Fifty years ago, our Congregation took a prophetic move to a Muslim country in Asia, Pakistan, to support the Christian minorities and to foster the interreligious dialogue with the Muslims, a dialogue that was already implemented in many countries in Africa. Twenty-five years ago, Father Pierre Schouver and his council decided that the Congregation would enlarge our Spiritan presence in Asia. Communities were opened in the Philippines (1997), in Taiwan (1997), in Vietnam (2007) and in India (2010). Some confreres questioned this orientation of the generalate. Spiritans were already working in more than 50 countries on four continents, and it is always difficult to find workers to give stability to our current communities. Why then did we dare to enlarge our horizons and reach a continent still largely unknown to us? It is true that already at the time of Poullart des Places, some of the placists (disciples of Poullart des Places) reached far-east regions such as China, Vietnam or Cambodia, and more recently that we have been in India in the 19^th Century for forty years…but apart from some valuable tombs of our Spiritan ancestors, there was no continuity in our presence there. So what was in the mind of the generalate at the time of Pierre Schouver? Certainly our archivists could answer to this question, but what matters more than the first move is to know where we are now… Does our presence in Asia makes sense for the Asians themselves, for our missionaries and for our Congregation as a whole? If to make sense is a question of statistics and numbers, let us be honest, our Asian presence is not significant neither for Asian population (1/3 of the world population), nor for its Church, not even for our Congregation. The amount of Spiritans who have worked in Asia so far does not reach one hundred people and our zealous confreres have not make huge conversions in the place where they were sent. With the exception of Vietnam-India circumscription where our group is growing fast (20 final professed members already and 40 brothers in formation after 15 years of presence), Asian Spiritans are less than five members in the other countries where we work. But enough with statistics! Since when does God look at numbers to see if people find grace in his eyes? The Bible is full of people who looked at their own strength to see if they could face challenges, and for this very reason, collapsed. Meaningful presence should not be confused with efficiency.

Our presence in Asia is meaningful for many reasons. First of all, because in a congregation where African confreres are now the large majority of active confreres in the missions, to reach Asia is a way to build bridges between continents that remain largely unknown to each other. Historically, Europeans have been moving to many continents, for several centuries. Africans have been also reaching America in painful circumstances but progressively merged with the local populations and built their own Afro-American identity. Africans and Europeans have been neighbors since the creation of the world and although the history of colonization have also brought painful memories to many native peoples, they have learned to know each other. Australia is also a continent of migrations.

In the 20^th century, Indians and Chinese have moved to Africa and the other continents for business purpose. Their groceries, minimarkets and restaurants are now famous all around the world. However, many people still look at Asians with suspicion. Asian governments on the other hand, are still imposing very strong restrictions to the migrants of all continents. If we had to inquire with the populations in our respective countries of origin on the four other continents what people know about Asia, their responses would be likely to be very limited. They would say: “Asian produce high-tech products and cheap ones, Asian are very numerous and are taking the leadership of the world economy,…” Basically, people would reply with general and superficial statements, showing that they don’t know much about Asia. For these reasons, there is no better way to get to know each other than to meet, to live and to work together. And here come the missionaries playing a key role in mutual understanding. Our Asian friends, parishioners or brothers in formation by knowing us, discover that our cultures are very diversified and of course, our characters and way to do missionary work are also very much related to our own backgrounds. As missionaries, we also understand that there is not a single Asian culture. As it is the case everywhere, climate, topography, religion, national History,… have shaped the cultures of people. No matter how different are people, there are always some general features that identify Asians and make them so specials. Harmony is a very cherished value in Asia. Harmony means to look together for a common ground that would satisfy each person, at least to a certain point. The disharmony would come when people consider that their own point of view and sake is more important than the consensus of the group, leading them to face conflicts. Even if conflicts exist in the Asian culture, most of the time, it remains hidden, precisely to avoid “loosing face” and putting at stake the stability of the society.

Another important value of the Asian society (in general) is the respect of the many beliefs of people. All the main religions on earth are originated in Asia and to be religious is considered as normal and positive. In many places, people quite easily accept the diversity of religions. They often ostensibly show their own religion. When entering in their house, one can spot many religious icons, together with the pictures of the beloved members of the family who passed away. As Bagamoyo II states, Interreligious dialogue is an integral part of the Spiritan mission in the world today. (Bagamoyo II, chapter III). Where are we as Spiritans on this commitment? We have engaged in the two first steps of interreligious dialogue, dialogue of life and of actions. We live among the people and sometimes engage with them on charity projects. Dialogue on religious experience and theological exchange is more difficult. It requires to master the language and common religious experience is often considered a threat to the Christians who are a tiny minority in societies predominantly Buddhists, Hinduisms or who follow traditional religions considered as superstitious.

