They insisted to keep the
tainous and difficult. Their estimate CICM founder and bury him in their
of 12 days, based on information of little church. In Laohugou as well as
old local people, is tentative, just as in Xiwanzi the faithful live in close
the estimates (of 11 days) by CICM spiritual relation with the priests
biographers are tentative. One of and faithful who died there. Until
the old people still remembered today their cemeteries are places
travelling exactly that same road of prayer and celebration of uni-
when he was young. They came up ty in faith. Both the faithful of Xi-
with the following estimate: wanzi and of Laohugou wanted to
keep the body of Founder Verbist
1st day: from Xiwanzi to Mensany- with them. The CICM superior did
ing, 25 km not dare to refuse and allowed the

 In 2002 the
Archbishop of
Taipei, Msgr.
Joseph Tikang
and the Bishop
of Shenyang
(China) came
as pilgrims to
the tomb of
Verbist. They
prayed for unity
in the Church of
China.
In May 2017 six CICM confreres went on pilgrimage to the
Tiger Valley where, together with Fr. Joseph Li Shoushan, parish
priest of Chengde, they prayed for Founder Verbist and the
CICM confreres who are still buried there at the local cemetery.

Christians of Laohugou to bury Fr. Verbist in their church at the

foot of the main altar. Later a commemorative tombstone was
built against the wall of the choir of their church (see photo).
The name of Verbist is in the middle. At right is the name of a
diocesan priest Fr. Peter Lin Daoyuan who had died a martyr
in Laohugou. Only his head remained buried there. Fr. Lin had
lived with Fr. Verbist through the difficult times in Xiwanzi. He
himself was not an easy character. He had also been assistant
to Fr. Alois Van Segvelt. At left is the name of Fr. Jozef Segers
cicm who was buried alive by the Boxers in Lanpinxian, near
Laohugou, in 1900 (his body was thrown in the Lanpin river).
In 2009 ten bishops from China prayed at the tomb of Verbist
Many years later the faithful in Antwerp, the whomtown of in Scheut.
Verbist as well as the members of his congregation hoped that
his remnants could be brought back to Belgium and be buried
in the chapel of the motherhouse of Scheut. To take away the
bones of Verbist from Laohugou was a delicate operation for
CICM. The story is told separately in this issue.

1931: the coffin of Founder Verbist was

brought by boat to Antwerp
In 1931 the coffin of Founder Verbist was brought back by boat
from Tianjin to Antwerp. Verbist was officially and solemnly
welcomed back by faithful, priests and bishops of the country
from where he had left. His coffin was then brought to Scheut
where CICM welcomed him back.
This event proved how Verbist was highly appreciated not only
in Xiwanzi but also in his Church at home. 2018: Chinese priests, religious and lay people commemorate
and honor Verbist in Scheut.
Founder Verbist’s tomb at Scheut, a place
sary of the death of CICM Founder Verbist. They put on the
of prayer since then until today coffin a “hata”, which is a (white or blue) long scarf which,
Today CICM as well as other pilgrims still find inspiration at traditionally, Mongols offer to their guests to honor and wel-
the tomb of Theofiel Verbist come them.
Since then thousands of CICM missionaries prayed at the tomb
of Verbist in the old Scheut chapel before they left for their Theofiel Verbist is today still respectfully remembered by CICM
mission in countries worldwide, inspired by their founder’s confreres all over the world and also by bishops, priests &
missionary spirit. faithful of the Low Countries and China. From Scheut, from
Xiwanzi and Laohugou he repeats to us the call of Jesus in the
3 Chinese priests, 1 religious sister and two faithful came in gospel which is the call also of Pope Francis today: remain
February 2018 to Scheut to commemorate the 150th anniver- united One Heart One Soul!

Verbiest Courier June 2018 

 The transfer of the mortal remains of
Theofiel Verbist To Belgium
Pieter Ackerman

Before: The tomb of Theofiel Verbist in the Tiger Valley

On February 26, 1868, Ash Wednes-
day, Fr. Theofiel Verbist was buried
in a small chapel in Laohugou (Tiger
Valley). In 1874, during his first mis-
sion trip to the eastern part of Mon-
golia, Pro- vicar Fr. Jaak Bax made
the decision to have the church
and the grave of his predecessor re-
paired. Fr. Bax did not want to carry
out his original plan, to transfer the
mortal remains to Xiwanzi, because
Fr. Jaak Bax he was convinced that the Christians
of the Tiger Valley would not like to
see their beloved Fr. Verbist leave. Four years later, in 1878, a
new church was built. Father Petrus De Boeck, the town priest
at that time, transferred the tomb of the founder to the middle
of the small choir, in front of the stairs of the altar. In 1897 the
grave was in urgent need of repair work. Fr. Jaak De Groef and
Fr. Aloïs Goossens made a new grave out of bricks. The bones
were placed in a new coffin, accompanied by a small wooden
cross with copper inlay that probably belonged to Fr. Verbist
and a glass plate with the name ‘Verbist’ written on it. In 1913,
Fr. Gabriel Kervyn had a bluestone memorial stone erected.
Already in the course of the second
half of 1930 contacts were taken
up with Mgr. Abels, apostolic vic-
ar of Eastern Mongolia on this. He
instructed his missionaries to open
the grave without arousing suspi-
cion with the Laohugou Christians,
and to carefully lift the bones and
prepare them for shipment to the
coast. On October 24, 1930, the 66th
anniversary of the monastic vows by
the founder and his first followers,
the remains were exhumed by Fr.
Jozef Merckx, Fr. Jozef Nols, Fr. Eu- Fr. Constant Daems
geen Grossé and Fr. Jacques Gérardy.
They proceeded very careful-
ly. After the material remains
were very accurately excavat-
ed, a photograph was taken,
and each bone was separate-
ly wrapped in a piece of tissue
paper, after which everything
was put in a sturdy box. From
Jozef Nols the coffin was tak-
en from Laohugou. And sent
to Jehol, from where Jozef
Mullie took further care of
the shipping to Beijing and
Tientsin. In the meantime,
the necessary approvals from
the civil and church authori-
ties had been requested and
obtained in Belgium to bury the bones in the public chapel of
Scheut.

