Chapter 680 - The People of the Order

"That strange Italian?" Trigault said with displeasure. "I find him a suspicious character."

Accompanying him to Lingao besides Weiss Rando was a young cleric named Cecilio—a student of Trigault's, a brother who held him in great respect.

Their party would be traveling to Lingao with a considerable quantity of cargo. Besides the various goods sold to Lingao under the supply agreement, there were also Jesuit gifts: sacred vessels for the church, decorative items, crucifixes, stained glass paintings, large cast-iron chandeliers, candlesticks, and all manner of sculptures—a dazzling array. Many items had been purchased from the Philippines or even from Europe. Father Trigault—or by his newly adopted Chinese name, Jin Lige—studied the long cargo manifest in amazement.

"We're shipping all this?"

"Another new church is being completed in Lingao. They're also planning to expand the main church and monastery there."

"If the Australians have their own church plus a church and monastery, and possess the finest craftsmen in the world, why must we provide everything?" Jin Lige found this difficult to understand. "And three thousand small crucifixes—we provide those as well?"

"Yes. That's part of the evangelization agreement."

"God!" Jin Lige made the sign of the cross. "Are they still lambs of the Lord?"

"Among the Australians, many are atheists." Father Comanach crossed himself at the word. "God preserve us. There are indeed believers in the Lord among them, but those who truly hold power are not counted among the faithful."

Those who held power, in Father Comanach's impression, were merchants more mercenary than any he had ever encountered.

Jin Lige's face went pale. In his mind, "atheists" were an even more terrifying existence than "heretics."

"However, their gentlemen are all courteous—learned and polite." Comanach sighed regretfully. "Their hearts..." He let the thought hang. "May the Lord's light shine into their darkened hearts."

"This is the Society's highest secret in Macao." Father Comanach took a document from a locked file cabinet. "You may read it here and commit it to memory."

What he handed Jin Lige was a document secretly compiled from Father Rodrigues's letters.

The Letters from Lingao circulated within the Church was not the complete version. Much critical content had been deleted by the Jesuits. The Society of Jesus had learned hard lessons from its Japanese mission experience and firmly refused to allow other orders to encroach on Hainan Island evangelization. They demanded not just exclusive missionary rights but also complete control of critical information.

This document concerned the religious situation and ideological tendencies of Lingao's rulers—the transmigrators.

One list detailed the main clergy of the Australian church and the Catholics and other religious adherents Father Rodrigues had identified among the Australians.

Catholics in Lingao, including those developed in the Li regions, now numbered over a thousand. Male and female religious in the monastery also exceeded a hundred. But the Jesuits valued the Catholics among the Australians far more highly—they were acutely aware that native believers played no role in Lingao's power structure.

Developing new believers among the transmigrators as quickly as possible was the Jesuits' urgent priority. This was also a major task assigned to Jin Lige. Only thus could the Society of Jesus gain influence in the Australian Yuan Laoyuan.

"The Lingao church is currently under the jurisdiction of a monastery abbot named Wu Shimang. His official title is Prior of the Lingao Monastery." Father Comanach explained. "He is also a member of the Australian Yuan Laoyuan and enjoys aristocratic rights."

"Is he a devout believer?" In Europe, the position of monastery prior—with its considerable income and tangled property rights—was often associated with the Church's worst corruption.

"According to Brother Rodrigues's letters, Prior Wu is a capable monastery administrator. Very capable," Comanach said.

This meant he was expert at running the monastery but not particularly zealous about religion.

"Has he taken Holy Orders?"

"I believe not." Father Comanach smiled. "Brother Rodrigues says he doesn't seem like an ordained prior."

"Is he a secular prior?"

"Hard to say. We've never been able to clarify the organizational specifics of the Australian church. They seem to have considerable informality." Comanach observed. "There's also his assistant, Father Bai Duoluo of the Bairen Church."

"Father Bai is a fine believer—he served as Brother Rodrigues's assistant and contributed greatly to spreading the Gospel. He's also a theologian and provided the Chinese-language Catechism."

"Thanks be to God."

"Miss Diana Mendoza. A devout believer."