How do the Spiritans feel in such an Asian environment? Of course, each Spiritan would have his own answer. As it is the case on the other countries where we work all around the world, some confreres don’t succeed in adapting to an entirely new environment, others strive to adapt and serve for a some years in the place where they were assigned and a minority feels really at home and don’t feel the need of going back to their circumscriptions of origin or any other place.

What about the local diocesan Church? Do they know us? Some bishops progressively know us and collaborate with us, but on a huge continent where many big congregations have stepped before us, let us be honest, our presence remains largely unknown. Let us remember however that evangelization is not something done in one day. It took centuries to evangelize the other continents and decristianisation of many of our countries of origin remains us that evangelization is an ongoing process. Asia remains the biggest continent in terms of populations who have never heard or barely heard about the Good News, a priority for us as Spiritans (Cfr.SRL 4)

Our world is also marked by a paradoxical reality. Politics are more and more reluctant to accept migrants (and as missionaries we are also victims of their policies) but the number of migrants is growing everywhere due to multiple reasons. Missionaries being themselves migrants, are more sensitive to the situation of migrants, whether people from their own countries or from the countries where they work. Indians, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Chinese speaking people are coming to so many countries in the world. For us, it is a duty, a mission and a joy to welcome them in our countries of origin and facilitate their integration. In the asian countries where we work, we also pay attention to the internal migrants, coming from the countryside to the cities or from other countries in search of a better life and job opportunity. (Cfr.Bagamoyo chapter 2, number 17)

Finally, let us not forget that in our congregation, there is a major shift in terms of religious vocations. We insist on living in international communities (cfr.Bagamoyo II, chapter 7) and we actually do it, but what about intercontinental communities? Western vocations and South American vocations are now reduced to less than 5% of the total number of vocations in our congregation. In Asia, on the other hand, there are still countries where young people are willing to commit to religious life and to discover missionary life, young people coming from India, Vietnam, Philippines, but also still unknown countries for us, such as Indonesia, East-Timor, China,… The Holy Spirit questions us through Bagamoyo II: are we willing to abandon some old commitments and engage in new areas of mission? Would we dare to trust in the Providence and go where everything is to be built, knowing that when missionaries are generous and initiative-takers, God will always provide a shelter for them and a local Church to welcome them? Are you reinforcing the international and intercontinental face of our Spiritan communities? (Cfr.Bagamoyo II, chapter 7)

Saint Thomas, Saint Francis Xavier, some 50 Spiritans and many other missionaries came to evangelize Asia since the right beginning of the Church. They were enthusiastic and many of them died in their countries of mission. They ask us, as Pope Francis do: “Would you go out of your comfort zone to reach unknown horizons and discover the joy of the mission on asian soil?” Asia expects us…let us generously respond to the call of the Holy Spirit.

On several occasions in the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Paul and his companions were forced to change their missionary plans. They wanted to go to Asia (!) but "the Spirit would not allow them" (Acts 8:39 and 16:6). Undaunted, they went elsewhere. Jesus himself, in his mission, is constantly confronted with the unexpected. He is confident, he knows that beyong the inconstancy of everyday life, the providence guides the steps of those who put their trust in God. Four months ago, I had to leave Vietnam for reasons that I don’t understand fully . After sixteen years there, I had to leave everything behind. To tell the truth, I was saddened by the hypocrisy of the local authorities, who at first seemed tolerant and benevolent towards my situation as a foreigner who had been on mission in Vietnam for so many years (Vietnam does not issue official visas for missionaries, so we had to find alternative solutions for obtaining visas), but after a month, abruptly, they decided that I had to leave Vietnam immediately. It was a shock for me and for my community, for a number of reasons: I was the country's religious superior, I was the last foreign Spiritan working there, and I was part of the pioneering mission team in Vietnam.

