This letter is one of 142 letters written by Father Ernest Heurtel SS.CC., a French missionary priest with the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Father Heurtel came to the kingdom of Hawaii in 1840. This was thirteen years after the arrival of the first Catholic missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands in 1827. These letters are written in French to his superiors, and date from 1841 to 1850. They are among the earliest documents in this archive chronicling the Catholic Mission in Hawaii and evangelization efforts in the Pacific region.
Father Heurtel provides a personal view of the hardships of missionary life. They include the lack of supplies, traveling long distances, periods of famine, and feelings of isolation. He also speaks of the challenges of entering a missionary field dominated by American Calvinists who arrived in 1820. These Protestant missionaries had quickly gained favor with the ruling Hawaiian chiefs, and soon became their trusted advisors. Under their influence, the chiefs issued an order in 1829 prohibiting Hawaiians from attending Catholic worship. They expelled priests from the kingdom in 1831, and declared the Catholic religion illegal in 1837. When Father Heurtel arrived in Hawaii, he witnessed Catholic converts being subjected to discrimination, torture, imprisonment, and destruction and confiscation of property. He himself experienced difficulties in establishing Catholic schools, acquiring teaching certificates for teachers, and obtaining marriage licenses for Catholic couples.
In broader terms, these letters offer insight into the spread of Catholicism in the Pacific. They shed light on tensions existing between Pacific island nations wishing to maintain their sovereignty, and European colonial powers intent on protecting the commercial interests and rights of their citizens abroad. Father Heurtel mentions the use of military interventions by French naval forces to advance religious freedom for Catholics, and to reap retribution when that freedom is denied. He is quick to invoke the provisions of a treaty forced upon Kamehameha III by the French in 1839. He cites the establishment of a French protectorate over Tahiti and the annexation of the Marquesas in 1842, and the invasion of Honolulu by French forces in 1849.
The letters of Father Heurtel are available for viewing in the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts USA Province Archives in Honolulu. To schedule a visit, please contact Archivist Stuart Ching, whose contact details are listed below.
Contact
Stuart Ching
Archivist
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts USA Province Archives
1124 Seventh Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816
808-282-8308
[email protected]
Website: sacredheartsarchives.org
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