After a first brief ceremony in Tientsin, the remains were put in

Inside the Church of Laohugou, with on the right hand side the
memorial stone, erected by Fr. Kervyn
The transfer of the remains:
the preparations
At the beginning of his term as Superior General (from 1930 to
1934), Fr. Constant Daems had taken the decision to transfer
the founder’s bones to Scheut. In February 1931 he wrote to
Pope Pius XI about his reasons for this: “so that it might be a
model of true apostolic spirit and perfect self-denial for all ... so
that it would form the cornerstone, bringing together the whole
congregation stronger and more solidly and on which she would
rest rock-solid”

a mahogany coffin covered on the inside with white silk. This
first box was put in a lead box. The various certificates, drawn
up by official health experts in the various places where the
bones were held, were placed in a glass tube in the box. Then
the lead coffin disappeared into another mahogany coffin,
which was sealed. Eventually the bones were put in a beautiful
coffin, made in Chinese style and covered with oriental decora-
tions. Rev. Van Hoeck, chaplain of the Cathedral of Our Lady in
Antwerp, spoke on 7 May 1931 at his speech: “In the language
of your beloved people these words were written on it:” A good
Shepherd gives his life for his sheep “; With the prayer: “Give
Him, Lord, the eternal rest” and in the Chinese symbolism of the
decorative ornament, the saving cross of Christ radiates through
the tormented wriggling of the dragon. “
On 7 February 1931, the precious cargo was handed to the cap-
tain of ‘de Kambove’, a cargo ship of the Agence Maritime In-
ternationale (Antwerp), in order to reach Antwerp a few weeks
later, via the Panama Canal.
 Coffin of Verbist,
manufactured in
Beijing (1931)

A warm reception in Belgium

On April 29th 1931, a few days earlier than the planned ar-
rival on May 2nd, disembarkation took place. The Kambove
was awaited at the quay by Constant Daems, Superior General,
three members of the General Board: Remi Verhaeghe, Joseph
Vanderboven, Kamiel Crabbe, and five other confreres. From
there the coffin was placed on a chariot, pulled by horses, and
transferred to the procure at the Oude Beurs, 37, where a fu-
neral chapel was prepared.
On Wednesday, May 6, thousands of believers came to salute
the famous missionary. With this, the ceremonies drawn up by After the exhibition of the coffin on 6 May, one day later, in a
the commemoration committee started according to a fixed large procession, it went to the Cathedral of Our Lady, where
program and attracted the attention of the entire community a solemn service was celebrated, by Mgr. Zech, dean of the Ca-
of Belgium. The commemoration committee stood under the thedral, with pontifical assistance from Mgr. De Cleene, apos-
protection of Crown Prince Leopold, the later Leopold III, and tolic vicar of Leopoldstad. A funeral speech, in which the life
consisted of civil and ecclesiastical dignitaries. The committee and the merits, in both Belgium and China, of Fr. Verbist were
was chaired by Cardinal Van Roey, Mgr. Micara, the then papal described, was held by the Rev. Fr. Van Hoeck, chaplain of the
nuncio, and Henri Jaspar, the former Belgian prime minister. cathedral.

Arrival of ‘de Kambove’ in Antwerpen Funeral chapel in de Oude Beurs

Verbiest Courier June 2018 

 On 8 May the remains of Theofiel Verbist were transported, via
Mechelen, to Brussels. In the church of St. Jacob-on-Kouden-
berg, main church of the diocese of the Belgian Armed Forces
and the parish church of the royal palace, the coffin was exhib-
ited. Once again hundreds came to pay a last honor.

On Saturday, May 9, a second ceremony was held in Brussels

in the church of Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg. In the presence of
ecclesiastical and civil authorities, including H. Emin. Cardinal
van Roey, archbishop of Mechelen and Primate of Belgium,
and a representative of H. Majesty the King of Belgium, a sec-
ond Requiem Mass took place, with a eulogy by the Rev. Can.
Cocheteux.

Departure at the Oude Beurs, the former cicm house

In the afternoon, a memorial stone was unveiled on the front

of the birth house of Fr. Verbist (where by then an insurance
company’s office had been installed). This part of the program
could also count on great public interest.


Liturgy in the church of Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg
From there, the remains of Fr.
Verbist were transferred to the
school of the Sisters Societas
Divini Salvatoris (Sint Barbara
Institute), on the Ninoofses-
teenweg 132. On Sunday morn-
ing, May 10, in a classroom
transformed into a chapel, the
beautiful Chinese coffin was
once again on public display.
Many hundreds of people came
to salute the founder of Scheut.
In the afternoon the coffin was
transferred to Scheut in a pro-
cession and Fr. Verbist returned
to his beloved Scheutchapel,
where Fr. Daems, general supe-
rior, prayed the solemn funeral
prayers. De Standaard then ex-
tensively reported on the entire

Verbiest Courier June 2018 

 program, and the atmosphere that prevailed then:
Scheut celebrated! Why should it be a mourning ceremony that takes place
today? It is the feast of the children of God who rejoice for the return in their
midst in the Mother House that he founded: the mortal remains of a great
heart and a great soul. The flags flutter at Scheut on the facades. On the
front of the Mission House of Scheut, at the entrance of the church, on the
towers, on the side walls, everywhere the joyful smile of banners and flags.
It is the triumphant return of him who fell on the mission field but lives on
in his spiritual offspring.

Until the crypt was ready, the remains were kept in a side chapel. The
solemn deposition in the crypt took place on March 30, 1932. Meanwhile,
by the support of all the cicm fathers and by the hand of A. De Beule, a
bronze tomb was designed to be placed above the crypt. Founder Verbist,
in Chinese clothing, is kneeling with his arms wide open and his eyes
fixed on the image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The book of the
Gospels lies open in front of him. The book is supported by the globe, on
which an image Christ is fixed.

i With data from: Rondelez V., Scheut. Zo begon het... en Andre De

Bleeker, The Transfer of the Mortal Remains of Théophile Verbist from
Laohugou to Scheut. Photo material: Kadoc


