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The large apartment in the Catholic Church in the French Concession in Shanghai is located on the second floor of the church, on the left side of the choir hall. www.biquge.info This is a two-bedroom residence with wooden floors and a very simple decoration, and the French Jesuit Nan Gelu, who is the bishop of the Vicariate of Shanghai, has lived here for seven years, and since seven years ago, he has been preaching the gospel here, although in fact, the church in Shanghai is presided over by seven Chinese missionaries, who enjoy a very high degree of autonomy, but they are all increasingly influenced by Nan Gelu without exception. After all, he is the bishop of the vicarate appointed by the Pope.

As the Taiping Heavenly Army spread into the hinterland of China, the missionaries who had suffered from the exclusion and isolation of Chinese society gradually pinned more and more hopes on this "Christian movement", hoping that this movement would help "spread the gospel in China" and break the shackles of the Qing government and opposition to "foreign religions". Unlike those Protestants who were full of hope for the rebels occupying Jiangning, Nangelo never had any hope for those rebels, and even in his opinion, the so-called rebels who believed in God were simply heretics - these were the words of the Catholics who had fled from Jiangning, who had forced Catholics to believe in the so-called "worship of God," which was simply "the deformed child of Protestant misdeeds."

But even so, he could not ignore the unprecedented excitement generated by the Protestants about the success of the worship of God, and if those Protestants succeeded in proselytizing with the help of the Taiping Army, it would undoubtedly be disastrous for him and his faith—hundreds of millions of Chinese would most likely become Protestants!

It will be a disaster!

How can this catastrophe be stopped?

Cooperate with Qing officials? They had no interest in Catholicism at all, and even in their opinion, the Church might even help the rebels, and it was already surprising that they did not suppress the Church in this case.

At this moment, a knock on the door suddenly woke Nanglu from his contemplation.

"Father, there is a letter from Father Li Wenxiu of Wuchang."

Hearing the words of Sister Camilla outside the door, he said weakly to the door.

"Please come in!"

After Sister Camilla entered the door and handed him the letter.

"Thank you, Sister Camilla."

Nan Glu thanked her in French, this Sister Camilla was from an aristocratic background, and she had left France to spread the gospel to the Far East, but he also knew that Sister Camilla had also come here to escape the harassment of His Majesty the Emperor.

"Li Wenxiu? Is it the Savoy? ”

Although he is also a Jesuit priest, he does not have much impression of Li Wenxiu, but he only knows that he is a very devout missionary, and as early as ten years ago, he went deep into the hinterland of China to spread the gospel of the Lord.

Tearing open the envelope and only taking a cursory look, Nanglu's eyes immediately widened in surprise.

"Oh my God! Is this, is this true? ”

It took him a moment to react, and he walked out of the door almost in a hurry, and said to Sister Camilla, who had not yet left.

"Sister Camilla, I'm sorry, please do me a favor!"

Sister Camilla, who turned around, was a little excited from her voice, and the bishop's breathing was even a little rapid.

"Can you go and tell Father Golpida to come over?"

Because in this church, there is only a relationship between the two of them, so Nanglou will ask the nun to deliver the letter.

It was only half an hour before Golpida arrived at the church in a carriage, and almost as soon as he entered Nanglu's office, he was heard excitedly speaking.

"Father Gerpida, God must be bless us this time!"

Facing the newly arrived grandfather of Gebida, Nangelu's whole person looked extremely excited.

"I have just received a letter from Li Wenxiu, the bishop of the Diocese of Hubei, in which he told me that there was a new rebellion there, that the rebels, no, the Han rebels, had taken control of most of Hubei, and that their governor had not only agreed to preach in our territory but even to build a church in the city of Wuchang! Spread the gospel of the Lord to the Chinese in Hubei! ”

"That's good news, my friend!"

Because he did not understand the content of the letter, Gerpida appeared to be extremely sensible.

"But, I suppose, all this should be conditional, right?"

"Of course, there is no such thing as a free lunch! This is no exception! That's why I need your help! ”

"Help?"

