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350th ANNIVERSARY OF THE APPOINTMENT OF THE FIRST FRENCH VICARS APOSTOLIC 

350th ANNIVERSARY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PARIS FOREIGN MISSIONS SOCIETY 



Bishops for Mission abroad
Rome, 1652 : Pope Innocent X decides to send three bishops to the Far-East in order to give local priests to the young Churches of Asia.They will act in the Pope’s name under the guidance of the Roman Congregation Propaganda Fide (today Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples), therefore they will be called “Vicars Apostolic”.1658 : Pope Alexander VII, who succeeded to Innocent X in 1655, appoints the first French Vicars Apostolic  


The 3 first Vicars Apostolic
For the French part of Canada, François de Montmorency –Laval was appointed by the Pope Vicar apostolic of the “New France” (la Nouvelle-France) in April 1658. For the Far-East, François Pallu and Pierre Lambert de la Motte were appointed Vicars Apostolic in June 1658, then, in September 1660, the Pope called Ignace Cotolendi to this charge. 


Estbalishment of the Foreign Missions Seminary (Séminaire des Missions Etrangères)
Before they left France to join the territories the Pope had assigned to them as pastoral fields (the French part of Canada, Vietnam and a large part of China, then Siam), the Vicars Apostolic decided to create a Seminary which would send missionary priests to Asia. Thus they founded the Foreign Missions Society (Société des Missions Étrangères, in short : MEP). Its Seminary, located in Paris 7, rue du Bac since then till today, has trained around 4300 priests and bishops. They commit themselves to the propagation of the Catholic faith « ad vitam, ad extra, ad gentes » : they work as priests abroad for their lifetime, with a special care for people who do not know the Lord yet. 


Paris Foreign Missions Society : 350 years of challenge, service and faith
During the last 350 years, the Paris Foreign Missions Society contributed to the evangelization of numerous Far-Eastern countries: Thaïland, Vietnam, China, Cambodia,  India, Laos, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Burma. From the second half of the XXth century, it has been sending priests to Taïwan,  Mauritius, Madagascar, and  Indonesia.

The MEP Society gave to the Catholic Church numerous martyrs and confessors of Faith, 23 of whom have been canonized and are honoured as saints. Today it is still taking part in the Church’s universal Mission, by sending priests to Asia or to countries of the Indian Ocean. Fifteen seminarians are being trained presently.  


A jubilee for the Church of France 
Ever since 350 years, the Catholics of France have been supporting the mission in the Far-East through prayer, offerings, sharing, and by giving out some of their sons as missionary priests. Nowadays a new style of exchange is taking place between the Church of France and the Churches of these countries. They have reached maturity and are filled with dynamism, although they often represent a tiny minority of the whole population. Wherever we come from, let us thank the Lord together throughout the year 2008’!


Wanted : new missionaries…
However Asia is still in need of missionary priests and each local Church needs to give and to receive from Sister Churches. To consecrate one’s own life to  Mission, to enable people far away from one’s native place to welcome the wonderful gift of Christ’s love, does really bring joy, the Paris Foreign Missions priests experience that fact. They are therefore inviting new young men to join them!  

Welcome to the exhibition « the Foreign Missions in Asia, 350 years of history and adventure”

Venue : MEP Seminary / 128, rue du Bac / Paris 7        
(métro : Sèvres-Babylone, line 12)

Open every day except on Monday from 2 :00 p.m. to 6 : 00 p.m. from 8 January till 29 June 2008

Free entrance

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