Will 2018 be the year of truth and reconciliation for
the Church in China?
H. Emin.
Cardinal Parolin,
the Vatican
Secretary of State
In 2018 it will be 60 years since the first two illegal bishops
were ordained in China (1958). That event initiated a contro-
versy between Beijing and the Vatican and divided the Church
in China internally. Healing this internal division and finding a
modus vivendi with the Chinese government for the appoint-
ment of bishops has since then been a priority concern for the
Holy See. A dozen times already we hoped that a solution was
near but it never materialized. Recently, after so many years of
uncertainty we learned that the Holy See is getting ready to
sign an agreement with the government on the appointment
of bishops. If that happens – and we repeat “if”! -- then 2018
may become the “Year of Truth” for the Church in China. One
can be sure that both sides – the Chinese government and the
Vatican -- will not be fully satisfied with their agreement, but at
least for Catholic faithful in China the signing of an agreement
would be a blessing because it will enable them to openly cel-
ebrate their faith in one community. That is crucial for all Chris-
tians. Before that happens however Catholics must first unite
behind the Pope’s decision to sign the agreement and we are
concerned about whether they are ready for it. The challenge
to unite behind the Pope’s decision makes 2018 for Chinese
Catholics into “the year of truth”.
Some Catholic experts have recently expressed criticism of the
Holy See for planning to sign such an agreement. They claim
that the Vatican does not know China from the inside but only
through information from archives which reveal nothing about
real life in China. These experts ignore that exactly the oppo-
site is true. Vatican experts have since many decades gathered
information on the real situation of the Church in China. They
visited China personally several times. They met there with
bishops – both official and non-official – and discussed prob-
lems personally with civil authorities. That is something which
other experts were unable to do. Besides the Vatican there is
no other place in the whole Universal Church – not even in
Asia -- where more information on the real situation of the
Church in China can be found. The Vatican experts who inform
Pope Francis speak not from hearsay but from personal expe-
rience, personal contacts with persons of the Church in Chi-
na. They know them all by name. As a result nobody is better
informed on the Church in China than the Pope. Some of the
experts abroad, on the contrary, precisely those who try to put
the Vatican in discredit, have themselves never been in China
or some of them did not see China for twenty years.
Some media reported that in December 2017 Vatican diplomats
had, once again, been in China where they personally met and
spoke with “unofficial (underground) bishops”. For weeks the
media published repeatedly unchecked and twisted information
about this, thereby misleading and dividing the faithful of China
as well as in the Universal Church. It is indeed excluded that the
Vatican could have proposed to Bp Zhuang of Shantou Diocese –
as these experts wrote – that in order to give in to the requests
of the Chinese government an excommunicated and illegal bishop
would take his place….Only after the illegal and excommunicated
bishop of Shantou presents his excuses to the Pope for having of-
fended an important Church law and after he applies in writing to
the Pope to be legalized, promising obedience to the Pope, only
after such a move could the Pope consider to accept his request
by which the formally illegal bishop would become “legal”. Only
then could he be appointed as bishop of a diocese…However he
will then no more be an “illegal and excommunicated” but a legal
bishop…Yet we do not even know whether the Pope will do that.
The Pope however, and he alone, has the authority to do it.
Verbiest Courier June 2018 
 All faithful Catholics, inside and outside of China, admire Pope
Francis for having the courage to initiate a dialogue with the
government of China – instead of entering into confrontation
which would cause more disaster. H. Emin. Cardinal Parolin,
the Vatican Secretary of State stated in an interview with Vat-
ican Insider: “You see, in China there are not two Churches,
but two communities of faithful called to follow a gradual path
of reconciliation towards unity”. Once again he corrected the
oft-repeated mistaken view of some media as if there were
two Churches -- an “official Church” and a “non-official (un-
derground) Church” -- in China. The cardinal called for more
mutual understanding, reconciliation and dialogue. These are
crucial steps to be taken to achieve the so desired internal uni-
ty of the Church.
That interview with Cardinal Parolin together with the news
that authorities of the Vatican met in Beijing with unofficial
bishops should be seen as a positive sign that the dialogue
initiated by Pope Francis in 2014 is finally bearing fruit. Also
thanks to Vatican Insider we read the positive response to Car-
dinal Parolin, by an “unofficial (underground) bishop, Bp. Wei
Jingyi who told us clearly: “We follow the Pope”, confirming
that he supports the signing of the agreement. And he added
that experts outside of China should not take for granted that
they can speak in the name of the underground Church commu-
nity of China. These words of Bp Wei kindly but firmly remind
us…please first come to China personally and visit us – all of
Giuseppe Wei Jingyi, bishop of the diocese of Qiqihar

us and not just one of our two communities – listen to all of
us, try to understand us, then you will know better…...’Causa
nostra agitur’…(we’re talking about ‘our Church’ in China….).
Sixty years of uncertainty and growing internal divisions have
done considerable harm to the Church in China. It is high time
to heal that wound. None of us should at this delicate and
critical time of Chinese Church history try to block the Pope
from taking the decisions which he deems necessary for restor-
ing Church unity and normalization in China. For sixty years
experts have freely expressed their opinions. Some declared
themselves to be optimists, others pessimists. Still some oth-
ers call themselves “realists”. But Pope Francis has now the fi-
nal word. The only “realism” that fits for Church people at this
time is to join Bishop Wei Jingyi saying: “We follow the Pope!”.
Should one of these decisions appear to be “unusual” then so
be it! The Holy See has more often in its history dealt with
such situations and it has the authority to decide about them.
As far as China is concerned the Pope and his experts dispose
of more information on the complex situation than any other
entity. Abnormal situations call for unusual decisions. As long
as the unity of the Church in China is restored and faith can be
celebrated in one community overcoming the past internal di-
vision then not the Communists have won nor did the Church
win….Reconciliation and our unity in one Lord has won! That’s
all what counts! It would make the year 2018 truly into “the
year of reconciliation and unity” for the Church in China.
Parolin, “Why we are in dialogue with China”
Interview with the Secretary of State who responds to the accusations made against the Holy See regarding
the ongoing contacts, “We trust that the Chinese faithful, thanks to their spirit of faith, will know how to
recognize that our action is animated by trust in the Lord and does not answer to worldly logic”
Several signals (including opaque operations, actual political
manipulations, and even sabotage) indicate that important de-
velopments may occur in contacts between the Holy See and
the Government of the People’s Republic of China. The time
is right to listen to an authoritative word, which will help to
grasp what the Pope and the Holy See really have at heart. And
with our Chinese brothers and sisters in mind, help to dispel
suspicions and artificial fumes, to look at the ecclesial heart
of the whole question, outside politicized narratives. For this
reason,  Vatican Insider  interviewed Cardinal Pietro Parolin,
Secretary of State of His Holiness.   despite the many difficulties and sufferings, the authentic de-
Eminence, what can you tell us about the
dialogue between the Holy See and the
People’s Republic of China?   the Church’s unity: it is not a private matter between the Pope
”As it is well known, with the advent of “New China”, there were,
for the life of the Church in that great country, moments of se-
rious contrasts and severe suffering. Since the eighties, howev-
er, contacts have been established between representatives of
the Holy See and of People’s China, who have known different
seasons and alternating events. The Holy See has always main-
tained a pastoral approach, trying to overcome the contrasts
and making itself available for a respectful and constructive di-
alogue with the civil authorities. Pope Benedict XVI well repre-
sented the spirit of this dialogue in his 2007 Letter to Chinese
Catholics, “the solution to existing problems cannot be pursued
Gianni Valente, Vatican Insider, 01/02/2018
 