"I have to ask you for a favor, Li Wenxiu mentioned in the letter that the Grand Governor will establish a church school in Wuchang, and he will provide 50,000 taels of silver in addition to the corresponding land, you know? In addition to that, the most important thing is fifteen hundred students! ”

"What? 1,500 students? My God! ”

Even the extremely sensible Gepida was still taken aback when he heard this figure, he knew very well that in the more than ten years of missionary work in China, missionaries of various countries and denominations had established so many church schools, but in the past ten years, they had taught less than 1,000 students, and now, that church school has 1,500 students since its establishment.

"Is it a church school that we run? Is it the same as I imagined? ”

If such a large church school is successfully established, each of them will become a hero of the gospel, and they will even be praised by the pope, but the only question is, why do the Chinese do this?

"No, unlike the church school we ran before, which was designed to train clergy, it was more like a secular school under the auspices of the church......"

Noticing that Gepida seemed a little surprised, and was afraid of his opposition, Nangelu hurriedly said.

"Fr. Gerpida, we must understand that education has always been an important part of spreading the Gospel of the Lord, and that education is the best way to advance to the upper classes in China, and if we can introduce Western civilization, science, and art into China through education, then the students of the Catholic schools will inevitably become the first Chinese in China to receive Western civilization in the future, and it is safe to say that education is the most important force in China in the future, and we in the Catholic Church must use this power for Christ...... ”

At this time, Nan Gelu's whole person seemed extremely excited, and he didn't even notice that he was quoting Li Wenxiu's words in the letter.

“…… The church must run education, and only through education can it influence more Chinese...... This will enable Christians to occupy positions of power and influence, to be officials in the future government, to be teachers of Western learning, to be doctors, to be businessmen, or to act as translators in corporations, in short, they will play a role in the future that we cannot imagine! ”

"But, Bishop, you have to know a little ......"

Gerbida was silent for a moment, then looked at a somewhat nervous Nanglu and said.

"How many priests do you need to be teachers in a school of 1,500 people? Will this affect missions in other vicariaries? ”

At least 70 percent of the male missionaries sent to China by many churches are regular college students, and the proportion of higher education in Protestant churches is even higher, such as 90 percent of American missionaries to China, but the biggest problem is that this school needs a lot of teachers.

"There will be influence, but we have to look to the future, and in the future, under our influence, Hubei is very likely to be Christianized, and with the victory of Zhu's army, there will be more areas of Christianization, which is obviously more effective than our current mission......

Nodding slightly, Getta agreed.

"I am not against the existence of such a possibility, but we should note that in this church school the function of religion is extremely limited, while the function of education is primary, and that this school is no longer training missionaries, but probably teachers, engineers, surveyors, mechanics, etc., in short, catering to their needs for Western civilization......"

"Isn't that what we hope for? If the Chinese accept Western civilization, then they will inevitably accept Christ, or at least more easily the gospel of the Lord! The most important question now, though, is how can we send so many priests......"

In contrast, this is what Copida is concerned about, compared to the Protestants in the United States, who are adequately funded by their own churches, the Catholic Church has always given so limited funds that they cannot even send enough priests to China to serve as missionaries, and the removal of already limited priests as teachers will undoubtedly affect the missionary cause in China, at least to some extent. But at the same time, can he deny that this is indeed a good opportunity.

"It's not just the priest, my friend!"

Nan Glu thought for a moment, and knowing that Gerbida's worries had some reason, he continued.

"Nuns can do it, you know, even in Europe, nuns can be teachers, and of course they can be taught here Chinese......"

As the two priests spoke, Sister Camilla walked in with freshly boiled tea, and her heart fluttered when she heard the priest's conversation. Perhaps, this is an opportunity, at least that kind of life is more meaningful than it is now!

"My lord, I think, I can go there......"

Her voice reached the ears of the two priests, it was Sister Camilla, her eyes turned to Nanglu, and she said in a firm tone.

"I teach them French, English and German, and, if I want, I can teach them European medical ......" (To be continued. )