Looking back at those 16 years spent in Vietnam, I can say that I enjoyed so many good things. I acquainted with an extremely dynamic Church, in which consecrated life in particular is very much alive. Priests, religious men and women are deeply committed to their ministry. Religious rise very early (usually before 5am), and are faithful to mass and common prayer. They take their ideal of chastity (consecrated celibacy) seriously, they live simply (except in the matter of food, that is always abondant) and many congregations (especially the sisters) are committed to the most fragile members of society: the disabled, orphans and minorities. The laity impressed me with their generosity and the respect and friendship they show to consecrated persons, as well as their piety, especially Marian piety, and the importance they show to liturgy, especially when using songs and traditional prayers. I also admired their courage, hard work and enterprise. The country is also magnificent and varied. The rice fields of the plains and hills, the gigantic rivers, the sea coast that borders Vietnam, the contrast between huge and alive cities and the peaceful life in the countryside punctuated by the work of growing rice, the markets that abound with fruit and vegetables... I've crisscrossed this country from north to south, and I've never been tired of it.

My main work as missionary was to train the brothers to religious life. I did that for almost the whole of my mission in Vietnam. Our brothers deeply impressed me by their simplicity, their joyful character, their generosity… They have given their whole lives for Christ and the Church, and they have a wonderful spirit of service. They sometimes suffered a little from my stormy temperament, but I always had a great esteem for them, and it was mutual.

Despite this idyllic yet authentic picture, I have to say that after sixteen years in Vietnam, I was longing for new horizons, for reasons inherent to the Vietnamese context. First of all, language has been both my best friend and my best enemy. As a foreigner, I've achieved a mastery of Vietnamese that I've rarely encountered among my foreign peers. The vast majority of foreigners don't speak Vietnamese, and the same is also true of thousands of them who have been living in Vietnam for years, even those who are married to Vietnamese women or men (this case being much rarer). Vietnam is a tonal language, and few people get used to it. Time and again, Vietnamese people have admired my knowledge of the language and my use of tones. And yet..., for someone who has spent sixteen years in Vietnam, I've never felt at ease in this language, the tones I pride myself on using to good effect, are in reality far from being perfectly clear and understandable to all. Above all, my listening comprehension has always fallen far short of my expectations. While it's true that I can have a fairly long conversation with a minority of friends and people who speak very clearly and make the effort to speak more slowly than usual, on the other hand, when people are tackling an unfamiliar topic, I'm completely lost. After a few years, I was hoping that this problem would gradually fade away. Today, I've long since lost my illusions…

Missionary life is also physically demanding. When you live permanently in a tropical climate, getting up at 4.15 a.m. every other day to attend Masses outside (for the sisters or in the parish), living in a megalopolis of over ten million inhabitants, with no greenery, constantly assailed by thousands of scooters, eating rice morning, noon and night (well, I'm exaggerating a little...), you realize that you're burning the candle at both ends, just like the Vietnamese, whose life expectancy rarely exceeds seventy-five years... That's why holidays at home are so enjoyable, since it allows me to sleep 8 hours a night, eat a balanced diet, go for long walks in the countryside in peace and quiet environment, without sweating all the time...

A major frustration in my missionary experience in Vietnam was the lack of integration into the local Church. The Church in Vietnam is extremely dynamic, as I have pointed out, but it also lives in deep autarky and claims its autonomy. Of course, historically, the Church in Vietnam, which was evangelized almost 500 years ago, was under the leadership of foreign missionaries until 1954 in North Vietnam and 1975 for the whole of Vietnam. With the arrival of the Communist regime and the expulsion of foreigners, including missionaries, the country was brutally freed from its Western ties. Today, although the country is still under communist rule, tensed relations between church and state have calmed down considerably in most parts of the country. A few days ago, moreover, Vietnam signed agreements with the Holy See to enable the Apostolic Nuncio (the representative of the Vatican), who until now resided in Singapore and regularly visited Vietnam, to take up permanent residence in Hanoi. Despite this positive development in religious freedom (tensions remain between Church and State in certain regions of the country and on specific issues), nowadays missionaries are tolerated by bishops and the diocesan Church in general, who are generally very kind to missionaries, but they are never seen as active collaborators of the local Church. Never, ever, has a bishop asked me what the charism of our congregation is and how our congregation can contribute to the development of the local Church. Never has a bishop or priest invited me to work in his diocese or parish. They always took refuge behind an appeal to “prudence due to the sensitive politico-religious context”, enjoining us as missionaries to remain very discreet and therefore in the shadow. In reality, the diocesan Church's cautious attitude is unfortunately not limited to its relations with foreign congregations. All too often, Vietnamese religious are seen as a workforce at the service of diocesan pastoral needs, irrespective of their own charisma. As a result, many Vietnamese religious congregations manage parishes when bishops are short of manpower, and are dismissed when there are enough diocesan priests to replace them. This lack of collaboration with the local Church effectively confines foreign missionaries to roles internal to their congregations. During the sixteen years I've been here, I've been a formator for our brothers for 14 years, and the superior of the group for the last two years. Admittedly, I've been able to celebrate masses in Vietnamese here and there, and do catechesis, weddings, baptisms and funerals for the foreign community, but I've never had a long-term commitment to the service of a Vietnamese pastoral ministry, despite my willingness to be more involved in ministry to the Vietnamese people...

