Class code: 7059 Group Number: 8 Instructor: Mr.

Crispin Vejano

Class Schedule: 9:30-10:30 TTHS

HISTORY OF CICM MISSIONARIES

Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae The Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae (English), or the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary; (French: Congrgation du Coeur Immacul de Marie; Dutch: Congregatie van het Onbevlekte Hart van Maria), also known as the Scheut fathers or Scheutists is a Belgian Roman Catholic missionary congregation established in 1862 by the priest Thophile Verbist. Its origins lie in Scheut, Anderlecht, a suburb of Brussels. The congregation did missionary work in China, Mongolia, the Philippines, and in Congo Free State/Belgian Congo, modern day Democratic Republic of the Congo. History Fr. Thophile Verbist was a diocesan priest in the Archbishopric of Mechelen-Brussels in Belgium in the mid 19th century. He served as chaplain in the military academy in Brussels and at the same time as a national director of the Pontifical Association of the Holy Childhood. A compassionate man of God, he led a group of other Belgian diocesan priests who became deeply concerned with the abandoned children in China and with millions of Chinese who lived at that time in ignorance and poverty. Foundation Father Verbist's desire to consecrate himself to the life of a missionary seemed on the point of fulfillment when the Treaty of Peking of 1861 opened imperial China to his zeal and that of the little band who desired to accompany him. In 1862 he founded the Belgian Mission in China. On seeking ecclesiastical permission, however, they were commissioned by Cardinal Barbaro, Prefect of thePropaganda Fide, to begin their work by founding a seminary in Belgium to supply priests for the beginning mission, and laid the foundations of the Scheutveld College, 28 April 1863, in the Field of Scheut, a short distance from Brussels, so the C.I.C.M. missionaries were also known as Scheutists or Scheut missionaries. The congregation was born not knowing exactly what lay ahead. Their only assurance was their missionary zeal and Gods providence. In September 1863, the first group of missionaries set forth forInner Mongolia. In the winter of 1865, Verbist and his four companions arrived in inner Mongolia, which was entrusted to the fledgling congregation by Rome, and where they immediately began organizing small Christian communities. The founding fathers never imagined that many would follow their footsteps notwithstanding the cost of traveling by sea and in the hinterlands of China. Three years later on February 23, 1868, Verbist died of typhoid fever at the age of 45 in Lao-Hu-Kou. Growth His foundation, however, grew into the worldwide presence it is today. Originally a Belgian Foundation, CICM has grown into an international religious missionary congregation of men from different races, colors and nationalities who are dedicated to universal brotherhood. The Scheutveld priests and brothers have faced severe perils, e.g. the Boxer rebellion in China, involving the massacre of Bishop Hamer, Vicar Apostolic of South-Western Mongolia, seven missionaries and 3000 Christians; the even greater decimation of their numbers by the Congo climate, not to mention the persecution of the missionaries and the negro colonies established by them. In connection with their missions the Fathers opened a number of benevolent institutions, for example the hospital at St-Trudon, Upper Kassai, for those afflicted with sleeping sickness. Today the 1,000 priests and brothers of CICM are present in Asia: in Taiwan, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and Japan; in the vast continent of Africa: in Congo, Cameroon, Zambia, Senegal, and Angola; in the Americas: Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Brazil, Mexico and the United States; and in Europe: Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, France and Germany.

Historical Table Chapter ------------Baguio City Chapter II --Year 1862 1865 1869 1888 1899 1904 1907 1908 1909 General Superior Verbist, Thophile --Vranckx, Frans --Van Aertselaer, Jeroom Van Hecke, Adolf ----Devesse, Seraphin Botty, Albert Mortier, Florent New foundations Belgium China ----Congo --Netherlands Rome Philippines ----Members ----11 --112 309 ------507 ---

General Conference 1887 First General Chapter 1898

Chapter III Chapter IV --------Chapter V ------Chapter VI --------Chapter VII Chapter VIII ------Chapter IX Chapter X ----Chapter XI --Chapter XII Chapter XIII

1920 1930 1931 1937 1946 1947 1953 1954 1954 1957 1958 1961 1963 1966 1967 1974 1976 1977 1979 1981 1987 1990 1992 1993 1995 1999 2005

Rutten, Joseph Daems, Constant Singapore ----Vandeputte, Jozef ------Sercu Frans --Degrijse, Omer ----Goossens, Wim Van Daelen, Paul ------Van Daelen, Paul (2a) Decraene, Michel ----Thomas, Jacques --Lapauw, Jozef Tsimba, Edouard

--------Indonesia U.S.A. Japan Haiti - Chile (+ 1957) Hong Kong - Taiwan Guatemala --Dominican Republic --Brazil Cameroun ----Zambia - Senegal Nigeria (+2003) Mxico ----France ('89) Chad ('90) Mongolia --Angola Mozambique (+2002) ---

649 928 --1202 ----1479 ------1902 --1943 ----1986 1683 ------1556 1441 ----1380 1359 1247 999

1935 Vandeputte, Jozef (Gen.vic.)

Thus it was that in 1911, Rev Fr Sraphin Devesse, CICM, founded a one-room elementary school in Baguio for ten local boys. From these humble origins, Saint Louis School began . In 1915, the intermediate grades and a trade school were started under the guidance of Florimond Carlu. In 1921, the high school was inaugurated. In 1952, college-level courses in the Liberal Arts and Commerce were offered, and Saint Louis College had its first Rector. Other courses and further developments soon followed, under the guidance of the following Rectors/Presidents 1952-54 Gerard Decaestecker 1954-62 Albert Van Overbeke 1962-64 Gerard Linssen 1964-76 Paul Zwaenepoel 1976-83 Ghisleen De Vos 1983-96 Joseph Van den Daelen

1996-2005 Paul Van Parijs 2005-present Jessie M. Hechanova In 1955, the graduate-level programs of Saint Louis College were granted recognition, but the real turning point came on 13 May 1963, when Saint Louis College was conferred University status by the Philippine Government. From the one-room Saint Louis School for ten boys in 1911, Saint Louis University has grown to a four campus University with more than thirty buildings catering to more than twenty thousand students. Apart from the Saint Louis University, the CICM Missionaries also run the Saint Mary's University in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, and the Saint Louis College in San Fernando, La Union, and the Saint Louis College in Tuguegarao, in the Cagayan valley, thus covering a major part of Northern Luzon with outstanding educational institutions.