The French Capuchin Missionaries arrive Puducherry, India
Initial attempts of the Capuchin Foundation in India
In 1625, Fr. Joseph de Tremblay Paris a famous missionary established the first Eastern Capuchin mission in Aleppo, Syria.[1] He sent six Capuchins toIndia[2], to serve as chaplains to the French trading company and these Capuchins landed at Pondicherry in Southeast India on 8, January 1632.[3] They came with royal and papal papers and their settlement in Pondicherry was their extension of the Capuchin missions in the East.[4] There is a big dispute among the Capuchin historians over the exact date of the arrival of the Capuchins at Pondicherry.[5]However it was concluded from the validity of the documents of the General Archives of the Capuchin Order in Rome that the first Capuchins arrived atPondicherry, India on January 8, 1632. The Capuchins who had come with the French Company to Pondicherry were happy to find a few native Christians.[6]
These French Capuchins served not only as chaplains to the French but also made good many conversions among the natives and brought back the erring Christians.[7] When the mission was full of life with new converts, unfortunately the prospects of the French trading company were affected badly by the rising supremacy of the Dutch in the Coramandal coast. Therefore the French had to close its sea-agency at Pondicherry within two years and the captain Reginon de Dieppe retired to Madagascar. The Capuchins their chaplains who depended upon them were also forced to leave India in 1634. Thus the first mission of the Capuchins came to an end in India.
Peter Celestine in his book speaks about the second attempt of the Capuchins establishment at Pondicherry. He quotes the writings of Fr. Norbert de Bar-le-Duc who was a missionary in Pondicherry from 1736-1739.[8] He was a well known friar and the apostolic preacher to Pope Benedict XIV. And he had written many articles and books about the Capuchin missions in India. According to Fr. Norbert a group of Capuchins arrived in Pondicherry on June 26, 1642 but soon left the place. To substantiate his point Fr. Norbert cites the letters patent of Louis XIII, dated 26, June 1642 which guaranteed Royal protection to the missionaries. No details were available other than the date. Meanwhile the Capuchins established themselves in Surat (1639) and Madras (1642) in South India.
The French East Company in Pondicherry
The princes of Malo sent the commercial ship of St. Louis with the headship of J. Peppis to India in 1616.[9] He set foot on the soil of a small hamlet of fishermen in South India which was later known as Pondicherry. He established a fort here under the order of the Nayak of Gingee for the commerce of France. But soon this prospect was failed due to the 30 long prolonged years of war in Europe, 1618. Meanwhile, the Holland and the Danish occupied this piece of land. When the French established themselves in Machilipattnam, the French man Bellanger de Lespinay came to meet Sher Khan Lodi the governor of Pondicherry in 1672.Bellanger accepted for a contract to construct a building at Pondicherry. The French took up this trade centre in order to assist their establishment at San Thome.
Bellanger de Lespinay with his assistant François Martin, two Capuchin fathers from Madras and six French men made Pondicherry as their permanent settlement on January, 1673.[10] The French established a fabrics factory here and François Martin became its director on May 5, 1675. Later he was appointed the Director of the Coast of Coromandel of Bengal and of any place where the company could begin a trade. Martin constructed a fort in Pondicherry to product the French interests after 1688 with the amount of 11, 760. Under the zealous efforts of François Martin, Pondicherry developed well and the French fabrics factory was on thrive. He invited the local merchants and weavers from different parts of Tamilnadu to settle in the growing city of Pondicherry. [11] A good number of Christians from Trichy, Thanjavur and Madurai regions settled down inPondicherry.
-Fr. A. Thainis, OFM. Cap.,
[1] LCPH-B OFMCAP (1525-1950), 1661.
[2] Ibid., 1381.
[3] Norbert Wolf, “Capuchin Missions in South India: 17th and 18th Centuries,” RTFR, vol., 26. no., 01, Jan 1961, Wisconsin, 18.
[4] Joachim (ed.), Capuchins in India 1972-1997, New Delhi: CCMSI, Media House, 1998, 10.
[5] Here and the following, Peter Celestine, Early Capuchin Missions in India, Sahibabad: Capuchin Publications, 1982, 13.
[6] Yacobu, History of Puduvai Mission 1776-1976(GJr;Nrhp kp\d; tuyhW), Puduvai: Mission Printers, 1976, 2.
[7] Here and the following, Adolph, 83.
[8] Here and the following, Peter Celestine, 14.
[9] Here and the following, Madanakalyani (trans.,), Puducherry-a city of trade: French College, 1998.
[10] Here and the following, Ramasamy, History of Pondicherry, New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Ltd., 1987, 59-63.
