Charles-Thomas Maillard De Tournon
Encyclopedia
Charles-Thomas Maillard De Tournon (December 21, 1668 – June 10, 1710) was a papal legate
and cardinal
to the East Indies
and China
.
ard family at Turin
on 21 December 1668; died in confinement at Macau
, 8 June 1710. After graduating in canon and civil law he went to Rome where he gained the esteem of Clement XI, who on 5 December 1701, appointed him legate a latere to the East Indies
and to imperial China
. The purpose of this legation was to establish harmony among the missionaries there; to provide for the needs of these extensive missions; to report to the Holy See on the general state of the missions, and the labours of the missionaries and to enforce the decision of the Holy Office against the further toleration of the so-called Chinese rites among the native Christians. These rites consisted chiefly in offering sacrifices to Confucius
and the ancestors, and in using the Chinese names tian
(heaven) and shangdi
(supreme emperor) for the God of the Christians. On 27 December 1701, the pope consecrated Tournon bishop in the Vatican Basilica, with the title of Patriarch of Antioch
.
The legate left Europe on the royal French vessel Maurepas on 9 February 1703, arriving at Pondicherry in India on 6 November 1703. On 23 June 1704 he issued at this place the decree Inter graviores, summarily forbidding the missionaries under severe censures to permit the further practice of the Malabar rites
.
On 11 July 1704, he set sail for China by way of the Philippine Islands, arriving at Macau
in China, 2 April, and at Peking on 4 December 1705. Emperor Kangxi received him kindly at first, but upon hearing that he came to abolish the Chinese rites among the native Christians, he demanded from all missionaries on pain of immediate expulsion a promise to retain these rites.
At Rome the Holy Office had meanwhile decided against the rites on 20 November 1704, and being acquainted with this decision, the legate issued a decree at Nanjing
on 25 January 1707, obliging the missionaries under pain of excommunication
latae sententiae to abolish these rites. Hereupon, the emperor ordered Tournon to be imprisoned at Macau and sent some Jesuit missionaries to Rome to protest against the decree. Tournon died in his prison, shortly after being informed that he had been created cardinal on 1 August 1707.
Upon the announcement of his death at Rome, Clement XI highly praised him for his courage and loyalty to the Holy See and ordered the Holy Office to issue a Decree (25 September 1710) approving the acts of the legate. Tournon's remains were brought to Rome by his successor, Carlo Ambrogio Mezzabarba, and buried in the church of the Propaganda Fide on 27 September 1723.
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
and cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
to the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Biography
He was born of a noble SavoySavoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
ard family at Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
on 21 December 1668; died in confinement at Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, 8 June 1710. After graduating in canon and civil law he went to Rome where he gained the esteem of Clement XI, who on 5 December 1701, appointed him legate a latere to the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
and to imperial China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. The purpose of this legation was to establish harmony among the missionaries there; to provide for the needs of these extensive missions; to report to the Holy See on the general state of the missions, and the labours of the missionaries and to enforce the decision of the Holy Office against the further toleration of the so-called Chinese rites among the native Christians. These rites consisted chiefly in offering sacrifices to Confucius
Confucius
Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....
and the ancestors, and in using the Chinese names tian
Tian
Tian is one of the oldest Chinese terms for the cosmos and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and religion. During the Shang Dynasty the Chinese called god Shangdi or Di , and during the Zhou Dynasty Tian "heaven; god" became synonymous with Shangdi...
(heaven) and shangdi
Shangdi
Shangdi , also known as Di in Oracle Bone Inscription and Thirteen Classics, refers to the supreme god or a divine power regarded as the spiritual ultimate by the Chinese people from the Shang Dynasty. He controlled victory in battle, harvest, the fate of the kingdom, and the weather...
(supreme emperor) for the God of the Christians. On 27 December 1701, the pope consecrated Tournon bishop in the Vatican Basilica, with the title of Patriarch of Antioch
Patriarch of Antioch
Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the Bishop of Antioch. As the traditional "overseer" of the first gentile Christian community, the position has been of prime importance in the church from its earliest period...
.
The legate left Europe on the royal French vessel Maurepas on 9 February 1703, arriving at Pondicherry in India on 6 November 1703. On 23 June 1704 he issued at this place the decree Inter graviores, summarily forbidding the missionaries under severe censures to permit the further practice of the Malabar rites
Malabar rites
Malabar rites is a conventional term for certain customs or practices of the native Catholics of South India, concerning the liturgical rites, which the Jesuit missionaries allowed their Indian neophytes to retain after conversion, but which were afterwards prohibited by Rome.The missions concerned...
.
On 11 July 1704, he set sail for China by way of the Philippine Islands, arriving at Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
in China, 2 April, and at Peking on 4 December 1705. Emperor Kangxi received him kindly at first, but upon hearing that he came to abolish the Chinese rites among the native Christians, he demanded from all missionaries on pain of immediate expulsion a promise to retain these rites.
At Rome the Holy Office had meanwhile decided against the rites on 20 November 1704, and being acquainted with this decision, the legate issued a decree at Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
on 25 January 1707, obliging the missionaries under pain of excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
latae sententiae to abolish these rites. Hereupon, the emperor ordered Tournon to be imprisoned at Macau and sent some Jesuit missionaries to Rome to protest against the decree. Tournon died in his prison, shortly after being informed that he had been created cardinal on 1 August 1707.
Upon the announcement of his death at Rome, Clement XI highly praised him for his courage and loyalty to the Holy See and ordered the Holy Office to issue a Decree (25 September 1710) approving the acts of the legate. Tournon's remains were brought to Rome by his successor, Carlo Ambrogio Mezzabarba, and buried in the church of the Propaganda Fide on 27 September 1723.
Essential bibliography
- Memorie storiche della legazione e morte dell'eminentiss. Monsignor cardinale di Tournon esposte con munumenti rari ed autentici non piu dati alla luce, (attribuite a Passionei, Domenico), Venezia, 1761-1762, in 8 volumi
- Dell'Oro, Giorgio Oh quanti mostri si trovano in questo nuovo mondo venuti d'Europa: vita e vicissitudini di un ecclesiastico piemontese tra Roma e Cina: Carlo Tommaso Maillard de Tournon 1668-1710, in Annali di storia moderna e contemporanea, 1998, anno IV, n. 4
- Ott, Michael, Charles-Thomas Maillard De Tournon, in The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 15, New York, 1912
- Di Fiore, Giacomo, Voce “Maillard de Tournon, Carlo Tommaso” in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Vol. 67, ediz. Istituto Treccani, Roma, 2007
- Rouleau, Francis A. S.J., Maillard de Tournon Papal Legate at the Court of Peking, in Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu, Vol. XXXI, Romae, Institutum Historicum S. J., 1962
- Jenkins Robert C., The Jesuits in China, David Nutt, London 1894