In an increasingly multicultural society, ethnic and racial tensions are common. But a group of international missionaries with long ties to the Diocese of Arlington stand as witnesses of universal brotherhood.
“For a brother who doesn’t look like me, who doesn’t eat like me, it is possible to live together. Our fellowship bears witness to this, ”said Missionhurst Father Celso Tabalanza, US provincial superior for the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, whose US operations have been based on Missionhurst’s Arlington property for 75 years.
Some are called to be missionaries – to step out of our comfort zones, to leave our families and cultures behind, to bring the good news to other people and to discover the presence of God in other people. “Missionhurst Father Celso Tabalanza, Superior US -Province of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
The order was founded in Belgium in 1862 by Father Theophile Verbist for the evangelization of China. Since the order is based in Scheut, Anderlecht, a suburb of Brussels, they are sometimes referred to as Scheut missionaries, but in the USA they are usually referred to as Missionhurst-CICM. CICM stands for Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariæ.
Today the Order has 780 priests and brothers around the world, including 36 in three US dioceses: Arlington, Raleigh, NC, and San Antonio, Texas. Many will be at Missionhurst, Arlington, for an anniversary mass on October 7th, celebrated by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, and an anniversary dinner to coincide with their annual retreat.
“When we become CICM, we will bear witness of fraternal brotherhood,” said Father Tabalanza, noting that there are seven nationalities represented in the US province alone: Canadians, Americans, Zambia, Filipinos, Congolese, Indonesians and Belgians.
Just as some men are called by God to serve the Church as parish priests, Father Tabalanza said, “Some are called to be missionaries – to step out of our comfort zone, to leave our families and cultures behind to share the good news “. to convey to other people and to discover the presence of God in other people. We believe that God is already there and he calls us to continue what he has already started in so many different ways. “
MISSIONARIES IN CHINA
The life of the early CICM missionaries in China was not easy; many died during the Chinese Boxer Rebellion, a violent uprising against foreigners and against Christians from 1899-1901. The term boxer refers to the rebellion leaders who practiced Chinese martial arts that English speakers then referred to as “Chinese boxing.”
During the Second World War, the Order sent Father Ernest Dieltiens to the United States to seek financial support for the China missions and to find new areas of responsibility. He arrived on January 1, 1944, and the Order soon established a permanent mission. In April 1946 he bought the 11 acre property called Lyonhurst on what is now North 25th Street in Arlington.
Built in 1907, the Spanish mission-style stucco house was the family home of Frank Lyon, an early real estate developer in the county. The name was changed from Lyonhurst to Missionhurst – “hurst” is an Old English word for hill or small wooded hill, which aptly describes the park-like property, which now also houses a retreat house, offices and a chapel. A retirement home for retired priests is right outside the main entrance, which leads to a large circular path where neighbors with children and dogs stroll among the flowering plants. The main residence looks exactly the same as in the historical photos. Father Tabalanza noted that the small stone lions that flanked the front door were kept for historical reasons.
In 1946, 16 missionaries arrived from Brussels, primarily to work in the African American mission in the Archdioceses of Philadelphia and Columbus, Ohio. Later that year, two priests were posted to Precious Blood Church in Culpeper, where the Order stayed until 2016. Today, in addition to Missionhurst, Missionhurst priests also work in St. Ann Church in Arlington and the Mt. Tabor Community in Vienna.
After the Order decided to expand the CICM presence in the United States in the late 1940s, many more missionaries came. For the first 40 years most of them came from Belgium and Holland; most recently, most of them have come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Philippines, and Indonesia, as well as Brazil and Guatemala.
“Many of us have actually been inspired by missionaries who came from Europe to evangelize us,” said Father Tabalanza, a Filipino. “We asked, ‘Why can’t we do the same?’ ”
Although the Order’s original focus was on China, the Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949 resulted in the expulsion of missionaries and the severance of US diplomatic relations with China. The contract shifted its efforts to other countries, including the United States.
SERVING THE NEEDS OF THE CHURCH
Over the years his style of missionary work has evolved to meet the needs of the places serving CICM priests. In Europe today this may mean focusing less on community service and more on Muslim-Christian dialogue and contact with new immigrants. In the United States, this means increasingly focusing on serving Hispanic communities, so CICMs have become experts in Hispanic ministry, said Father Tabalanza, who served in Texas before coming to Virginia.
“One of our CICM charisms is to serve the needs of our local church. When a bishop calls and says, ‘I really need you for this type of work,’ we are serving, ”he said.
“We’re multicultural so we can reach out to other multicultural communities,” he added. “As foreigners, immigrants in this country, it is much easier for us to empathize with other cultural groups that are just coming into the country or that feel lost.”
Father Tabalanza said that CICM missionaries are not just priests but also brothers from many professional backgrounds, such as doctors, educators, engineers, and lawyers. He mentioned Dr. Jerry Galloway, an American doctor who became a Missionhurst brother after serving in the Peace Corps and serving the pygmy tribe in the Congo for 27 years.
Father Tabalanza knows full well that being a missionary can be just as dangerous today as it was when the CICM founders went to China at the end of the 19th century. When he was a missionary in the Congo shortly after his ordination, he was taken hostage by rebels during the civil wars in the late 1990s. He was later detained by the army who accused him of working for the CIA when they learned he was a US citizen.
The experiences were traumatic, but they put his faith to the test and purified him, like a gold refining process, he wrote in a 2010 book (My Years in Africa: Crossing the Eye of a Stormy Mission, published by CICM Missionaries), written on Suggestion from a trauma counselor who thought the writing process was therapeutic.
When asked today to speak to seminarians about the reality of missionary life amid global unrest and political change, he is not glossing over the risk. “Violence is a reality, that is missionary life,” he said. “I tell you, it’s not just roses, there are thorns too.”
Despite the dangers, God still calls young men to become missionaries.
The Missionhurst CICMs celebrated two ordinations this year, one in Raleigh Diocese and one in San Antonio. And a parishioner at St. Ann Church in Arlington, Mark Joyce, recently became a seminarian at Missionhurst, inspired by the priests who serve his ward.
“We have had a call drought for many years, but we have one in our 75th year and it is a great blessing,” Father Tabalanza said.
Find out more
Visit missionhurst.org or call 703 / 528-3800.