via an ongoing conflict with the legitimate civil authorities “ (n.
4). In Pope Francis’ pontificate, the ongoing negotiations move
exactly along these lines: constructive openness to dialogue
and fidelity to the genuine Tradition of the Church”. 
What are the concrete expectations of the
Holy See from this dialogue?  
“First of all, I would like to make a premise: in China, perhaps
more than elsewhere, Catholics have been able to preserve,
posit of faith, keeping firmly the bond of hierarchical commun-
ion between the Bishops and the Successor of Peter, as a visi-
ble guarantee of faith itself. In fact, communion between the
Bishop of Rome and all Catholic Bishops touches the heart of
and the Chinese Bishops or between the Apostolic See and civ-
il authorities. Having said that, the main purpose of the Holy
See in the ongoing dialogue is precisely that of safeguarding
communion within the Church, in the wake of genuine Tra-
dition and constant ecclesiastical discipline. You see, in China
there are not two Churches, but two communities of faithful
called to follow a gradual path of reconciliation towards unity.
It is not, therefore, a matter of maintaining a perennial conflict
between opposing principles and structures, but of finding re-
alistic pastoral solutions that allow Catholics to live their faith
and to continue together the work of evangelization in the
specific Chinese context”. 
The communion of which
you have spoken calls into
question the delicate issue
of the episcopal appoint-
ments, which are stirring
up much contro­versy. Will
a potential agreement on
this issue succeed in resolv-
ing the problems of the
Church in China in a fair
manner?   
“The Holy See knows and shares the
serious sufferings endured by many
Catholics in China and their generous
witness to the Gospel. She knows that
there are many problems for the life of
the Church and that they cannot all be
solved together. But, in this context,
the question of the appointment of
Bishops is crucial. On the other hand,
Verbiest Courier June 2018 
 we cannot forget that the freedom of the Church and the ap-
pointment of Bishops have always been recurring themes in
the relations between the Holy See and the States. Certainly,
the path started with China through the current contacts is
gradual and still exposed to many unforeseen events, as well
as new possible emergencies. No one can say in conscience
that they have perfect solutions for all problems. Time and pa-
tience are needed to heal the many personal wounds inflict-
ed on each other within the communities. Unfortunately, it is
certain that there will still be misunderstandings, fatigue and
suffering to be faced. But we all have confidence that, once
the issue of the Episcopal appointments has been adequate-
ly considered, the remaining difficulties should no longer be
such as to prevent Chinese Catholics from living in communion
with each other and with the Pope. This is the important thing,
so long-awaited and desired already by Saint John Paul II and
Benedict XVI and today pursued with far-sightedness by Pope
Francis”.  celebrate their martyrs who have suffered unjust trials and
What is then the true attitude of the Holy
See towards Chinese authorities?   to entrust the present life of Catholic communities in China
“It is important to reiterate this: in dialogue with China, the
Holy See pursues a spiritual aim: to be and feel fully Catholic
and, at the same time, authentically Chinese. With honesty and
realism, the Church asks nothing but to profess her faith with
more serenity, definitively ending a long period of contrasts, in
order to give more room for greater trust and offer the positive
contribution of Catholics to the good of Chinese society as a
whole.  Of course, many wounds are still open today. To treat
them, we need to use the balm of mercy. And if someone is
asked to make a sacrifice, small or great, it must be clear to
everyone that this is not the price of a political exchange, but

falls within the evangelical perspective of a greater good, the
good of the Church of Christ. The hope is that, when God wills
it, we won’t have to speak of “legitimate” and “illegitimate”
Bishops, “clandestine” and “official” Bishops in the Church in
China, but about meeting among brothers and sisters, learning
the language of collaboration and communion again. Without
this experience, how could the Church in China re-launch the
journey of evangelization and bring to others the consolation
of the Lord? If you are not ready to forgive, this means, unfor-
tunately, that there are other interests to defend: but this is not
an evangelical perspective”.  
If this is the attitude, is there not the risk
of erasing the past and present suffering
by wiping the slate clean?  
“Quite the contrary. Many Chinese Christians, when they
persecutions, remember that they have been able to rely on
God, even in their fragile humanity. Now, the best way to
honor this testimony and make it fruitful in the present, is
to the Lord Jesus. But this cannot be done in a spiritualistic
and disembodied way. This is done by choosing fidelity to
the Successor of Peter, with a spirit of filial obedience, even
when not everything appears immediately clear and under-
standable. About your question, it is not a matter of wiping
the slate clean, ignoring or, almost magically erasing the
painful path of so many faithful and pastors, but of investing
the human and spiritual capital of so many trials to build a
more serene and fraternal future, with the help of God. The
Spirit who has so far guarded the faith of Chinese Catholics
is the same Spirit who supports them today on the new path
they have embarked upon”.  

Is there an advice, a particular request that
the Apostolic See can address to the Chinese
faithful at this moment? To those who are
happy before potential new developments,
but also to those who are confused or  have
objections?    that part of the suffering experienced by the Church in China
”I would like to say with great simplicity and clarity that the
Church will never forget the past and present trials and suf-
ferings of Chinese Catholics. All this is a great treasure for
the universal Church. Therefore, to the Chinese Catholics I say
with great fraternity: we are close to you, not only through
prayer, but also through our daily commitment to accompany
and support you on the path of full communion. We ask you,
therefore, that no one should cling to the spirit of opposition
to condemn his brother or use the past as an excuse to stir up
new resentments and closures. On the contrary, we hope that
each one will look with confidence at the future of the Church,
beyond any human limit”.   sterile polemics that hurt communion and rob our hope for a
 
Your Eminence, do you really
believe that this is possible?
What is your trust based on?   
“I am convinced of one thing. Trust is not
the result of the strength of diplomacy or
negotiations. Trust is based on the Lord
who guides history. We trust that the Chi-
nese faithful, thanks to their sense of faith,
will know how to recognize that the action
of the Holy See is animated by this trust,
which does not respond to worldly logics.
It is especially up to the pastors to help the
faithful to recognize in the Pope’s guidance
the sure reference point for grasping God’s
plan in the present circumstances”.  
Is the Pope informed of what his
collaborators do in their con-
tacts with the Chinese govern-
ment?   
“Yes, the Holy Father personally follows cur-
rent contacts with the authorities of the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China. All his collaborators
act in concert with him. No one takes private
initiatives. Frankly, any other kind of reasoning
seems to me to be out of place.” 
In recent times, critical expres-
sions have emerged, also within
the Church, about the approach
adopted by the Holy See in dia-
logue with the Chinese Author-
ities, judged by some as a true
“surrender” for political reasons.
What do you think?   
“I think, first of all, that in the Church there is a full right to
disagree and to tell one’s own criticisms, and that the Holy
See has a moral duty to listen to them and to evaluate them
carefully. I am also convinced that, among Christians, criticism
should be directed at building communion and not at stirring
up divisions. To be frank, I will tell you: I am also convinced
is not so much due to the will of individuals as to the objec-
tive complexity of the situation. Therefore, it is legitimate to
have different views over the most appropriate responses to
the problems of the past and present. That is entirely reason-
able. Having said that, I think that no personal point of view
can be considered as an exclusive interpreter of what is good
for Chinese Catholics. Therefore, the Holy See works to find a
synthesis of truth and a practicable way to respond to the le-
gitimate expectations of the faithful, inside and outside China.
It takes greater humility and spirit of faith to discover together
God’s plan for the Church in China. It takes greater caution and
moderation on the part of everyone in order not to fall into
better future”.  
Verbiest Courier June 2018 
 What do you mean?   What would you say to the Chinese leaders
today?   
“I mean that we are all called to distinguish more appropriate-
ly the spiritual and pastoral dimension from that of politics. “Look, on this point I would like to refer again to Benedict XVI’s
Let us start, for example, with the words we use every day. words in his Letter to the Chinese Catholics. He teaches that
Expressions such as power, betrayal, resistance, surrender, con- the mission proper to the Church is not to change the struc-
frontation, failure, compromise, should make room for others, tures or administration of the State, but to proclaim to man-
such as service, dialogue, mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation, kind Christ, the Savior of the world, relying on the power of
collaboration, communion. If you are not prepared to change God. The Church in China does not want to replace the state,
this approach, there is a serious problem: that of thinking and but wants to make a positive and serene contribution for the
acting only politically. In this regard, the Holy See hopes for good of all. Therefore, the Holy See’s message is a message of
everyone a sincere pastoral conversion inspired by the Gospel goodwill, with the hope of continuing the dialogue undertak-
of mercy, in order to learn to welcome one another among en in order to contribute to the life of the Catholic Church in
brothers and sisters, as Pope Francis has often called for”.     China, to the good of the Chinese people and to World peace”. 