As superior of the communities in Vietnam and India, I enjoyed this new responsibility and acted as a link between the different communities. Good organizer, I set up meetings and projects together with my confreres and presided or participated to the many celebrations that brightened up the year: first vows, perpetual vows, ordinations, feasts of our founders, community retreats and vacations, etc. I was also confronted with a pronounced individualism on the part of quite a few confreres, for whom personal projects took precedence over the interests of the community. I tried to talk to everyone and sometimes felt powerless when a colleague, mainly out of immaturity or self-interest, just followed his own ideas and plans. Many of my Vietnamese (and Indian) colleagues respected me despite the fact that I was a foreigner. Others seemed only too eager for me to hand over. It's the nature of any human group to have tensions within it. Indeed, the evangelical spirit does not sweep away the intricacies of our human psychology and our sins. The ideal of fraternity is what it is: an ideal, constantly being reworked, nurtured and sometimes reborn from the ashes.

Today, I'm at a crossroads in my life. I'm heading for another horizon, still in Asia. I don't know how long I'll be involved in a country neighboring Vietnam, but I think we must always look to the future with optimism, courage, enthusiasm and also realism. Missionary life is a mixture of passion and routine, of joy and wonder, but also of frustrations that can sometimes border on bitterness. And so it should be. As religious and priests, we are human beings like everyone else, but our joy lies in placing our hope in God, for God works wonders at all times, and Holy is His Name!

See you soon for new adventures in a country whose name I'm still keeping secret...suspense!

                                                                                Vietnam,  December 24th, 2022.

Dear confreres, family members, and friends,      

Today is Christmas day and this very special atmosphere is felt in the district of Saigon where I live. Nativity scenes, garlands, Christmas music, traditions are still alive. Yesterday, I went to the hairdresser and the young boy who was cutting my hair told me that he was not a Christian but that he liked to come to the Christmas mass, like many people here.

This year will be my 13th Christmas in Vietnam (I have spent two Christmas abroad since I arrived in Vietnam). I have been the superior of Vietnam and India for a year and a half now and I am half way in this mission since I have been appointed for three years. We have just organized the provincial chapter for India and Vietnam, we were 19 members present. It was an opportunity to look at the path we have taken. We were three in Vietnam in 2007 and one confrere in India in 2010, we are now more than sixty confreres and brothers in formation for these two countries. We have 14 priests and four deacons trained by us. In the next five years, we will have 30 priests. The figures are impressive; it is due to the generosity of the brothers who give their whole life for God and for the Church and also due to the generosity of the confreres who accompany them in their formation process.

At the Chapter, we expressed our solidarity between India and Vietnam. The geographical and cultural distance between the two countries is big but the challenges we face are similar: recognition by the civil authorities of our congregation, search for finances for formation and building of houses in which to live in the long term, sending most of our members on mission abroad, local development in our respective countries, social projects, ... the challenges are there and only time will enable us to face them.

As for me, I continue my mission. I do no longer work as a formator of the brothers as I did during ten years. My role is to coordinate the work and mission of the various communities. I am now the only foreigner in Vietnam and it is not an easy situation. Even after 17 years, there are still ways of thinking and acting that differ greatly between the Western culture that still deeply influences me, and the Eastern culture. The Vietnamese are people who have a good sense of conviviality, who enjoy meals and Eucharistic celebrations. They are generally in a good mood. But they have more difficulty in anticipating things, establishing rational criteria for for the years to come and they don’t easily deal with the inevitable conflicts of any community life. They tend to distance themselves from authority, which is sometimes difficult to accept since I am in actually a position of authority.

As a superior, I try to facilitate the cohesion of the group and to establish the foundations of the upcoming missions in Vietnam and India. I am not always sure that I am up to the task at hand and like everyone else, I have my qualities and limitations, my areas of competence and incompetence. But the Church has always moved forward, because God guides us. God constantly calls us to trust, to be humble and patient. For Mary and Joseph, welcoming the Savior of the world in the fragility of a little baby, providing for his education and his future was no small task. But they had faith, they put their hope in God, they accepted the surprises of life, joyful or painful, as a grace from God, and with all this, they were always grateful because God protected and guided them. And they carried out their mission, so it can only be the same for us here in Vietnam and India and everywhere else. Happy Christmas to everyone.

