The misadventures of the missionary

The life of a missionary entailed a certain amount of risk, discomfort and inconvenience starting with the journey to the missions. Consequently, it was necessary for the religious to adapt and find solutions for small and big problems of everyday life. We deduce this from various sources: edifying letters, correspondence from missionaries.

The source

We can learn more about the difficulties of the journey from other sources, such as the one we are presenting today.

It is a kind of decalogue, entitled “Useful information for new missionaries”, written in 1940 by Fr Minella, for Jesuits destined for the mission and members of the Turin Province. The document is in the “Peng Pu mission” folder, in the Roman Province fund. Probably the Provincial of the latter had found it useful to extend this advice to his own missionaries. All the Jesuits of the Roman Province who left for the mission must have followed these instructions, among them Fr Bortone .

Most of the indications are of a practical nature and concern the journey and arrival in mission lands. The document, however, also allows one to read between the lines the context and the perception of missionaries in the East.

It begins, however, with the basics: according to the writer, it is indispensable for a Jesuit destined for the mission to have visited Rome at least once “otherwise the Jesuit loses face on many occasions: for the Chinese and in general for foreigners it is inconceivable for an Italian not to have seen the Pope and Rome”.

The journey

P. Minella has no doubts about the choice of class for the ship’s cabin – we are in an era when the differences between first, second and third class still existed – “Don’t go third class.” He explains the reasons for this statement: “You have to have experienced a little seasickness to know what a cabin without ventilation becomes when the temperature is 40°. In addition, there is not enough space to be secluded and far away from certain women in ultra-modern swimming costumes. So book second economy or second class as many missionaries do’.

The Jesuit comments on the environment on board the ships, also in another passage of the document, calling it ‘rather frivolous’.

In the first half of the 20th century, ships and transatlantic liners were the preferred means of transport for long distances, aircraft were still too expensive, so most travellers flocked to ships.

Some dramatic shipwrecks of these large ocean liners also date back to this period

The large number of passengers corresponds to an equally large amount of luggage, which explains the later advice for luggage to be shipped “it is convenient, if not necessary, to have sturdy crates, of equal size, of equal colour, with our initials (S.J.) in large letters […] to facilitate the recognition of the crates amidst the innumerable luggage of a thousand or more passengers.”

Inconveniences and mishaps with light crates or fragile objects must have been frequent, the writer in fact remembers ‘P. Costa’s oil went to soil too many bags’.

Indispensable objects

The question of sturdy luggage is emphasised again when speaking of suitcases: ‘sturdy leather suitcases with straps are needed if one wants to reach the end of the journey with anything. The experience of us, of the Romans, of the Canadians says that autarkic suitcases are not worth much.”

The document points out some social-historical changes that also touched the lives of the religious: ‘a wristwatch is more suitable than the common Roskopff[…] Almost everyone now has a wristwatch. […]” The watch mentioned was the pocket watch, usually attached to the habit by means of a chain’. We also read ‘The breeches be long, white and black, for nothing else is used here.’

Social changes, however, go far beyond clothing; Fr Minella in fact states that for a missionary: “It is necessary to know English. Latin and Greek are of no use, not even to be understood by English or American priests. At Maison Chabanel it is indispensable, as it is in all business: even F. Ciminari is giving it a go to learn it.”

The Jesuit then goes on to list all the indispensable items that every missionary must pack: a sturdy alarm clock, a leather student bag, a shoe and clothes brush, a beret, a helmet “not for a Turinese “pizzardone” who is pear-shaped” [nome che si usava all’epoca per i vigili][pizzardone: a name used at the time for policemen], sunglasses, soap, a towel, a bath towel, pyjamas, a belly-bottom or bathing shorts. This last garment has a particular importance linked to one of the most frequent problems of travelling and the change of climate: ‘not to catch cold (dysentery!)’.

Customs

The first approach to customs seems to be particularly problematic. The Jesuit advises that the crates can be opened easily so that the customs officers can check the contents, he also suggests making a list of what is inside. He goes on to write, ‘According to a new provision, customs should let through free of charge anything that serves religious propaganda!!!’.

Furthermore, it was necessary to declare the value of the objects, not exactly but, as the writer suggests, ‘not so insignificant as to arouse suspicion. Generally you can give one fifth of the value that things have in Italy’.

Customs impose a particularly high price for various objects of everyday life, which the Jesuit lists: typewriters, cameras, bicycles, radios, motorbikes, objects made of silver, gold, silk.

For some items, given the customs costs, it was preferable to buy directly in China.

The decalogue was, in some passages, already old and partly outdated. In fact, Fr Minella adds a few notes here and there specifying that the situation in China has changed over the years. Some products have become very expensive, while customs procedures have sometimes tightened.

The document concludes with a motto that makes clear the intention that animated Fr Minella in composing the decalogue and the aims: ‘Experience is a lantern that illuminates only those who carry it’.

Maria Macchi