Cardinal Zen is just wrong

Michael Kelly, La Croix, 16/02/2018

Cardinal Zen not only needs to read a bit more history — he also needs to turn the emotional volume down
Cardinal Zen would do well to take a short course in Catholic history. In what is both false and misleading,
Cardinal Zen keeps repeating the claim that the Vatican’s behavior in its relations with Beijing on the ap-
pointment of bishops in China is “unprecedented.”
It is not and it is false to claim it is as even a casual familiarity with Catholic history will show. In fact, for
90 percent of the history of the church, processes for the selection and appointment of bishops across the
Catholic Church prevailed that are identical with or very close to what is happening in China right now.

Today and for much of the last 200 years, appointments of
bishops are handled in a process where a local church sends
three names to Rome – to the Congregation for Bishops or to
where most bishops were decided on at the Congregation for
the Evangelization of Peoples or Propaganda Fide.
These candidates are assessed and the preferred candidate is
then sent to the pope for approval. In most cases, the “pre-
ferred candidate” sent to the pope for approval and appoint-
ment is the first name proposed at the local level.

But that is – in Catholic terms – a recent development: only 200
years! At the beginning of the 19th century no more than 2-5 per-
cent of the bishops of the world were directly appointed from
Rome by the pope. From the beginning of the 19th century, a pro-
cess began that has delivered us the current procedure where al-
most all bishops in the world owe their appointments to the pope.
This change came about following the humiliation of Pope
Pius VII by Napoleon who summoned him to Notre Dame in
Paris in 1804 to be a witness to his crowning as emperor. The
event as reported had Napoleon take the crown from the pope
with Napoleon crowning himself.
This followed Napoleon’s high handed and effective rejection
of no less than 40 candidates proposed by the Vatican as bish-
ops in France. After the 1789 French Revolution and “The Ter-
ror” led by Robespierre, tens of thousands of French clerics
fled the country and with them a vast number of bishops, leav-
ing their Sees vacant.
Church authorities with the Vatican’s approval proposed suc-
cessors. Napoleon rejected 40 of them and proposed alterna-
tives who were appointed.
This experience led the pope to commence a campaign con-
ducted throughout the 19th century to recover his authority in
episcopal appointments, something that was accomplished as
the kingdoms and empires of Europe all were overthrown or,
as happened following World War I, just discarded.
But until that point, the appointment of bishops was in the
hands of various imperial authorities with the pope just tick-
ing the box created by the various aristocratic houses.
This had huge and lasting impact especially in Latin America,
Africa and Asia. Indeed, the process of Cardinal Zen’s own ap-
pointment owed its origins to this period.

The Coronation of Napoleon
This started to happen with a stroke of the pen in 1493 when
the lamentable Borgia Pope, Alexander VI, divided the “New
World” between the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal. With
this ruling, Portugal got access to and control of lands to the
east of a line in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, which meant
Africa and all of Asia except the Philippines. Spain got the Phil-
ippines and all of Latin America except Brazil.
With these colonial “possessions” granted by the corrupt Alex-
ander VI went also the right – which they already had in their
homelands – to appoint bishops in their new colonies.
Colonialism had begun and with it the missionary expansion
of the Roman Church but with the kings of Spain and Portugal
saying who got to be bishops. This practice continued until
half way through the 20th century with right being extended to
the Anglican United Kingdom in India until its independence
of Britain in 1947.
Routinely, the archbishops of Bombay and Karachi would be
nominated and approved by the colonial authorities – Eng-
land and Portugal – only then to approved by the pope. The
last English archbishop of Bombay – Tom Roberts – was Jesuit
plucked from his job as parish priest of the large Jesuit par-
ish in Liverpool, St. Francis Xavier. Come independence, he
resigned; the Vatican wouldn’t accept his resignation; he just
vacated the See and went home to live with the English Jesuits
for the rest of his life. 
Back to China and the significance of this history for current
challenges. Throughout its history since the Emperor Constan-
tine made Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire in the
4th Century AD, the papacy has always had to play politics with
kingdoms and empires. Popes fought for the church’s interests;
kings and princes fought for their own; both parties made con-
cessions and shared control of vital aspects of the church’s gov-
ernance.
Dealing with the government of China is very different be-
cause it isn’t part of the Catholic world that saw deals done
between the pope and Catholic monarchs. China’s political and
historical precedent is Imperial China that has always found
it difficult, if not impossible, to deal with difference and the
world outside the Middle Kingdom. The Communists are no
different.
And why does the Vatican do it? For one simple reason: to pre-
serve what little space and formal arrangements they can for
the survival of the institution of the church which, after all, is
their job. Far from being the cowards and quislings Cardinal
Zen would have us believe Cardinal Parolin and the Vatican’s
Secretariat of State are. 
Standing on your dignity and only making demands
and no concessions, as Cardinal Zen does, is not
only a doomed strategy. It is also an approach that is
completely ignorant of what the church has done in
other circumstances throughout history in contexts
far less amenable than contemporary or historical
China. Take the Nazis in Germany or the Fascists in
Italy in the 1920s or the Eastern Bloc Communists in
the 1950s and ‘60s.
Moreover, it takes us back to what happened some
46 years ago when President Richard M Nixon and
his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger did what was
unthinkable during the high time of the Cold War:
accepted that the Chinese Communists were the es-
tablished government of China and like it or not, they had to
be dealt with as its government.
Many in the church today – Cardinal Zen included – act as if
that’s not the final word on who runs China. All my life I have
known – in the Jesuits and elsewhere – what in clerical and
missionary circles were called “old China hands.” I live in a
house in Bangkok that was built in the mid 1950s to accommo-
date a group of Jesuits expelled from China.
They simply couldn’t accept what had happened in history and
argued to just wait till Communist China collapses and they can
go back to China and resume their work as foreign missionar-
ies. The “old China hands” expected Chiang Kai-shek to reclaim
China and allow the missionaries to resume their work.
Cardinal Zen not only needs to read a bit more history. He also
needs to turn the emotional volume down. His “cops and rob-
bers” narrative that he shouts at everyone who doesn’t agree
with him – this writer included – does little more than encour-
age anyone listening to walk away from him.
Whatever he thinks he’s doing for the people he sees himself
supporting, he isn’t doing them any good with his approach.
The value of what he might contribute is lost in his hysterical
outbursts against those he accuses of being evil.
It’s some claim to be speaking for half the Catholics in China
when he has no actual evidence to support the assertion about
people living in a country he hasn’t visited in over 20 years.
Moralize all you like, but Cardinal Zen offers no path forward.
Verbiest Courier June 2018 
 With China, Vatican diplomats must make the best
of a bad situation
Thomas Reese, Religion News Service, National Catholic Reporter, 20/02/2018
For the Vatican, negotiating with China
is like negotiating with someone who
has a gun to your head. Or perhaps the
better comparison is that it is like be-
ing a hostage negotiator with no police
backup.
The bottom line is that Chinese govern-
ment can do whatever it wants to the
Catholic Church in China, and no one
can do anything about it. The job of
Vatican diplomats, like Cardinal Pietro
Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state,
is to make the best of a bad situation.
Conservatives who opine from their
comfortable offices in the United States
demand that the Vatican not talk with
oppressive regimes like China, especial-
ly about the appointment of Catholic
bishops — now under discussion again.
But those critics are not responsible
for protecting the Christian flock from
wolves. They talk with impunity about
principles but refuse to recognize that
the church has to live in the real world.
I might add that many of these ideologues prophesied that
capitalism and foreign investment would bring democracy and
human rights to China. Didn’t happen. Investors do not care
about human rights. They only care about profits.
These same ideologues opposed Pope Paul VI’s attempt to ne-
gotiate with communist governments in Eastern Europe. They
also opposed Vatican negotiations with Cuba and Vietnam. Yet
in all these places, the church is better off today than it was in
the past. Improvements do not normally come through revolu-
tion; often they come through incremental change over time.
The Vatican has hundreds of years of experience negotiating
with bad governments. Its principal goal is the survival and
welfare of the church. I will not argue that it always gets it
right, but those who think it is the job of the Vatican to lead
its flock to martyrdom should volunteer to get in the front of
the line.
Besides ivory-tower ideologues, there are also expatriates who
oppose any compromise or reconciliation with their former
countries. These expatriates often had to flee their countries
where they had suffered persecution. They offer an important
voice for the voiceless in countries like Cuba and Vietnam. Of-
ten, they are critical of the Vatican and local Catholic bishops
for trying to deal with these governments.
It is difficult to argue with people who bear the scars of per-
secution, but they cannot be seen as a morally superior voice

