Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - "Oh how many monsters are in this New World, coming from Europe!". So said Charles Thomas Maillard de Tournon (1668-1710), the first papal legate in China. His figure is closely linked to the well-known and painful controversy over the so-called "Chinese Rites". The Pope, by ordaining him Bishop and appointing him Papal Legate, conferred on him the noble title of "Patriarch of Antioch". He had studied in Nice, in a school of the Society of Jesus. This is why the Jesuit missionaries in China considered him one of them. Professor Zhang Rui, professor at the History Department of East China Normal University (ECNU), wanted to present the life and vicissitudes of Maillard de Tournon in an objective and scientific way, based on studies and archival research, brought together in the volume "The mission of the first pontifical legate Maillard de Tournon - At the origin of relations between the Holy See and China (1622-1742)".
The work, published by Urbaniana University Press, is divided into five chapters, which describe the historical context, focus on the "return" of Christianity in China, and then reconstruct the different stages of the work carried out in China by the papal legate, until his death.
The author tells the story "with the precise verification of numerous archival sources, which allow to reconstruct a significant phase of the first official meeting between the Holy See and China, in many respects decisive for cultural relations, subsequent political and religious relations between the 'Christian West and the Chinese people'. The volume will be presented on Thursday, March 9, 2023 in the Newman Hall of the Pontifical Urbaniana University, in the presence of Father Leonardo Sileo, Rector Magnificent of the University. Father Bernard Ardura, from the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, Professor Agostino Giovagnoli (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan), Professor Francesco Sisci (Remin University of China) and Don Flavio Belluomini, from the Historical Archive of Propaganda Fide will participate at the presentation of the book.
Professor Zhang, author of the book, has previously collaborated with cultural institutions linked to the Holy See and Italian academic institutions such as the University of Rome "La Sapienza" where, in 2019, he also obtained a doctorate in European history. Previously, he had graduated from the postgraduate course in Church Social Doctrine at the University of Rome "Tor Vergata" and attended the course organized by the "Studium" of the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Causes of Saints. From 2008 to 2013, the author worked at the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Rome and was part of the delegations invited to meetings organized by the Pontifical Council (now Dicastery) for Interreligious Dialogue. Currently, Professor Zhang is leading a national research project on the history of Sino-Vatican relations, sponsored by the National Social Science Foundation in China. His areas of research include the history of Christianity, the history of Catholic missions in China, and the history of cultural exchanges between East and West.
Maillard de Tournon set out on his mission with the intention of creating a channel of communication between Rome and Beijing, "to supervise the activities of the missionaries themselves and to develop diplomatic, cultural and human exchanges". Then, its role consists above all in making known the provisions relating to the question of Chinese rites enacted by the Holy See, which at the time opposed to allowing Chinese who had become Christians to continue to participate in those forms of traditional devotion to their ancestors . On July 11, 1704, he left Pondicherry for China. He arrived in Macau (Portuguese colony) on April 2, 1705, and in Beijing on the following December 4. In January 1710 he was created cardinal by the Consistory of August 1, 1707, he died in Macao on June 8, 1710, while still in a state of restricted freedom. He was buried in Macao, but his body was then brought back to Rome by the second papal legate, Carlo Ambrogio Mezzabarba, and placed in the chapel of the Three Wise Men of Propaganda Fide on September 27, 1723. A large plaque in memory of the patriarch is still in the chapel of the Palace of Propaganda. His death caused a strong impression in Rome: Clement XI praised him publicly and privately for his courage and loyalty to the Church. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides, 6/3/2023)
