My very dear Uncle 1,

Since the last letter which I had the pleasure of sending you, both of our situations have changed. Heaven has just called you to contract an eternal alliance and I to distance myself from my homeland. I greatly regret not having the hope of becoming acquainted with my kind aunt, because I can no longer entertain this wish in my heart, unless some unfavorable winds appear during my crossing, to throw me on the shore ofMartinique. Oh! Then with what joy would I go spend some moments near you. Despite the distance which would separate us, however, I would ask her really to believe me always to be her most devoted and most affectionate nephew. Not even distance would prevent me from expressing the most sincere wishes for your mutual happiness. All the admirable qualities of my new Aunt would surely be able to make you happy. In addition, I couldn’t tell you strongly enough that she has been the pleasure of the whole family when it learned that it was about to see itself increased by so worthy a member.You have already been advised, my very dear Uncle, the resolution which I have just taken. It was certainly not — rest assured — a decision taken lightly. From my tender infancy2, the idea of the missions worked on me; and my very dear Uncle, to whom I confided my plans, far from turning me from them, stimulated me [more -Trans.]. Never until now, have I been able to find the favorable moment to bring to fulfilment this thought. All of a sudden, things fell into place so well, in line with my desires, that I believed the time had come to bring my projects to fruition. It is costing me, it is true, my very dear Uncle; it is costing me on the one hand tothus crush all my hopes and my most beautiful dreams, at a time when everything in my homeland seemed to smile at me. But we, priests, soldiers of Jesus Christ, we must gowhere this Master calls us. I believe that He wants me in China or in India; it is up to me to march on. It is like when you command one of your subordinates and he comes and goes according to your orders3. Well! For us, our captain is Jesus Christ; accordingly, obedience on our part. Besides, I will frankly tell you that never had I had a taste for exercising holy ministry in my country; the life of a priest in France has always appeared to me as too easy a post and too little engaging. As long as I believed myself able to be of some usefulness toward the happiness of my family, I believed it my duty to remain in its orbit; but now that all is going so well, I have not dwelt on that matter. Besides, I am convinced, my very dear Uncle, that a missionary is a previous talisman in a family. The hope of seeing you spend your final days near me — days that heaven might haveextended for a long time, I hope — was always very attractive to me. In your friendly andinstructive company, how much knowledge would I have been able to acquire. But thedecision you just made took away from me this hope.

So all I had left to do was to carry out my ideas; I hope that soon I will have my latest hopes fulfilled. For a moment, I hoped to see you again. America seemed to be the place where I ought to go to exercise my ministry; from the United States to Martinique is not a very long trip. But my destination has been changed; I believe that it is in China or in India that I must go spend my days to win over a few souls for our Savior. At present, I am in Paris where I await the moment of my ordination to the priesthood; then they will announce my firm destination. Shortly after my generous parents will again have spent some hundreds of francs to set up my priestly chapel — that is to say, myvestments — I will say: Come what may, goodbye France, my homeland! I think I will be ordained a priest on Easter Sunday, or at the latest, on Trinity Sunday. As you can see , my very dear Uncle, my stay in France will not be very long. After that, I hope to please you somewhat by sending you a few objects and some Chinese or Indian illustrations. I have already been incorporated into the Society of theForeign Missions. Nonetheless, I am free to leave during my entire lifetime, whenever Isee fit. Later on, if I find that I am not comfortable in these faraway lands, I will return to my homeland where missionaries are always well received. Besides, my bishop consented to my departure with such great difficulty that I have cause to hope that he would still want to accept me back among his clergy. Asia and Oceania were the only places where the name of Schoeffler had not been heard of. From now on, this last part of the world will remain the only one in this situation. It seems that our family was destined to travel and to scatter itself abroad.. I have been in Paris for almost three months and I have not yet received any direct news from Phalsbourg. I hope that everything is well over there, and that the admirable unity which I saw reigning everywhere during my vacation is not fractured.The inheritance matters had not yet been completed, but everything pointed to the hopethat they would be settled for the better. I also went to Germany to see my fine aunt Élise , and truly I was delighted to see the prosperous 4 osperous status of her business. My dearaunt Caroline has truly been happy with her marriage; harmony and the greatest peacereign between her and her husband. My dear aunt Marie is still staying at St-Louis, and ishappy to be near her sister. It seems that she chooses to remain a spinster. The businessesof my dear Aunts continue to prosper. At the time of my departure, one of my sisters wasto marry a railroad engineer for the Paris to Strasbourg line. I don’t know if this weddingwill take place; perhaps it has already occurred! So, my very dear Uncle, all is well in thefamily; one couldn’t ask for better. Thanks be given to God! He has tried us longenough; no doubt our resignation to His holy will has mellowed Him concerning ourfate.

I end, my very dear Uncle, by requesting you always to take good care of yourdays because they are very precious to the whole family. Your new post imposes a newobligation to do so. I am happy to learn from your kind letter that the fever has left you.Despite the undertaking that you have contracted or will contract, if the climate ofMartinique were not suitable for you, leave that land, and return to your paternalhomeland to rest a bit from your long-lasting weariness. I hope that my kind Aunt willnot be opposed to this, the first desire that I express to her, and that she herself will bepleased to see again the beautiful country of France.I will ask you another last favor, my very dear Uncle: that is, to receive from youone letter before my departure from France. Oh! I beg you; give me this joy. Yes, I awaitwith confidence one of your fine letters between now and March, or April at the latest. Inaddition, my very dear Uncle, present my expressions of respect and friendship to mykind Aunt as well as to her family.It’s up to God, my very dear Uncle.

In spite of the even greater distance whichwill separate us perhaps forever, please always believe me to be your most devoted andvery affectionate nephew.C. A. Schoeffler[In margin] My address: Candidate at the Seminary of Foreign MissionsRue du Bac, 120 in Paris

1 The sole letter preserved addressed to the uncle in the military. The original is in the hands of the M. E.— Biographical note to Letter 2: he has just married.
2 See the letter to Théophane Vénard: “Your brother would have his head chopped off and he would havespilled all his blood for the most noble of causes: for God. He would have died a martyr! That had been thedream of my young years, when as a nine-year-old youngster, I went to bring my goat to pasture on thehills of Bel-Air. I devoured with my eyes the brochure in which were recounted the life and death ofVenerable Charles Cornay. I said to myself: ‘And I too want to go to Tonkin, and I too want to be amartyr!’” In Bienheureux Théophane Vénard: Lettres, 1982, p. 177.
3 This comparison recalls the discussion of Jesus with the centurion in Matthew 8:9, and parallels.
4 He finally went to Wiesbaden again in 1846.