The recipients had been asked by the Bishops of Nancy and Metz to transmit the letters received. Some, however, had not been contacted or had chosen not to part with what they considered precious relics. Others had not had the inspiration of saving these missives, or else they might have lost them. A reading of the letters saved suggests that the appeal missed many others. This is the case, for example, of a letter sent by Augustine to his uncle, priest and pastor ofGood Shepherd parish in Munich. Carefully preserved in the XIX th C., it cannot now be found11. It was not until around 1951, at the centennial of the martyrdom, that a new search was undertaken by a priest of the Metz diocese, also born at Mittelbronn, Father Joseph Noblet. He would be successful in recovering several letters; he would transcribe — not an easy task — the letters preserved in the Archives of the Foreign Missions, at the Seminary of Nancy, and at Mittelbronn. He was hoping that a biography would be published12. Shortly after the canonization ceremonies in 1988, he sent me the results of his research along with his copious notes. The collection was also notably increased by [three of four] letters [Letters 22, 47, and 64. For previously unknown fourth letter, see page 339 - Trans.] preserved in the United States. [Archives,
University of Notre Dame. - Trans.] The two biographies of 1900 cited about thirty letters, half of which were addressed to the same person. Presently, the 88 letters sent to twenty-four correspondents allow us to know their author better. Several supplementary documents are presented: the will, and the sole work of the seminarian: a philosophical dissertation. . . on immortality, accounts of his martyrdom by Bishop Retord and Father Néron, a letter erroneously attributed to Augustine which is from his friend, Nicolas Krick, another martyr whose cause leading to beatification is under way.

Augustine Schoeffler was born in the territory of Phalsbourg; he spoke German. He would learn French from his uncle Charles, then at school; his father had been a teacher. His language, style, culture are marked by his origins and his studies at the minor seminary of Pont-à- Mousson, at the college of Phalsbourg, at the major seminary of Nancy, and at the seminary of the Foreign Missions. He is the first to admit that his handwriting is not good. He is very parsimonious with punctuation marks — except for commas and exclamation points which he often places at the end of a line. He does not separate words. He allows himself some liberties in spelling13.

This edition faithfully reproduces the originals, while nonetheless correcting a few details. Words in italics were added. The physical state of the documents is very irregular. Some of them are greatly damaged: with folds, and holes which sometimes impede reconstitution of the text. The very thin paper used for certain letters impedes the ability to distinguish the recto from the verso. Some dots are used to indicate words or passages that remain illegible. Whenever possible, the text was compared with the originals or photocopies; but certain originals could not be located . It was then necessary 14 to be satisfied with communicated or published transcriptions.
The notes collected at the end of the volume [herein presented after each letter or section - Trans.] are intended to allow all categories of readers to identify the persons mentioned, the events, the implications, the mind-set of this period of the XIXth C. In the great missionary wave of the XIXth C. — made possible when the clergy in France had become adequate again, encouraged by Pope Gregory XVI and supported by the labor of the Propagation of the Faith — Augustine Schoeffler is a minor foot-soldier who had but very little time to serve his Tonkin mission15. The hoped for “small saber blow” very quickly brought to an end his voyage begun in the territory of Phalsbourg in Lorraine. A little while later, two children departed from there for a Tour de France16; Augustine went much further. “Short and sweet” is how Father Simonnet17 described the life of Augustine. These documents will bring it to light.

1 Cf. J. Guennou, Missions Étrangères de Paris, Paris: Fayard, 1986, p. 237 ff.
2 The biography lists the documents concerning Augustine Schoeffler.
3 The place of execution is the one where Jean-Charles Cornay was martyred in 1837. Jean-Louis Bonnard would be executed exactly one year after Augustine, on the 1st of May 1852, also at Son-Tay.
4 According to an oral tradition, a number of mischievous seminarians during the first half of the XXxth century went so far as to identify his name with that of a vegetable in Brittany [chou-fleur = cauliflower. - Trans.] The birth records of the children of his uncle André Schoeffler and the latter’s death records in Martinique, in 1848, 1856, and 1862, all bear the name Scheffler. In the diocese of Nancy, most of those who know him are convinced that his name was Schæffler!
5 This expression, used in Alsace and in Moselle, designated France and the French people on the other side of the former border with Germany, set up after the war of 1870 and which had cut off three departments until the beginning of the war of 1914-1918. But things are a little more complicated: over and above the two departments of Alsace, the Germans had obtained part of the Meurthe — where Augustine was born — and left behind the western part of Moselle which became the “high country” of Meurthe-et-Moselle.
6 Augustine was born on 22 November 1822. Théophane on 21
November 1829.
7 Volume 33, pp 374-379.
8 Thirteen editions between 1864 and 1909.
9 She discovers the collection in 1896, feels “greatly shocked,” and Théophane becomes her “preferred saint.” The History of a Soul, which appeared in 1898, was to make him known in the entire world. See Jean Guennou, Missions Étrangères de Paris, 1986, p. 245.
10 His parents would leave a debt of 200 francs at the seminary of Nancy. For a long time, they would be invited to send him 200 francs for the “purchase” of his missionary chapel [currently, we call this “a
portable altar” - a case containing all the equipment needed to celebrate Mass - Trans.]. To his friend Stricher (Letter 65), he wrote in 1848: “I am always the same beggar,” as he asked him for pious objects for his “Annamite brothers.” In certain bourgeois and pious milieux, to speak of money was frowned upon. But Augustine had no choice! From the seminary of the Foreign Missions, he wrote to his aunt Élise: “ I will tell you frankly that I am a poor man; 30 cents constitute all my fortune, but I like this poverty because this is to be my life. (Letter 32, of 1846.)
11 Letters lost: to Charles Schoeffler; to André Schoeffler (March 1843, December 1846); to his aunts at St-Louis (May 1843); to the pastor at Wiesbaden (July 1843); to Father Benjamin (July 1843); to Miss Klein (June 1844); to his parents (June 1846); to Father Heim; to Father Ehalt; to Mr. Salzman (May 1848); to Father Untereiner; to Father Jung. . . etc. It is almost certain that he wrote to Mr. Charrier, to Father Jandel, etc., not to overlook his parents who received letters as early as the minor seminary.
12 A professor of history at the University of Strasbourg intends to fill this void. [2004: no publication yet.]
13 All the errors which may have been overlooked should not be attributed to Augustine!
14 Mangenot deliberately cut out some passages in the letters, while [falsely] stating that he presented them as the exact text.
15 To understand the history of the Tonkin mission, see: Alain Forest: Les missionaires français au Tonkin et au Siam, XVII - XVIII siècles: analyse comparé d’un relatif succès et d’un seul échec, e e Paris -
Montréal: L’Harmattan, 1998, 3 volumes.
16 Le Tour de France par deux enfants: devoir et patrie. Livre de lecture courante. . . Par G. Bruno, Paris: Berlin. [Numerous editions]. André and Julien began their journey at the Porte de France in Phalsbourg.
17 Les dix martyrs français du Vietnam, Paris: La salle des Martyrs, 1989, p. 51.
Re: St. Augustine and the Third Order of St. Dominic