simply because they argue for a tough-
er line. They are now safe. Those still
in their old countries must find ways to
survive, even if this means compromis-
ing with the regime.
There are also Catholics in China who
have suffered persecution because of
their faithfulness to Rome and are now
confused and upset by the Vatican’s at-
tempt to make peace with the govern-
ment. These are true martyrs. To think
that the Vatican is not sympathetic to
these people is absurd. But not everyone
is called to be a martyr. If all the Chris-
tians had marched into the Coliseum,
there would be no Christians today.
The Vatican’s job is to make martyrdom
unnecessary wherever
possible. This is why negotiations are
conducted by diplomats, not saints or
martyrs.
It is clear that the Chinese authorities fear any group that they
cannot control, and this especially applies to religious groups,
whose leaders often have more credibility with the people
than local officials. China has a history of religious groups lead-
ing revolutions. It is especially fearful of religious groups with
foreign ties, and that makes the Catholic Church scary to China.
After all, it saw what St. John Paul II did in Eastern Europe.
The authorities want religion with “Chinese characteristics,”
which means a religion with local leaders who support the
government.
The critical issue in the negotiations between the Vatican and
China has always been the selection of bishops. The Vatican
has fought with governments over the selection of bishops for
centuries. In ancient time, bishops were elected by the peo-
ple or priests of a diocese, but local thugs (aka nobles) would
sometimes disrupt the elections with threats and violence.
This was especially true when the church was wealthy. Sadly,
sometimes the right to appoint bishops was granted to kings
or nobles in return for favors to the church.
All of that came to a crashing end thanks to Napoleon, who
unseated the Catholic monarchs of Europe. Church reformers
in the 19th and 20th centuries fought more or less successfully
to wrestle the selection of bishops away from secular govern-
ments and put it in the hands of the pope, who would be more
concerned for the good of the church than kings and politi-
cians. In about a dozen countries, the civil government still has
the right of consultation or even presentation for episcopal
appointments.
But authoritarian governments always want a say in the ap-
pointment of bishops because they fear their influence with
the people. Sometimes governments demand a veto over the
appointment of bishops. Sometimes the Vatican bypasses its
first choice because it knows the appointment would cause
problems with the government.
In some cases, the Vatican has to negotiate with such gov-
ernments until an acceptable candidate is found. Obviously, a
priest who advocates for democracy and human rights would
not be welcomed by authoritarian governments. They prefer
weak leaders who stay in the sacristy. They will allow freedom
of worship, but not freedom to preach against corruption and
abuse of power or in support of democracy and human rights.
The Vatican could make a fuss with the media, but one dip-
lomat negotiating with Vietnam was warned that the Vatican
might get news coverage for 48 hours, but afterward, it would
still have to deal with the Vietnamese government.
I have been hearing rumors of a deal between the Vatican and
China on and off again for at least 20 years. Usually, nothing
happens.
This year, the rumors are more specific, with the Vatican ap-
pearing to be willing to accept seven bishops from the Chi-
nese government-sponsored Patriotic Association, of whom
two would replace bishops loyal to Rome. One of these loyal
bishops is 85, way past the retirement age of 75. The Vatican
under Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI together accepted
45 state-sponsored bishops, so what it is doing today is not
that revolutionary.
While some object to accepting these bishops back into the
fold, Bishop Joseph Wei Jingyi of Qiqihar told Vatican Insid-
er, “We know that the pope is a father, and the illegitimate
bishops are like the prodigal son, they made mistakes and left
home. When the son repents, and asks to return to his father,
may there be any reason for the father to refuse forgiveness?
On the contrary, the father had been waiting a long time for
his return.”
It is not clear what the Vatican is getting in return, but if it is
getting government recognition of bish-
ops from the underground church, that
would be huge progress. About 70 bish-
ops have already been recognized by
both the Vatican and the government.
Pope John Paul II in conversa-
tion with the Polish communist
Prime Minister Wojciech
Jaruzelski, June 17th, 1983
For the Vatican, another priority is healing the rift between
those Catholics who have been subservient to the government
and those who have been loyal to the pope. The longer this
split continues, the harder it will be to heal. Most of those who
split from Rome did so under pressure or out of expediency.
Pope Francis speaks of the church as a field hospital, and few
need this hospital more than the Catholics of China, who sore-
ly need healing and reconciliation.
It would be great if the Catholic Church in China could be a
voice for democracy and human rights, but while that might
be the prophetic vocation of a few, like Hong Kong Cardinal Jo-
seph Zen Ze-kiun, it is unrealistic to think that the institutional
church could be that voice today.
Wei, who was secretly ordained bishop in 1995, told Vatican
Insider that no matter how relations between China and the
Vatican end, he will follow the pope.
To those attacking the Vatican initiative he said, “I whole-
heartedly beg our friends outside of mainland China, includ-
ing those from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and all the other
continents, please not to speak on our behalf, do not insist on
speaking in our place, do not speak on behalf of the clandes-
tine church. I ask you for it is not you who can represent the
underground church in China.”
“In the present situation in the People’s Republic of China,”
he argues, “no one can claim they represent the underground
church.”
At the same time, he acknowledges that “the situation around
us is not optimal, far from it, and that worries so many people.
But even now our help comes from the Lord.”
Whatever the deal the Vatican is able to make, only time will
tell whether it leads to improvement for the life of the church.
Critics should back off and let the diplomats do their work. If
they fail, China will continue to be a church of martyrs. If they
succeed, things could become incrementally better over time.
Let’s hope and pray that the Vatican diplomats can make the
best of a bad situation.
Verbiest Courier June 2018 
 China, the “underground” bishop: we will follow
the Pope, because we trust the Lord
Gianni Valente, Vatican Insider, 16/02/2018