Jin Lige felt disappointed. "Only these three?"

"Yes. According to Brother Rodrigues's letters, only these three among the Australian Yuan Laoyuan's transmigrators are lambs of the Lord." Comanach frowned. "There are also Puritans in the Yuan Laoyuan."

"God!" Jin Lige exclaimed.

"Two European women. Brother Rodrigues says they speak a strange kind of English."

"Are they English?"

"I don't think so. Apart from European features, their behavior and manners are no different from other Australians." Father Comanach spoke slowly. "Although they are heretics, they seem uninterested in religion..."

"Is there no Puritan place of worship?"

"No." Comanach sighed with some regret. "But they have another powerful heretical church—called 'the Dao.'"

"Father Matteo Ricci mentioned it in his writings: a native Chinese idol worship..."

"Exactly. However, the Australians' 'Dao' temples contain no idols, as Father Rodrigues mentioned in his letters." Father Comanach said. "Unfortunately, the Australian transmigrators in Lingao seem rather partial to 'the Dao.'"

"Are they believers in 'the Dao'?"

"No. As I said, most are atheists."

"Which means their partiality to 'the Dao' stems from something other than faith."

"Correct." Father Comanach nodded. "I believe the Australian transmigrators treat 'the Dao' less as a faith than as a tool of governance. The leader of 'the Dao' church is a young man surnamed Zhang. He possesses exquisite traditional Chinese medical skills, and through this has won the support of many followers. He's said to be especially popular in the savage regions—a major competitor on your path of spreading the Gospel."

"Unfortunately, I don't know medicine."

"When it comes to medicine, neither Chinese nor ours can match the Australians'. What they need are artistic talents. The Australians lack painters, singers, and sculptors. According to Brother Rodrigues, Australia shouldn't lack such talents—yet they seem not to have come to Lingao. You are an artist, skilled in sculpture and painting. Brother Cecilio knows musical instruments. These skills will be very useful in Lingao, conducive to more contact with the Australians."

"Finally, I must alert you to a person named He Ying. In the Australians' secular government, his title is 'Religious Affairs Officer.' This is a very powerful position. It appears the Australians follow policies similar to the Dutch or Ottomans: allowing various faiths and heresies to spread within their domain. He is the administrator and arbiter of all religious affairs." Father Comanach said. "Providing him with certain appropriate benefits will greatly advance the evangelical mission."

"Yes, but I've read Brother Rodrigues's letters. The Australians seem uninterested in gifts. He says they're the most incorrupt and upright rulers he's ever seen."

"Oh, you can't give high-value gifts—they won't appreciate those. Would they care for a Venetian carved cup or such? Where has your wit gone? Paintings, sculptures, perhaps they have architectural needs..." Father Comanach slowly raised his eyelids to look at him.

"Yes, I understand."

"Additionally, the Australian church differs greatly from ours. Believers don't observe Lent."

"God!"

"According to Prior Wu, the Australian church has practiced this way from ancient times." Father Comanach said. "This matter is not unforgivable. I believe the Holy See will issue a special dispensation."

Father Jin Lige, filled with amazement, anticipation, and various fantasies, returned to his humble lodgings to pack his belongings. A priest had few possessions—just a few changes of clothes. Most important were his art supplies: brushes, pigments, oils, and various small items for painting. Many couldn't be bought locally; even in Europe, some could only be found in Italy. He had brought a considerable supply when he first came to the Far East.

The Father had a probationary brother as his attendant, named John Dermott, from the "Island of Saints"—Ireland. This probationary brother had a head of wild red hair and was pale and thin. He was not only training to become a brother but also studying painting under the Father. Jin Lige was quite fond of this young, diligent brother and often taught him many techniques.

Brother Dermott was in his room painting a holy icon. Jin Lige watched him carefully as he applied bright blue to the panel—a special blue available only in Venice. Such liberal application on an indifferent painting pained him slightly. Dermott's technique was sound, but his images appeared very stiff. Jin Lige knew his student's artistic talent was quite limited. But he was fervent—in both faith and painting.

"Is your painting nearly finished?"

"It will be done soon."