1. First Period: from 1850 to 1930-50

1.1. Theological Presuppositions

As pioneers of evangelization, the missionaries were influenced by the spirit and the theology of their times, not devoid of paternalism. The prevailing opinion that whoever was not baptized could not be saved was still quite widespread. A certain anxiety characterized the work in the field: "Let's hope that nobody will be lost through my fault". It was a general belief that the other religions were false and had to be considered as the devil's work. Whence, a certain aggressiveness going hand in hand with the feeling of anxiety.

Above all, they were worried about the salvation of souls. The emphasis was especially on doctrine, morals and the sacraments considered as signs of one's adherence to the faith and the condition for salvation. The criteria for a successful missionary activity were the number of baptisms, confessions, communions, marriages, etc.

This does not mean that they neglected the body. Many initiatives were taken in the fields of education, health, development, sports, but they were rather seen as means for evangelization. From a theological point of view, they were not part of mission in the strict sense of the word.

Three components were closely linked:

ad gentes

ad extra           the poor

ad gentes: the aim of mission was the first evangelization of peoples who had not yet heard the Gospel; ad extra: these peoples lived outside Christian Europe. Hence the missionaries were called to leave their country and to take the mission oath. Everybody was supposed to leave. Because of its important symbolic meaning the departure date was mentioned in the directories; presence among the poor and the disadvantaged: actually, these peoples lived in poorly developed regions, often hardly accessible. They were exterminated due to endemic diseases (typhoid fever, malaria, sleeping sickness and others). Many missionaries died of sickness or exhaustion after a stay in the field of only a few months. Our founder himself died of typhoid fever less than three years after his arrival in Inner Mongolia.