Father Frédéric Rossignol.

Rome, the eternal city, in the month of September, gives a good opportunity to stroll through its narrow streets, amidst archaeological remains, to stop for an espresso, a pizza or an ice cream... And we did it, but the purpose of our stay in Rome was actually not tourism, but to participate in the meeting of the "new" superiors of the congregation, some of whom, as a result of the covid, were not so new in their job. We were eighteen confreres from the four corners of the world, all major superiors. The congregation works in 60 countries, therefore about a third of the countries were represented. We were welcomed by our Superior General, Fr.Alain Mayama, his seven concillors and the confreres who work at our general house, in all about fifteen confreres at the service of the 2800 members of the congregation. The common languages were English, French and Portuguese, even if English has been gaining influence recently.

Meeting together is first of all a time of fraternity, the superiors are in principle already experienced confreres who have good human qualities, a good spirit of service and a sense of perseverance. They obviously have their limitations and we know that living in community for ten days is much lighter than living together in our communities of origin for ten years or more... but this Spiritan fraternity is important and meaningful. Superiors often carry a lot of responsibility, ideally with their close collaborators, but often also in a certain solitude. It is good to be together, to share our experiences and to hear that despite all the difficulties, the congregation is happy to be able to count on us!

We live in a fragile world, where difficulties are not lacking. We have to find the finances to keep our respective missions alive, some Spiritan communities are faced with insecurity or isolation. There is also the challenge of living together, the temptation being great for missionaries to follow their own path. Many confreres are in so-called "irregular" situations, living far from any community and not concerned with the community life inherent in religious life. There are those who find it difficult to find a mission that makes them responsible, those who are not honest about their celibacy or the management of money. There are risks of emotional, sexual or power abuse. Being a superior requires mobilizing confreres in projects that are worthy of our call: having a deep spiritual life, being committed to the poor, respecting and dialoguing with people who do not have the same religion as us. There is also the administrative aspect and the orientations of the Congregation (the General or Provincial Chapters) to put into practice.

To be a good superior, one must have patience, know how to collaborate with one's peers, accept imperfection in oneself and in the lives of one's colleagues, spend a lot of time writing letters, making phone calls, organizing private meetings and work meetings, persevere in one's mission and with all this find joy in what one does. We were reminded to not work alone, but to work together with our council team, our bursar, our secretary, laypeople,… One can be an excellent superior, an average superior or a poor superior. The grace that is given is that of being able to grow by giving oneself and to put one's trust in God much more than in one's personal qualities. And when something fails (a relationship with a confrere, a lasting problem without solution, fatigue and a certain loneliness), we have the advantage of being able to offer all this for the love of the Cross of Christ.

What impressed us during these ten days at the Generalate was to see the good example of the team of our generalate. They coming from all horizons, they are at different stages of life (the youngest is 50 years old, the oldest 67 years old...). If each one of them is there, it is not for his own pleasure but above all to serve the congregation. One of the counselors said in his homily, "We must find God in the mundanity of everyday life”. This is very true. Thank you to all those who assume responsibilities in the congregation. May we find our joy in what we do for the good of all. 

Dans notre monde moderne, les gens voyagent de plus en plus à l’Etranger pour diverses raisons. Ils font du tourisme, du business, de l’humanitaire, … Et nous, nous sommes missionnaires ! Les approches et la compréhension du pays visité diffèrent grandement suivant la motivation du voyage. Les touristes recherchent la distraction, la gastronomie et une touche dosée d’exotisme, les hommes et les femmes d’affaires veulent faire du chiffre, les humanitaires veulent se rendre utile à la société et faire de belles rencontres. Les missionnaires, paradoxalement, n’ont pas d’attentes bien précises. Ils se laissent façonner par ce qui les attend, ils se laissent accueillir par les locaux, souvent surpris par leur gentillesse et disponibilité. Le temps est l’un des grands atouts de la découverte d’une culture. Lorsqu’il se compte en années, le visiteur passe par trois étapes successives, : l’émerveillement, le désenchantement et enfin l’adaptation réaliste, où la nouvelle culture s’offre à soi avec son charme, sa beauté mais aussi ses limites qui sont source d’incompréhensions et de frustrations. Celui qui reste longtemps dans un pays adopte en partie les réflexes et la mentalité locale, tout en restant profondément imprégné de sa culture d’origine.

