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12 November 1842 — Father Catherin Servant to Father Jean-Claude Colin, Futuna

Based on the letter sent.

Translated by Fr Brian Quin SM, April-May 2016

Very Reverend Superior of the Society of Mary,

4 Rue St Barthelemy, Lyons, France.

12 November 1842, Futuna.

Very Reverend and dear Superior,

[1]

The number of baptised is 748, and we hope that very soon we will have a thousand baptised; but we will not have more than that, because the population of this island does not seem to be greater than that number. The consolations that we experience each day are wonderful, they far outweigh the sufferings we have, in working for the salvation of these poor souls. Already confessions are numerous, and sometimes only slight admonitions are needed to bring crowds of our good newly-baptised to the tribunal of penance. Because this island is sheltered from the bad examples of sailors, it can be hoped that Futuna will be the home of peace and piety. Oh! what a harvest for our divine Master! Yes, here it is that the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians! I think that a description of some details of the works of this mission will be interesting to read.

[2]

Among the baptismal ceremonies that we have performed, it would be possible to describe with edification the baptism of 60 well-instructed and recollected adults on whom we conferred the sacrament on the feast-day of the Assumption. The king wanted to be the godfather of one of his relatives. We explained the baptismal ceremonies to them; we spoke to them about renouncing Satan, his pomps and works, the chrism which is the symbol of the innocence in which they should persevere, and the blessed candle which represents the love which must always burn in their hearts. To us they seemed very moved, and we saw several of them weeping tears of joy. That ceremony was followed by a recital of the glories of her whom they call their good mother, Cinana Malie.

[3]

Everything went well among the vanquished,^[1] in whose midst we had set up our house, but it was not the same among the victors.^[2] Political issues among them raised obstacles; some plotters, and among others the murderer of the Reverend Fr Chanel,^[3] were harming the success of the mission and were raising a considerable obstacle to the baptism of those among the victors’ group who were disposed to it. But without saying anything to anyone, and when no-one was expecting it, at the end of August I left with Brother Marie-Nizier. Father Roulleaux remained at our house to supervise the building of a church. During this first journey I baptised 33 adults in the most distant valleys from the place where the murderer lived. Among the baptised there were 44, at the head of which was the minister of the former king and the friend of the Reverend Father Chanel,^[4] who were baptised pretty much over the grave of the martyr of Futuna.

[4]

Then, while travelling along one of the most fertile valleys on the island, I was suddenly interrupted in my journey – I was told that I was expected in a close-by house. I thought that it involved a council of war, but instead of a noisy gathering, I found 17 adults ready to be baptised. At that time messengers were going from one place to another to say that the victor party was in danger, but all our newly-baptised were forcefully rejecting these crazy attacks; they wanted, they said, to be conquerors for God. From that point there were two parties among the victors: those who did not want the murderer to be king, and those who wanted him to be king. The latter group occupied only three valleys; the people of one of these received me very badly, four young men began the war chant; an old man ran to get weapons to defend us, but he was stopped; there were no harmful consequences.

[5]

Here is a providential happening: the murderer, who had at first pretended to have something wrong with an eye, in order to give the mortal blow to Father Chanel while he was getting a remedy ready for him, had had since a great pain in the same eye. All the natives were united in attributing this pain to the vengeance of God, and the murderer himself was seized with fear; he humiliated himself, he gave up his ambitions and placed no more obstacles in the way of the success of the mission. The son of the former king^[5] without being appointed king by the nobility, is now seen as their greatest chief; he had converted in the time of Father Chanel, and his conversion had occasioned the death of that Reverend Father because it had aroused the anger of the King.

[6]

While the tasks of our holy ministry were being carried on with great success, in the middle of a beautiful valley, covered with coconut palms, banana palms and other tropical plantations, a church was being built under the supervision of Father Roulleaux. On the feast-day of the Holy Rosary, the 2nd October, we carried out the solemn blessing of this church, which is dedicated to St Francis of Assisi. There was a great gathering of people who sang while we were carrying out the ceremony. The king^[6] was seated in the sanctuary, close to him were his minister and the members of his council. After the blessing we gave an instruction in which we included prayers of blessing for the king and people of every age and sex, of Futuna and Wallis who had contributed to the building of the first church in this island.

[7]

You see, Very Reverend Father, that everything here is going wonderfully well. I would like to have the time to be able to give you some lengthy details, but the night is well advanced, and at daybreak the French frigate called the Embuscade will set sail. It is truly Providence which brought us this vessel. Its presence alone is having a wonderful effect on the minds of our beloved people of Futuna. That vessel will bear the present letter to the Bay of Islands. How happy we have been with the kindly actions of its commander and its worthy officers!^[7] Very Reverend Father, the climate here is pleasant for us, we are all in very good health. The natives love us very much, they share their food with us. We are joyfully gathering the harvest which was sown in the sufferings of Reverend Father Chanel, and which was watered with his blood.

[9]

Farewell, Reverend and beloved Father. Commend us, please, to the Sacred Heart of Mary, where I am now and will be always.

Your most humble and obedient servant,

Servant

Missionary apostolic.

Notes

1. ↑ The vanquished, in Futunian, lava, a collective designation for the people of Sigave ( cf Rozier, Ecrits Chanel p 207,note 1)
2. ↑ The victors, whom Chanel calls by the Futunian word maro, a collective designation for the people of Tua (cf Rozier Ecrits Chanel p 207 note 1)
3. ↑ Musumusu was identified as the principal murderer of Chanel (cf doc 133 [7] )
4. ↑ Maligi, the “prime minister” or mua of Niuliki, the king who had ordered the assassination. Maligi “had never approved of the killing of Chanel” (cf doc 135 [1], see also Rozier Ecrits Chanel p 357; Chanel’s mission diary 17 March 1839 p 420).
5. ↑ Meitala, elder son of King Niuliki (cf Chanel’s mission diary, 15 Jan 1841, in Rozier Ecrits Chanel p 498).Frimigacci says (p 215, also p 153-54) that Niuliki had only one son, and one daughter, Tikilagi;he doesn’t seem to consider Niuliki’s son met by Pompallier and Roulleaux in May–June 1842 (on this last-mentioned, a child about two years old at the time, see doc 217 [3] and 343 [3]).
6. ↑ Samu Keletaona, enthroned “as king of all Futuna” with the support of Pompallier in 1842; in face of the opposition of the chiefs of Alo he retired to Sigave, giving up his reign over Alo to Meitala, son of Niuliki. In 1851, Keletaona was deposed and replaced in the kingdom of Sigave by Fasio (Frimigacci p 152 -54, 164)
7. ↑ See doc 221 [12], where several of the officers of the Embuscade are named.