The Missions étrangères de Paris in Vietnam : an overview 1664-1975
The MEP presence in Vietnam dates back to the seventeenth century. In 1662, Mgr Lambert de la Motte becomes the first vicar apostolic of Cochin china. As for P. Louis Chevreuil, he is the first MEP missionary to arrive in Cochin china on the 26th of July 1664, as vicar delegate to Mgr Lambert. In Tonkin, P. François Deydier arrives in 1666, later joined by Mgr de la Motte, who holds the first synod there in 1670.
The missionaries experience difficult beginnings because of a hostile political context, a series of edicts against Christianity and cycles of persecutions. A dangerous environment also plays against the missionaries: few manage to reach their vicariate and many die early on because of difficult living conditions. Maintaining the numbers on the field therefore stays an issue up until the end of the eighteenth century. In 1790, there are still only four MEP missionaries in Tonkin. The French revolution and the shutdown of the Paris seminary bury any hope of missionary reinforcements until 1815.
In 1802, with the help of France, Nguyen Ang unifies the country and becomes emperor Gia Long. Whilst the start of Gia Long’s reign is favourable for the mission’s development, violent persecutions against Christians are perpetrated under the reigns of Minh Mang (1820-1840), Thiêu-Tri (1840-1847) et Tu Duc (1848-1883). Many missionaries live through martyrdom, like P. Joseph Marchand, sentenced to death by a thousand cuts in 1835. Persecutions calm down with the Hué treaty of 1862, signed between France, Spain, and Vietnam, and guaranteeing the freedom to practice Christian worship. However, the consequences of the persecutions on local Christian populations are disastrous. Moreover, whilst it guarantees religious liberty, the 1862 treaty does not remedy the precarious situation of the missionaries, as they will continue to suffer persecutions for the next twenty-five years.
Over the second half of the nineteenth century, France strengthens its grip on Vietnam. First establishing a protectorate over Cochin china in 1874, the French then take over Annam and Tonkin ten years later with the Hué treaty. French Indochina is instituted in 1887. From then on, missionaries can reorganise: the country is divided into several vicariates, the numbers are replenished, and conversions are abundant. During the twenty-five-year episcopacy of Mgr Puginier (1868-1892), the Catholic population in Tonkin grows from 140,000 to 220,000.
Over the first decades of the twentieth century, the situation gets more complex for the missionaries because of difficulties with the French administration, famine and the economic crisis favouring the rise of nationalist and communist ideas. Simultaneously, the MEP proceed to the transfer of ecclesiastical offices to a local Vietnamese clergy. This process begins in 1933, when Mgr Nguyen Ba Tong becomes the vicar apostolic of Phat Diêm. Between 1939 and 1945, the missionary activity is greatly impacted by the war, numbers are reduced because of the conscription. Moreover, the Japanese invade Indochina in September of 1940.
The Japanese capitulation in September 1945 is followed by the Indochina War between 1946 and 1954. The MEP situation in Vietnam varies across different vicariates, according to their location, whether they are located in Vietminh or French occupied territory. When the Democratic Republic of communist Vietnam takes control of the North, 700,000 Catholics flee to the South. There are no more MEP missionaries in the North from 1970. After the proclamation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1975, all the remaining missionaries are deported from the country.
The MEP in Vietnam : a chronology
1662 : Mgr Lambert de la Motte is nominated first vicar apostolic of Cochin china.
1664 : P. Louis Chevreuil is the first missionary to arrive in Cochin china.
1666 : François Deydier arrives in Tonkin.
1668-1669 : the first Vietnamese priests of Cochin china and Tonkin are ordinated.
1670 : first synod of the Church of Tonkin.
1691 : Mgr François Pérez is nominated vicar apostolic of Cochin china. He is the first local bishop from the local Vietnamese clergy.
1728 : only 4 MEP missionaries are working in Cochin china.
1766 : the Hon Dat College is opened by P. Jean-Baptiste Artaud.
1773 : a papal brief from Clément XIV assigns the jurisdiction of Tonkin and Cochin china districts to the MEP.
1790 : only 4 MEP missionaries are in Tonkin.
1802 : Nguyen Ang unifies Vietnam and becomes emperor Gia Long.
1815 : the Cochin china mission is made of 3 missionaries, 18 Vietnamese priests, and approximately 60,000 Christians.
1820-1833 : violent persecutions are perpetrated by the Vietnamese emperors against the Christians.
1862 : the Hué treaty is signed, guaranteeing the freedom to exercise Christian worship.
1868-1892 : episcopacy of Mgr Puginier. The Catholic population grows from 140,000 to 220,000.
1885-1910 : Mgr Louis Pineau is vicar apostolic of Southern Tonkin. In 1896, there are 116,000 Christians, 54 Christian communities, and 58 parishes in the vicariate.
1887 : Tonkin, Annam, and Cochin china are placed under the authority of the French Indochina general governor.
1933 : Mgr Nguyen Ba Tong is nominated vicar apostolic of Phat Diêm.
1939-1945 : Second World War. Missionary numbers are reduced.
1940 : Japanese invasion of Indochina.
1946-1954 : Indochina War. 700,000 Catholics flee to the South after the communist takeover of the North.
1960 : the Holy See institutes the ecclesiastical hierarchy organised in dioceses.
1954-1975 : Vietnam War.
1975 : proclamation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The remaining 54 MEP missionaries are deported. 5 fathers die during the confrontations preceding the reunification (1968-1975).
