History

Karen Mission History

Although only 50 years old, the Karen Catholic Mission already has a rich history and deep roots. The path of Faith first passed through Burma, where the gospel was announced to the karens nearly two hundred years ago by Catholic and Protestant Baptist missionaries.

 Catholic missions in Burma The Karen mission in Thailand is the youngest mission of the Fathers of the Foreign Missions of Paris in Asia: barely fifty years! Evangelization with the karens of Burma, however, is much older. If the mention of "karians" (or "carians") appears earlier in the stories of travelers, the first Catholic communities were founded in the middle of the nineteenth century in the region of Pathein and Mergui by the fathers of the Foreign Missions. As early as 1866, the Missionaries of Milan took over Taungu and the western provinces, opening up new communities among the Karens. Youth were sent to Penang Seminary and a local clergy developed. At the end of the 19th century, the Church was firmly established in Burma. The karen mission develops especially from the beginning of the twentieth century, on the model that we still know today: based in a center with a small chapel and its adjoining school, the priest radiates in the surrounding villages, assisted by catechists. The second world war and the independence accorded to the Burmese had to be a major stop to the progress of the mission: the successive attacks of the Japanese and then the civil war will plunge the region into troubles that still do not have all have ceased.

Father Calmon celebrating mass in the forest

To learn more about the figure of Father Calmon and the period of the war and post-war in Karen country, see also our article: Saints and Heroes: Hugh Seagrim and Jean Calmon, cross-portraits (in french).

 One figure stands out among these brave apostles, who do not fear facing the dangers of the jungle (tigers are endemic in these regions) to visit the most remote villages: Father Jean Calmon. We can say, in a way, that he was one of the founding fathers of our Karen Catholic Mission in Thailand, because he supported, by his guidance and by sending his catechists, the mission of Chiang Mai held by the Basque fathers of Betharam, who themselves will help our budding mission. Mgr. Seguinotte, of the Fathers of Betharam, is the founder of the congregation of the Karen Sisters of Mepon, who now serve in our centers.

 Before evoking the founding of the Karen Catholic Mission in the Tak region of Thailand, we must evoke the evangelizing work with the karens of the Baptist missions in Burma. The Baptist Karen Mission Unlike most Asian churches, the Karen region, both in Burma and Thailand, was not first evangelized by Catholic missionaries, but by British and American missionaries from Baptist Protestant missions. Work on language (dictionaries, grammars), culture (first ethnological sketches), translations (the first -... and the last! - Bible karen is Baptist), these missionaries of origin often modest, came to Burma sometimes with women and children, have accomplished in a century a missionary and intellectual work which forces the respect, under more than precarious conditions. 

The Baptist Missions

Regarded as the first Protestant missionary in Burma, the Protestant Baptist pastor Adoniram Judson (1788-1850) may also be considered the first missionary of the Karen people. After a ministry in Burmese country jostled by the Anglo-Burmese war, he devoted himself to the evangelization of the Karen. His first baptized karen, a thief by the name of Ko Tha Byu, became the ardent propagandist of the Gospel, which immediately meets with considerable success: the Baptist missionaries note the astonishing similarity of the stories of karen foundations. with the great biblical stories, to the point of suggesting a very ancient first evangelization that would leave traces. On the other hand, the karens, although animists, are monotheists. A strong Messianism finally justifies for a part the success of the announcement of the Faith to the Karen people.

Adoniram Judson

  Judson is soon joined by a new American missionary of English origin, Reverend Francis Mason (1799-1874). As a missionary, builder, and naturalist, it is he who finalizes the work on the Karen language and completes the translation of the first karen Bible.

Francis Mason

   Protestant churches are still very present today among the karens of Burma and Thailand. We meet different denominations Baptists, but also Adventists, Anglicans, etc.

  

Father Joseph Quintard m.e.p.(1934-2003)

Father Joseph Quintard

  Arrived in Thailand in 1961 to learn the Thai language, Father Joseph Quintard was asked in 1963 by Karen from the village of Maewe, in the border region of Tak in Thailand, who wish to become Christians. He volunteered for this mountain apostolate and joined the city of MaeSot, in the diocese of Nakhon Sawan, bordering Burma. From then until his death in 2003, he continued to travel the region to visit remote villages, exploring to neighboring Burma. He is first and foremost a pilgrim: on foot he visits his villages, eating and sleeping with the inhabitants, administering a small community that continues to grow in contact with him. The karens are particularly touched by the interest of this great white man who speaks their language and shares their table. He is also an indefatigable builder: chapels, boarding schools, schools. It invests particularly in education, eager to form an elite of young Karen who will become the leaders of tomorrow and support their brothers.

Karen teachers of Poblaki school (2006)

  Our zone of Ponouaipou-Poblaki owes him everything: he runs in all directions the track that rallies Ponouaipou to Merameung, and leaves in its wake small communities to Faith strong and fervent. It is these communities that will become the churches of Ponouaipou, Poblaki and Sohélou. He is also credited with the Poblaki School, a modest early-stage wooden building that has already trained two generations of students. He is the first to organize an embryo of health service, in partnership with Thai and French doctors. In 1996, with the help of the villagers, he broke through a trail to open up the villages. He died in a car accident in 2003. His memory remains very strong among villagers, both Catholics and Buddhists.

US Army map of THASONGYANG region (1955). The first roads will appear in the 90's.