Giuseppe Wei, authoritative voice of the “underground” Church of China, speaks, “I want to ask friends out-
side mainland China, including those from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan: “Please do not speak on our behalf.
Do not insist on speaking for us. It is not you who can represent the underground Church in China”

 
With his community, Wei will follow the Pope and the Holy Giuseppe Wei Jingyi, born in 1958 in Baoding, is one of the
See, “regardless of how relations between China and the Vat- most important and respected figures of the so-called “un-
ican will end”.  And from now on, he invites all the “friends” derground” Catholic Church in China. However, even now
from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and other places around the the apparatus of the Chinese government does not rec-
world to set aside the “pretense to speak in our place, to speak ognize his episcopal ordination. At the age of 31, he was
on behalf of the underground Church”, because “in the current present as a young priest - with non-marginal duties - at
reality of the People’s Republic of China, no one can claim they the meeting held in November 1989 in the small village
represent the underground Church”.  of Zhangerce, in the central-northern province of Shaanxi,
  with about twenty or so, “underground” bishops or their
In the “media storm” of these recent days, fueled by political delegates, whose intention was to give life to a Chinese
motivations attempting to relaunch the campaigns orches- Episcopal Conference operating beyond the control of the
trated by some groups in Hong Kong and in some sectors of government.  
the West which are opposing a possible turning point in re-  
lations between popular China and the Vatican, the words of Wei, a secretly consecrated bishop in June 1995, lived
Giuseppe Wei Jingyi, Catholic bishop of the diocese of Qiqihar, through three different periods of detention and experi-
in the north-eastern province of Heilongjiang, deserve special enced personal freedoms restriction of in the past, the long-
attention. Because they come from an authoritative voice in est of which, took place after the “secret assembly” in Zhang-
China who is openly speaking out.   erce, and lasted for more than two years, from September


1990 to December 1992. That is also why, today, his words And now?  
sound more eloquent and challenging than ever.  We must now look at the present time. The situation around
  us is not optimal, far from it, and that worries so many people.
Bishop Wei, there is great attention followed by strange in- But even now our help comes from the Lord. It is He who cre-
itiatives regarding the present and future situation of the ated heaven and earth and the whole Universe. Our hope is all
Catholic Church in China.   entrusted to the Lord. It is He the only One who will keep it.
Since the end of January, when the rumors about a possible de- It is He who will not make us feel ashamed of ourselves. That
velopment in relations between China and the Vatican began, is why Cardinal Parolin’s words, which I was able to read, have
there have been many reports, comments, analyses and hypoth- encouraged me greatly. 
eses on this issue. According to the media, some are disappoint-  
ed while others are excited about it. There are also those who What, did you find particularly comforting about those words?  
speak on behalf of the “underground” community, and raise For a long time, we of the Church in China only knew that the
their voices claiming that they must defend it against injustice. Holy See and the People’s Republic of China were negotiating
They say that the underground Church in China is the “victim” to overcome distances. But the negotiations were confidential,
of the Pope and the Roman Curia’s process of improving rela- and we had no way of knowing what criteria were inspiring
tions between the Chinese government and the Vatican.  the dialogue. Also for this reason, much room was left for the
  voices of those who spread concern over a potential agree-
And how do you look at all this?   ment. Parolin’s answers have confirmed to us that the theses of
I am a bishop of the underground community of the Catholic those who claim that an agreement will end up contradicting
Church in China. I am grateful to those who are interested in Catholic principles, are groundless. The Pope is not a politi-
us and have helped us in every possible way. But I also want to cian. The Pope’s collaborators do not act according to political
say to everyone that China is huge, that the condition of the criteria. All their commitment is inspired and enlightened by
Church varies from place to place, and this applies above all to faith. And faith also fuels the desire that all sheep return to
the underground Church. Therefore, I wholeheartedly beg our unity in the same flock, under the same shepherd. This is the
friends outside of mainland China, including those from Hong Pope’s task: to preserve communion in the Church. 
Kong, Macao, Taiwan and all the other continents, please not  
to speak on our behalf, do not insist on speaking in our place, Are you also referring to illegitimate episcopal ordination?  
do not speak on behalf of the clandestine Church. I ask you Among the 7 illegitimate bishops there are some excommu-
for it is not you who can represent the underground Church nicated bishops, and some of them have done things that are
in China.  not good. Someone may ask: are they still worthy and able to
  lead communities as bishops? My way of looking at things is
Some want to present the “underground” ecclesial area as a this: we know that the Pope is a father, and the illegitimate
worried or even hostile reality in the face a potential agree- bishops are like the prodigal son, they made mistakes and left
ment between Beijing and the Holy See. Is this the case?   home. When the son repents, and asks to return to his father,
In the present situation in the People’s Republic of China, may there be any reason for the father to refuse forgiveness?
no one can claim they represent the underground Church. If On the contrary, the father had been waiting a long time for
someone has received a request from a particular community his return. 
or individual person to send messages on their behalf, ought  
to openly state that they are speaking on behalf of that par- There are those who say that one thing is mercy for the per-
ticular community or person, and no one else. I myself do not son, another is to return them to episcopal ministry.  
want to be “represented” by someone else, without even be- But if the Pope says that they can be bishops, then they can be
ing informed. And following what faith suggests to me, on my bishops. Once they return home, they can live as part of the
own behalf and on behalf of the community entrusted by God family. We must help, encourage, love each other and move
to my pastoral care, I want to solemnly declare: “regardless forward together. All this makes me remember what Jesus says
how the relations between China and the Vatican will go, we to the adulterous woman in the Gospel, “Woman, has no one
will wholly obey to the decision of the Pope and the Holy See, condemned you?” “Then neither do I condemn you,”. “Go now
whatever it may be. And we will not question it either.  and leave your life of sin”. And I also remember another phrase
  of Jesus, “Whoever is sinless should cast the first stone”. 
What is this trust based on? Is it just out of respect for the  
decisions of ecclesiastical authority?   What happens if things change, if one of the parties fails to
When God called Abraham, the conditions around him were fulfil their commitments?  
harsh and adverse. Abraham did not ask God to change things You must always trust each other a little bit to reach an agree-
before he moved. The only thing Abraham had, was faith in ment. If there were not some mutual trust, there would not
God, in his God, who had called him. He entrusted himself to even be a chance to speak, and there would never be any
God without hesitation. When God called me, the seminar- agreement. The Holy See’s goal is the propagation of faith in
ies in China had not yet been reopened. But God gave me His Christ, while the Chinese government has other objectives.
light. He showed me what the future of the Church in China The Holy See is serious and has nothing to hide when speaking
could be. When I applied to enter the newly opened seminar, to national Governments. But China is also a great nation, one
they told me that I had to take an admission exam. I prepared that can honor the agreements made. We Christians know that
a presentation with this title, “If the end of a harsh winter has it is possible to trust people. And we trust above all in the Lord.
come, can spring ever be far away?  It is He who leads all things. 
 

