‘The fruits of the General College are visible today in the life of the Church in Asia’

Disours d’ouverture du père Vincent Sénéchal, Supérieur général des MEP lors de la cérémonie d’ouverture des 360 ans du Collège général de penang, Malaisie, 29 septembre 2025

Our missionary society, the Paris Foreign Missions Society, also known as the MEP, was founded in the 17^thCentury by the Holy See, at the instigation of a Jesuit priest, Father Alexandre de Rhodes. He is known for having systematized the use of the Latin alphabet for the Vietnamese language.

At that time, the Church in Vietnam was suffering persecution, and foreign missionaries—Dominicans, Franciscans, and Jesuits—were being expelled. Father de Rhodes was convinced of the need for a local clergy to establish the Church in Vietnam and throughout Asia. On the Pope’s advice, he travelled throughout France, calling on diocesan priests to dedicate their lives primarily to the formation of local clergy in Asia.

Roman Instructions of 1659

Father Jean L’Hour reminded us of the Roman Instructions of 1659 given by the Foreign Missions Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to the first MEP bishops and priests who had left France in small groups to dedicate themselves to the formation of local priests.

These Instructions were revolutionary. They emphasized two principles that remain at the heart of our mission today.

First, the Church in Asia must be rooted in its own soil. The missionaries were not sent to build a foreign church, but to form local pastors for the people of God.

Secondly, the Gospel should be proclaimed with respect for local cultures. Missionaries were instructed not to import European values, but to let Christ be incarnated in Asian languages, customs and ways of life, as long as nothing was contrary to the faith.

Serving local Churches in Asia

This was the founding role of the MEP: to serve the local Churches in Asia by forming priests and supporting their growth. The General College is one of the most enduring fruits of this vision, a vision championed by Pope Alexander VII himself.

When the first MEP bishops, Pierre Lambert de La Motte and François Pallu, arrived in Siam, they immediately founded a seminary in Ayutthaya, in present-day Thailand.

It brought together young men from all over Southeast Asia and China. It was more than a college; it was a missionary workshop with a two-way exchange. French missionaries learned about languages, cultures, customs, and religions from the seminarians. The seminarians learned Latin, philosophy, theology, and ecclesiastical studies to become priests. Together, they engaged in evangelisation and charitable works, notably by visiting villages and serving in the mission’s dispensary. The seminarians even learned medicine.

In Penang, diversity prepared them for mission in the cultural mosaic of Asia

One figure stands out: Bishop Louis Laneau, who was a fluent Thai speaker and had forged deep connections with Buddhism, particularly through medicine. He and the seminarians learned by doing, becoming pastors close to the people. From the beginning, this seminary was a community of missionaries, local seminarians, and a few priests, united in a single apostolic family. They aimed to train ‘homo apostolicus’, apostolic men, both French missionaries and future local priests, capable of building missionary churches by working together once they had been fully trained and sent forth by the bishop.

It was a living example of the Church as a family: gathering nations in Christ, united by Scripture, the sacraments, and faith. When the General College moved to Chanthaburi, then to Hon Dat, Pondicherry, and finally Penang, it retained this same character: a gathering of seminarians from many nations living with missionaries for mutual growth. This diversity was not an obstacle, but a blessing. In Penang, it prepared the seminarians for mission in the cultural mosaic of Asia: Chinese from Sichuan, Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians, Burmese, Japanese, Koreans, all studying together in a seminary surrounded by a Muslim majority, under Anglican colonial rule.

Over 700 priests formed in little over a century

The General College of Penang also became a refuge in times of persecution. When seminaries in Vietnam or China closed, students fled here. In the 19th century, when the Church in France was still recovering from the Revolution, Penang became a safe haven where vocations could flourish. More than seven hundred priests were formed there in just over a century.

All of this reminds us of the seminary’s central mission: the formation of priests. Priests are essential to the Church; they are the bishop’s collaborators. Without priests, there is no Eucharist, no sacraments. But the priesthood is more than the sacraments. It is a twofold vocation: closeness to the people and service to them — speaking their language, sharing their joys and sorrows and walking with them. And love of the Church: remaining rooted in communion with the successor of Peter, the bishop, the faithful, as a sign of unity.

Forming the priests that Asia needs

The General College has always formed priests who are, at the same time, both sons of their people and sons of the Catholic Church.

Building on these foundations, one of the General College’s greatest strengths has been its adaptability.

After Vatican II, it embraced renewal and subsequently supported the establishment of regional seminaries in Bangkok, Singapore, and Kuching. The new Mariophile campus also testifies to this dynamism.

Throughout all these changes, one thing has remained constant: the joy of faith and the fervour of vocation. Former students say that life was demanding, but filled with respect, fraternity, and missionary zeal. Today, adaptability remains essential, especially in forming the priests that Asia needs.

The qualities required of missionary priests today

Speaking recently in Mongolia, Cardinal Giorgio Marengo described the qualities required of today’s missionary priests. In fact, we could have asked Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler of Phnom Penh, who finds himself in a situation where there is a shortage of priests and a very important mission. Cardinal Giorgio Marengo stated that he needs priests:

With a clear sense of identity and an open mind: only those rooted in their identity can truly commit themselves to others. But they must commit themselves with an open mind. Flexibility is essential.

Capable of striking a balance between solitude and sociability: priests must know how to manage silence and be able to cope with solitude, but also to live in fellowship. Smartphones are not enough to achieve this.

Capable of taking responsibility and building communion: the mission is never the work of one person alone. It requires teamwork, humility, and patience with local communities.

A solid formation is essential: priests need a foundation in theology, human sciences, and spirituality. Grace is based on nature. Without solid preparation, the mission suffers.

Above all else, with a deep love for God and for humanity. Mission is not an ideology, but a service, sustained by faith in Christ.

In short, strong spirituality, great humility, common sense, and the ability to foster communion are crucial.

The fruits of this approach are visible today in the life of the Church in Asia.

The General College has already formed such priests, even saints. Teachers and seminarians have become martyrs in Korea and Vietnam. Many have become good pastors throughout Asia. We know that the fruits of the General College are visible today in the life of the Church in Asia. As for us, the MEP Society, we continue to serve the Church in Asia and the Indian Ocean, in the fourteen countries where one hundred and thirty MEP priests are at work. We also send young men aged 18 to 35 who wish to join us as lay missionaries in Asia and the Indian Ocean, and even some associate priests, some from Asian countries, who are called by the Lord to be missionaries with us for several years, if their bishop consents.

In particular, we are continuing our mission by supporting priestly formation. At 128 rue du Bac in Paris, in our mother house, we welcome nearly seventy priests from Vietnam, India, Korea, Indonesia, China, Madagascar, Thailand, and elsewhere. They are sent by their diocesan bishops to pursue higher education at the Catholic University of Paris, and we live together in a community of prayer and fellowship. These priests receive scholarships and mentorship so that they can return to their churches, strengthened and prepared. after completing a master’s or doctoral degree.

This is not just an academic endeavour. It is part of the ongoing vision of the General College: to form a local clergy that is strong in faith, rooted in its people and in communion with the universal Church.

The start of a new chapter

Dear brothers and sisters, three hundred and sixty years do not mark the end of a story, but the beginning of a new chapter. With gratitude for the past, fidelity to the present, and hope for the future, we entrust this seminary to Mary, Queen of Apostles, and to the martyrs and saints of Asia, especially those who have been teachers and students at the General College. May the General College continue to form priests who are close to their people, deeply in love with the Church, and faithful to the See of Peter. May they be true missionaries to the world and faithful servants of God’s people. Thank you, and may God bless you all.