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BISHOP JOHN MULLENER, C.M. (1673-1742)

BISHOP JOHN MULLENER, C.M. (1673-1742)
FOUNDER OF THE INDIGENOUS SEMINARY IN CHINA


The following was taken from an article by Francois Willemen, C.M. for the XXXIII International Eucharistic Congress, held in the Philippines in 1937

Bishop Mullener did not open a new country to the preaching of the Gospel as did Mateo Ricci. He was not one of those great figures who attracted the attention of historians. We can say that he was not even well known. Nevertheless, he made a unique contribution. He was, as far as we know, the first missionary to found an indigenous seminary in the interior of China, where Chinese priests could be trained and educated. It was in the beginning of the 18th century.
In 1697 Pope Innocent XII organized an expedition to China comprised of Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans and a Vincentian, Luis Antonio Appiani, C.M., who was put in charge of the group. The qualities which Fr. Appiani manifested as professor of Montecitorio and spiritual director of the Colegio Urbano were the reasons why he was chosen for this office. The Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith added two secular priests and an affiliate of the Sacred Congregation, a young priest of 23, John Mullener, who, during the journey, joined the Congregation of the Mission.
A principal goal of the Sacred Congregation was to found a seminary for the formation of
indigenous clergy in one of the great cities of the empire, Peking (Beijing) or Canton. However, upon arrival in China, Fr. Appiani found such great opposition and intrigue that he and Mullener decided to go to the far-away province of Sichuan, less frequented by the Europeans, with the hope of realizing there the desires of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. So, the first Vincentians in China, Frs. Appiani and Mullener, entered as missionaries of the Propagation of the Faith.
They entered China in 1699 and arrived in Sichuan in the beginning of 1702. Fr. Appiani, of course, was the superior. They took to heart the formation of Chinese priests from the moment they entered Sichuan. Fr. Appiani had at most 100 Christians, but from this small flock he was able to get one priest.
The state of the Church in China during the 18th century can be summarized in the following words "relative freedom of religion in Beijing and sporadic persecutions in the provinces." After two years Fr. Appiani was compelled to return to Canton, where Bishop Tournon (the first legate of the Pope) chose him to be his secretary. When a persecution broke out in 1706-07, however, Fr. Appiani was imprisoned. Thus began his life as a Confessor of the Faith. He passed 19 years and 9 months in prison and was only released through the intercession of the pope in 1726. He was exiled to Macao where he died in 1732.
As a result of the same persecution, Fr. Mullener was taken to Canton on two occasions. On the second occasion he was exiled to Macao and then ordered to leave Macao for Batavia (Surabaya, Indonesia) where he arrived on December 18, 1708. In 1710 he returned to China and remained in Canton in hiding; until he was able to enter Hu-Kwang (present day Hunan Province). The idea of a seminary had not left him. He promised himself, if he found a favorable place, to reunite his former students and develop his seminary: "I am going by myself ... very far ... If it pleases God to give me a safe place, I will be able to begin, or better, to continue the seminary began in
Chongqing." The journey was extremely difficult. To the material difficulties were added monetary ones.
Fr. Mullener returned in 1711 to Hu Kwang. There he found an opportunity to preach the Gospel: "Because of this I stayed longer than I expected. Seeing the fruits which the good Lord has sent me, I decided to buy what was necessary for a church." Fr. Mullener remained alone with the direction of the Sichuan Province and in 1716 was named its Vicar Apostolic. The Province of Hu-Kwang (present-day Hubei and Hunan Provinces) was also placed under his direction, because Bishop Visdelou was in exile. He acquired a church there, actually a house which served as an oratory for the Christians and a residence for missioners. The seminary was still in the Province of Sichuan, in the capital, Chengdu.
The heroic zeal and perseverance of Bishop Mullener finally were rewarded. From 1712 he worked in relative peace. He was not thrown out of the province and he could give his entire attention to the care and formation of his flock. Bishop Mullener remained by himself until 1721. Help arrived when he was able to ordain the first Chinese priest from his seminary in 1721, and, later, in 1731-32, when two other Chinese priests joined him in his pastoral ministry.
What were the results of this life full of sufferings and hardships? When Frs. Appiani and Mullener arrived, there were perhaps 300 Christians in the whole province. At the death of Fr. Mullener there were from 8 to 9,000 Christians.
How was it possible to obtain such results, given the fact that he was alone for so long and faced enormous difficulties? The principal means was the formation of catechists. The catechists "...are actually the ones who founded the Christian communities through the conversion of many (non-believers). This is done throughout the China mission." Key to the support of the catechists, in Mullener's mind, was the creation of a native clergy through the indigenous seminary. He said, "I would say for my 22 years here, I have not experienced a more useful and necessary method than TO EDUCATE AND FORM CHINESE YOUTH FOR THE PRIESTHOOD." The original mission remained his constant dream, as he said at one point, "From my students...with the help of God, I will be able to find good priests and ministers of the Gospel, according to the intention of the Pope and the Sacred Congregation."
Bishop Mullener in 1721 ordained Paul Sou, a young Chinese student of his, his first and best "disciple" and faithful companion to the day of his death. He was also the first Chinese Vincentian. Father Appiani wrote in praise of both Mullener and Paul Sou, when he wrote from prison in 1719, "Bishop Mullener is so full of zeal that he would sacrifice (everything) in order to educate a dozen young men and place them in the care of his first disciple Paul Sou (who at the time was 28 years old and in minor orders)."
The formation of Chinese clergy in the 18th and first half of the 19th century was a real apostolic effort to the glory not only of so many missioners but also of the Christians of those times. Bishop Mullener's seminary was a great accomplishment for the Church of China and a good example for the future.