Verbiest Courier June 2018 

 PHOTO REPORT
Taipei

At the occasion of the 150th anniversary of

the death of Theofiel Verbist, Professor Ku
Weiying (Verbiest Institute Taipei) gave a
lecture on the founder of Scheut in the St.
Paul bookshop in Taipei on 25 February.
In this store our publications are also
offered for sale.

Fr. Francesco Carin, director of the Verbiest Foundation and

Verbiest Institute Taipei, and the colleagues from Verbiest
Institute Taipei with our publications.

 In 1967, the Cursillo
movement was also
started in Taiwan.
As founder of the
Cursillo in Taiwan,
Father Jeroom
Heyndrickx was invited
in November 2017
to celebrate its 50th
anniversary with 1,000
participants.

Leuven

In December 2017 the statue of Theofiel Verbist arrived

in Leuven. It was made in China, and is a replica of the
statue in the garden of the mission house of Scheut in
Brussels. We are currently working hard to further plan
our Memorial Garden with other statues.
The inauguration will take place on 21 August, at 3 pm,
at the opening of the International Conference.

During the Christmas week our students from Moerzeke visited the ICM sisters and Scheut, in Heverlee and Kessel Lo.

Verbiest Courier June 2018 

 Our 6 students from the Triest Institute celebrated Chinese
New Year in the Chinese College with a liturgy where the
ancestors were honored, and a meal with tasty
Chinese raviolis
On March 28, colleagues from the Verbiest Insti-
tute and from the Chinese College received six
cooperators from China Zentrum, Sankt Augustin,
Germany. Further cooperation was discussed
during a successful meeting.

Mongolia

At the end of November 2017, a conference was

held at the A. Mostaert Center (Ulanbaator,
Mongolia) on the occasion of the 25th
anniversary of the mission in Mongolia. Father
Jeroom Heyndrickx gave a lecture about his
prospection visit to Mongolia in October 1991, in
preparation for that mission. In Mongolia people
speak of “the Belgian School” of
Mongolists: the Scheutists

China
Sr. Gaby Yang conducted several
sessions in November-December
2017 about the catechumenate in
Shijiazhuang, Ningbo and Hengshui

Easter liturgy in an
underground (‘non-offi-
cial’) community “no in
China, March 30, 2018

Verbiest Courier June 2018 

What is the Ferdinand Foundation?
What is she doing?
➢➢ CICM (Congregation of Missionaries of Scheut) was
founded in 1862 by Theofiel Verbist (Antwerp). Be-
tween 1865 and 1955 679 missionaries worked in
North China: in Inner Mongolia, in Jehol, Datong,
Ningxia, Xinjiang, Qinghai. They evangelized, they
built schools, hospitals and developed agriculture.
Some Scheut missionaries became famous around
the world through their research on the Chinese and
Mongolian language and culture. Having been ban-
ished from China, after 1949 by Mao Zedong, they
opened missions in Taiwan, Hong Kong, in Singa-
pore and later in Republic of Mongolia.
➢➢ When China opened again to establish collaboration
with the West, Scheut created with the Catholic Uni-
versity of Louvain, in 1982, the Ferdinand Verbiest
Foundation, bearing the name of the famous Jesuit
missionary eighteenth-century Belgian astronomer,
teacher of Emperor Kangxi. His Eminence, Cardinal
J. De Kesel (Mechelen) chairs the Foundation. Board
members represent different congregations of mis-
sionaries: the mission of Scheut, the Franciscans, the
brothers of Charity.
➢➢ The Verbiest Foundation wants to develop a new re-
lationship with the Church of China. Similar to the
age old collaboration of missionaries of our coun-
tries with China, she wants to stimulate a contempo-
rary collaboration between the Church Belgium and
China. This should be based on equality and mutual
appreciation.
➢➢ To help the Church in China most effectively, It is bet-
ter to invest in the training of ministers of the Church.
For this purpose, the Foundation offers scholarships
for the formation of priests, of nuns and lay people.
Note that a formation, insured in China, is preferred.
The foundation also aimed at higher institutes in Chi-
na. Likewise, there are priests, nuns and lay people
who are invited to receive special training abroad.
After their studies, it is advisable that they return to
China to serve their own Church. Colleagues from
the Foundation are in touch with bishops and reli-
gious communities in China. They make sure that
the support is used good and correctly.
➢➢ In addition, the Foundation also responds positively
to requests for help for (small) development projects
in the dioceses of North-West China: Gansu, Qing-
hai, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, etc.
➢➢ Financial support can be sent to: the Ferdinand Ver-
biest Foundation, Vlamingenstraat 1, 3000 Leuven -
Current account: 735-0183437-95 (KBC Bank NV, Mgr
Ladeuzeplein 19, 3000 Leuven, Belgium (BIC: KRED-
BEBB, IBAN: BE76 7350 1834 3795) If you wish, you
can always take up contact with our secretariat via
verbiest.inst@kuleuven.be

➢➢ The Foundation sponsors the activities of the Insti-

tute Verbiest KULeuven (Naamsestraat 63, bus 4018,
3000 Leuven), those of the Chinese College in Leuven
(Kard Mercierplein 3) and those of the Institute Ver-
biest in Taipei. Through these institutes, the Founda-
tion wants to develop research on the history of the
Church in China as well as developing there pastoral
collaboration with the Church.

Secretariat : Redaction:
Pieter Ackerman Jeroom Heyndrickx, Pieter Ackerman
courier Vlamingenstraat 1,
Verbiest 3000 Leuven
Tel.: 016/32.43.50
Responsible editor:
Jeroom Heyndrickx

Pieter.Ackerman@ kuleuven.be
http://www.kuleuven.be/verbiest