THE HARVEST WILL BE MOST ABUNDANT THROUGHOUT THIS LAND, ABANDONED UNTIL THE PRESENT

As opposed to the letters regarding the first years in Canada, not much of the correspondence between the Founder and the Oblates in England and Ireland has survived. It is a pity because the Oblate missionaries were zealous and hard-working as we can see in the little documentation we have.

Father Daly was building a church in Penzance, in England, and needed funds to complete the project. Bishop Eugene wrote to the Propagation of the Faith Council asking for funds.

Gentlemen, I wish to take advantage of this occasion to remind you of the pressing, the most pressing needs of the mission of Penzance in Cornwall.

… Here is what Fr. Daly writes to me in his somewhat English style:

“I am very pleased to give you news about our mission which, thanks be to God, could not be more consoling. We have opened two new missions, one in a village called St. Just and the other in a village where one of our convert families lives; it is called Goldsithney. I opened the mission of St. Just on the 9th of this month. I went there on foot with Fr. Dowling and one of our poor Catholics. We were very well received by the good people of St. Just who all work in the mines. They are very simple people but their minds have been poisoned by the bad doctrines of their sects and therefore they are very prejudiced against our Holy Religion.

As soon as I entered a home I was surrounded by women and children. I was a real attraction for them because they had never seen a Catholic priest. The mistress of the house is the sister of one of our converts. She received me very well and is preparing herself for baptism. I spent the day in a most pleasant way and went from house to house visiting the inhabitants of the village. In general I was very well received.

It had been agreed that the sermon would take place at 6 in the evening and I returned to the house where I was to preach. At 5 o’clock the women began to ready the house. Chairs and benches were brought from all sides and the house was soon filled by the most important people of the village. Since the house could not hold everyone, it was necessary to remove the windows and I preached to more than one thousand people who were all very happy. Since then, many have come to tell me that they were Catholics in heart.

Next Sunday I will baptize 10 people, 2 entire families. I baptized an old woman who is 90 years old… since my last letter I have received 5 more persons… two made their first communion last Sunday: an 18 year old girl and a young man 21 years old. The young girl will become a saint. There are many other very interesting things with respect to the mission, but I do not have the time and will tell you about them in my next letter.”

Eugene concludes:

You see, Gentlemen, how important it is to support such joyful beginnings. The harvest will be most abundant throughout this land, abandoned until the present. All will be lost, however, if the missionaries do not honour their commitments. Please, therefore, I pray you, take the matter to heart. I place all my trust in your zeal. Please accept my thanks beforehand as well as the sentiments wherewith I remain,

Letter to the Council of the Propagation of the Faith,

Lyon, 21 July 1844, EO V n 88.