[11] Here and the following, Sampath Kumar, 13.
Initial attempts of the Capuchin Foundation in India
In 1625, Fr. Joseph de Tremblay Paris a famous missionary established the first Eastern Capuchin mission in Aleppo, Syria.[1] He sent six Capuchins toIndia[2], to serve as chaplains to the French trading company and these Capuchins landed at Pondicherry in Southeast India on 8, January 1632.[3] They came with royal and papal papers and their settlement in Pondicherry was their extension of the Capuchin missions in the East.[4] There is a big dispute among the Capuchin historians over the exact date of the arrival of the Capuchins at Pondicherry.[5]However it was concluded from the validity of the documents of the General Archives of the Capuchin Order in Rome that the first Capuchins arrived atPondicherry, India on January 8, 1632. The Capuchins who had come with the French Company to Pondicherry were happy to find a few native Christians.[6]
These French Capuchins served not only as chaplains to the French but also made good many conversions among the natives and brought back the erring Christians.[7] When the mission was full of life with new converts, unfortunately the prospects of the French trading company were affected badly by the rising supremacy of the Dutch in the Coramandal coast. Therefore the French had to close its sea-agency at Pondicherry within two years and the captain Reginon de Dieppe retired to Madagascar. The Capuchins their chaplains who depended upon them were also forced to leave India in 1634. Thus the first mission of the Capuchins came to an end in India.
Peter Celestine in his book speaks about the second attempt of the Capuchins establishment at Pondicherry. He quotes the writings of Fr. Norbert de Bar-le-Duc who was a missionary in Pondicherry from 1736-1739.[8] He was a well known friar and the apostolic preacher to Pope Benedict XIV. And he had written many articles and books about the Capuchin missions in India. According to Fr. Norbert a group of Capuchins arrived in Pondicherry on June 26, 1642 but soon left the place. To substantiate his point Fr. Norbert cites the letters patent of Louis XIII, dated 26, June 1642 which guaranteed Royal protection to the missionaries. No details were available other than the date. Meanwhile the Capuchins established themselves in Surat (1639) and Madras (1642) in South India.
The French East Company in Pondicherry
The princes of Malo sent the commercial ship of St. Louis with the headship of J. Peppis to India in 1616.[9] He set foot on the soil of a small hamlet of fishermen in South India which was later known as Pondicherry. He established a fort here under the order of the Nayak of Gingee for the commerce of France. But soon this prospect was failed due to the 30 long prolonged years of war in Europe, 1618. Meanwhile, the Holland and the Danish occupied this piece of land. When the French established themselves in Machilipattnam, the French man Bellanger de Lespinay came to meet Sher Khan Lodi the governor of Pondicherry in 1672.Bellanger accepted for a contract to construct a building at Pondicherry. The French took up this trade centre in order to assist their establishment at San Thome.
Bellanger de Lespinay with his assistant François Martin, two Capuchin fathers from Madras and six French men made Pondicherry as their permanent settlement on January, 1673.[10] The French established a fabrics factory here and François Martin became its director on May 5, 1675. Later he was appointed the Director of the Coast of Coromandel of Bengal and of any place where the company could begin a trade. Martin constructed a fort in Pondicherry to product the French interests after 1688 with the amount of 11, 760. Under the zealous efforts of François Martin, Pondicherry developed well and the French fabrics factory was on thrive. He invited the local merchants and weavers from different parts of Tamilnadu to settle in the growing city of Pondicherry. [11] A good number of Christians from Trichy, Thanjavur and Madurai regions settled down inPondicherry.
-Fr. A. Thainis, OFM. Cap.,
[1] LCPH-B OFMCAP (1525-1950), 1661.
[2] Ibid., 1381.
[3] Norbert Wolf, “Capuchin Missions in South India: 17th and 18th Centuries,” RTFR, vol., 26. no., 01, Jan 1961, Wisconsin, 18.
[4] Joachim (ed.), Capuchins in India 1972-1997, New Delhi: CCMSI, Media House, 1998, 10.
[5] Here and the following, Peter Celestine, Early Capuchin Missions in India, Sahibabad: Capuchin Publications, 1982, 13.
[6] Yacobu, History of Puduvai Mission 1776-1976(GJr;Nrhp kp\d; tuyhW), Puduvai: Mission Printers, 1976, 2.
[7] Here and the following, Adolph, 83.
[8] Here and the following, Peter Celestine, 14.
[9] Here and the following, Madanakalyani (trans.,), Puducherry-a city of trade: French College, 1998.
[10] Here and the following, Ramasamy, History of Pondicherry, New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Ltd., 1987, 59-63.
[11] Here and the following, Sampath Kumar, 13.
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