Les Spiritains sont en Inde depuis douze ans. Il y a six ans, ils ont rejoint la circonscription de Taiwan-Vietnam. Taiwan s’est séparé du groupe en mai 2021 et nous sommes maintenant le groupe Vietnam-Inde. Pendant les deux années de pandémie, les contacts entre l’Inde et le Vietnam étaient limités à des échanges téléphoniques. Au mois de Juillet, j’ai pu rendre visite à la communauté sur place pour trois semaines. Ce fut mon second séjour en Inde et mon premier en tant que supérieur des deux pays.

Notre présence spiritaine en Inde est aujourd’hui une goutte d’eau dans ce vaste monde. La communauté en Inde est constituée de 4 prêtres, un diacre et 4 frères en formation (en 1^ère, 3^ème et 4^ème année de formation). Trois des quatre prêtres travaillent à l’Etranger (mais ils étaient là lors de mon passage). La communauté est donc très fragile et beaucoup de questions se posent sur son avenir. Les jeunes en formation sont dynamiques mais leur formation est longue (12 ans) et les soucis familiaux ou le manque de persévérance personnelle peuvent les amener à quitter la communauté en milieu de parcours. Les prêtres eux-mêmes peinent à trouver leur place dans une Eglise où les Eglises urbaines ne manquent pas de personnel mais les Eglises rurales sont en manque de pasteurs. Il suffirait alors d’envoyer les confrères en milieu rural pour qu’ils aient du travail et puissent subsister à leurs besoins. Le problème, c’est que les instituts de formation à la vie religieuse (philosophie, théologie) sont en ville. Pour le bien de la vie communautaire, il faut donc rester en ville. Mais comment s’en sortir financièrement et quel travail pastoral y accomplir ? La question n’est pas simple. La communauté n’a pas non plus de maison qui lui appartienne. Un des bienfaiteurs locaux met à sa disposition une maison grande certes, mais très vieille, et il a fait comprendre que dans un an ou deux, il voudrait récupérer son bien. Voilà pour les grands défis des années à venir.

La vie en Inde a cependant son charme. On y retrouve l’agitation typiquement asiatique, les gens qui vivent dehors, le trafic dantesque, les échoppes où l’on cuisine à même la devanture, et puis ce monde imprégné de religion et de religiosité, si loin du monde occidental qui a décidé que Dieu appartenait désormais au passé et que seul l’homme avait la maitrise de sa destinée (légère caricature mais constat réel malheureusement). En venant du Vietnam, j’ai été agréablement surpris par deux choses en particulier. Tout d’abord la maitrise de l’Anglais par la franche privilégiée de la société, ce qui m’a permis de participer à des célébrations et même des conférences (incroyable !) en comprenant ce qu’il s’y disait et aussi de rencontrer des familles. Et là quelle ne fut pas ma surprise de voir que la famille indienne (du moins en ville) s’apparente assez bien à la famille occidentale. Par contraste, au Vietnam, les invitations se font toujours lors d’évènements festifs de grande ampleur, minimum trente à quarante personnes, les hommes d’un coté, les femmes de l’autre. En Inde, les familles qui m’ont reçues étaient nucléaires, et chose étonnante, les enfants participaient joyeusement aux conversations des adultes.

Durant mon séjour, j’ai aussi eu la chance d’aller au plus grand lieu de pèlerinage du Sud de l’Inde pour les chrétiens, à Notre Dame de Velankanni. Pour ce faire nous avons pris des bus de nuits, et quelle ne fut ma surprise de voir une station de bus bondée à 1h du matin et les gens courir vers leur bus pour y entrer (fort heureusement nous prenions une destination nettement moins prisée des travailleurs locaux). J’ai également été accueilli dans la famille de notre diacre indien, et j’ai apprécié la simplicité de la vie rurale mais aussi le fait d’entendre que petit à petit les paysans d’aujourd’hui ont une vie un peu moins dure que leurs parents. L’eau potable, l’électricité et les motos commencent à faire partie du paysage. Les salaires restent néanmoins fort bas, ce qui explique que l’exode vers les villes se poursuit inéxorablement.

Trois semaines, c’est une expérience limitée, mais j’ai beaucoup apprécié la gentillesse et l’accueil de mes confrères. J’ai été heureux de rencontrer les jeunes en formation, et à tous, je leur ai dit : prenez votre futur en main, nous sommes là pour vous aider même à distance à faire les bons choix, ayez confiance dans la Providence, soyez unis, généreux et enthousiastes dans ce que vous faites, ma prière et mon amitié vous accompagne.