Girard0348

27 August 1844. - Bishop Pierre Bataillon to Father Jean-Claude Colin, Wallis

Based on the original, APM OC 418.1.

A four-page sheet, three pages of which are written on; the fourth page contains only the address and Poupinel's annotation.

Translated by Merv Duffy and ChatGPT, September 2026.

[p. 4]

[Address:] For him alone · Monsieur · Monsieur Colin, priest, Superior General · Montée Saint-Barthélemy, No. 4 · Lyon · France

[In Poupinel's hand:] Central Oceania · Wallis, 27 August 1844 · Bishop Bataillon

[p. 1]

+ Wallis - Mission of Our Lady of Good Hope, 27 August 1844

My Very Reverend Father,

[1]

This letter is for you alone, and it is all the more painful for me to write it because I fear that it may grieve your paternal heart by causing you apprehension concerning us and your dear mission of Central Oceania. I shall come directly to the matter at hand:

[2]

Before we parted at Tonga, the Reverend Father Calinon, whom I otherwise esteem highly and concerning whom I have nothing but praise, believed that his conscience required him to draw my attention to certain articles of his regulations as provincial. He feared that I was unaware of them and wished to discuss them with me before we parted, so that he might know precisely where he stood regarding his rights and obligations. He told me that, according to his regulations, which he nevertheless did not find very clear, he believed: 1st, that he had chief responsibility for the temporal affairs of the mission and for the use of the allocations from the Propagation of the Faith. The proof was that he had chief responsibility for establishing the procurator's house in the apostolic vicariate, appointing its procurator, directing all its operations, and countersigning all its accounts. Consequently, it fell primarily to him to provide for all the missionaries' temporal needs, except those of the two bishops, who could manage their own modest personal effects. 2nd, since he had no money with which to fulfil his office, he concluded that the Propagation of the Faith would necessarily henceforth allocate and send directly to him all the funds intended for the Vicariate of Central Oceania, except for the modest sum required by the two bishops for their upkeep and journeys.

[p. 2]

[3]

I replied to Father Calinon: 1st, that I was as deeply humiliated as I could be merely by the thought that, among us, members of the same family, there had already been a discussion about our respective rights; 2nd, that of all the hardships and trials I must endure in the missions, the most painful for me would be to be excluded from the Society of Mary and regarded as an outsider; 3rd, that if matters were to be so, I would regret for the rest of my life having accepted, so blindly and under such onerous conditions, so formidable a burden, which I had initially regarded as a pledge of confidence on the part of my superiors; 4th, that since I found myself beneath the weight of this burden, however untenable my position might be, I would always make every sacrifice for the good of peace and union, and would always conform to the intentions of my venerable superior, which I did not know how to distinguish from those of the Church; 5th, that I would consult you and abide by your decision; 6th, that in the meantime we must continue as before, that is, to live together as brothers, consulting one another and helping one another with our advice, and always working courageously for the advancement of the mission. This was agreed upon by both parties.

[4]

Now, my Reverend Father, please inform us clearly of your intentions, fully assured that you will always find us ready to follow them, since I am firmly convinced that I could not better conform to the intentions of Our Lord and His Church than by conforming to yours.

[5]

What grieves me at this moment is the pain you will experience upon reading this letter; perhaps your tears [p. 3] have already flowed. But stop ... set your mind at rest - everything is going well, just as before. The same union, courage, and zeal continue to prevail among us, and I have nothing but praise for the conduct of all the members of the Society and for the signs of affection and confidence with which they surround me.

[6]

In closing, my greatly revered Father, I ask your pardon a thousand times for all the pain I may cause you here. I ask for the assistance of your prayers and your guidance, and beg you to believe that I shall always remain, in union with your holy sacrifices,

your wholly devoted and respectful
servant and child
+ P(ierre), Bishop of Enos
Vicar Apostolic of Central Oceania

[7]

P(ost) S(criptum). I believe I should tell you here that I have already chosen the pro-vicars apostolic: they are Fathers Mathieu and Chevron, who have earned our confidence. Father Mathieu is also the provisional procurator, until we receive from France a person capable of fulfilling that office. Father Roudaire, who remained at Wallis because of the printing press, is now beginning to print a reading primer for children. The printing house has been built at Our Lady of Good Hope, at the site of our principal residence. We shall operate it as much as we can. We have not yet received any news from the Bishop of Amata. I do not yet know what we shall do with Monsieur Grézel. I hope that he will not become a burden to us. All the Brothers are well, work a great deal, and render us great services.