Fr. Pierre BLIVET (1907- 2008)

Obituary

Pierre Blivet was born on October 28, 1907, in Saint-Aignan in the diocese of Blois, into a family of five children whose father was a doctor. He was baptized on November 17, 1907, in the church of Saint-Aignan. After his primary education in Ravières, in the Yonne department, and then his secondary education at the Jesuit college of Mont Roland in Dôle, he was interested and impressed after hearing lectures given by missionaries from Africa. He entered the White Fathers seminary in Hennebont when he was only seventeen years old. He spent two years there studying scholastic philosophy, after which, in September 1926, he left for the novitiate at Maison Carrée near Algiers. Having arrived there, after praying and reflecting during a retreat, he realized he was not suited to the communal life prescribed by the Constitutions and practiced in the Society of Missionaries of Africa. After only two months, he returned to France and, on the advice of trusted individuals, immediately applied to be admitted to the seminary of the Foreign Missions Society, which he entered on November 23 of the same year, 1926.
Ordained a priest by Bishop de Guébriant on June 29, 1931, he departed for the mission in Mandalay, Burma, on September 7 of the following year. After a crossing and a journey overland lasting several weeks, he finally arrived in Mandalay, the second largest city in Burma after Rangoon. At the time, the city had barely more than two hundred thousand inhabitants, and its housing resembled that of a poor bush village more than the cities the newcomer had known in France. Welcomed by the bishop, Mgr Falière, Pierre Blivet immediately began studying the language, residing first at the bishopric and then in Chanthaywa, some 80 kilometers from Mandalay.
Charged with a vast territory, Bishop Falière was concerned about the insufficient number of missionaries at his disposal to meet the needs of the region. While the ethnic minorities seemed more open to the Gospel than the Burmese, he lamented his inability to send them the missionaries they appeared willing to receive. In a letter dated April 24, 1932, addressed to the Superior General, Bishop de Guébriant, he made a fervent appeal for help. But he also strove to do everything within his power. He had observed that in France, at Beaupréau for example, vocations were being prepared from childhood. He then decided to open, specifically in Chanthaywa, a “probatorium” where a dozen young boys could prepare to enter the seminary. In May 1932, he himself would inaugurate this probatorium, which would be under the responsibility of the local parish priest, Father Leo. And so, quite naturally, while continuing to learn the language, Pierre Blivet began to assist the priest in his duties. And in 1933, barely two years after his arrival in Burma, he had to leave Chanthaywa to become the superior of a minor seminary that had been opened in Maymyo. From the outset, he was responsible for the formation of 17 seminarians, including two Anglo-Indians and three Indians from southern India, where vocations were plentiful. Serving as both director of the institution and teacher, he was quickly very busy, but having acquired a motorcycle, he could cover several dozen kilometers a day and often used it to visit his fellow seminarians working in the plains. He quickly became friendly with the older seminarians, who appreciated his warmth and energy.
Pierre Blivet remained director of the minor seminary until October 1939. Bishop Falière, more determined than ever to develop the mission among minorities, then called upon him to accompany Fathers Mainier and Moses Ba Khin, who were to establish a mission in the Chin Hills. The three missionaries undertook an initial exploratory tour in early 1940, which allowed them to meet with local leaders and catechists who had been sent ahead some time earlier. These catechists had learned the local language and had prayers, hymns, and catechism books translated. The population, and even the civil authorities, seemed pleased by the Fathers’ visit. It now seemed possible that one of them would reside permanently in the area. When they returned to Mandalay on April 27, 1940, after trekking 300 kilometers through the mountains, they were exhausted, sunburnt, and thin, but delighted. It was therefore possible to pursue the foundation of the mission to the northern Chin people with greater determination. On December 15th, Fathers Mainier, Moses Ba Khin, and Blivet set off again from Mandalay, climbed Kennedy Peak on foot, and finally arrived in Tonzang on the evening of December 24th, after 120 kilometers in torrential rain. They were soaked and exhausted but happy. For them, for the catechists, and for the catechumens, this Christmas of 1940 and the Mass sung by Father Moses, the future Bishop of Mandalay, would remain an unforgettable celebration.
Without delay, Fathers Blivet and Moses were taken by the catechists to the surrounding villages, where they had trained catechumens, and they were able to administer about a hundred baptisms. And a month after their arrival, they were even called to the far north, as far as Manipur in India. They made long rounds in this region as well, without, however, crossing the border. Later that spring, the region was drenched by torrential rains. One day, Father Blivet’s horse collapsed beneath him and was unable to get up. The rains were so intense that the priests were unable to leave their homes for two months. Father Blivet began studying the local language in Lailu, with the help of Maung Ba Maung, a catechist.
On Good Friday, April 3, 1942, the Japanese, who had entered the war on December 8 of the previous year by attacking the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, bombed Mandalay. The cathedral and the bishop’s residence were destroyed, as well as several buildings belonging to the mission. The Japanese had already invaded part of Burma, and fierce fighting was raging between them and British troops. Initially, the Chin Hills region was spared, but from November 1943 onward, several Japanese divisions began to penetrate it successively from different directions. The brutality of the invaders deeply impressed the Chin people. So much so that when Father Blivet was summoned by them to Tiddim, everyone was convinced he would be killed. In fact, the officer he met simply ordered him to return to Lailu and not to leave the village again. He even gave him a sack of beans, and those who saw him leave carrying it were convinced, even years later, that Father had been condemned to work as a laborer for the Japanese army. The officer even had a sign posted in Japanese on Father’s house, forbidding Japanese soldiers from entering. More than any sermon, his quiet presence among the Chin people clearly showed everyone that he loved them. He was the only European in the region. While all the American Baptist missionaries, often with families, had left the country upon the arrival of the Japanese, Bishop Falière had asked his missionaries to remain as faithful to their posts as possible. This fidelity earned them the gratitude and admiration of many Chin people who would later request baptism.
In March 1944, several Japanese divisions attacked towards Imphal through the Chin Hills but encountered resistance from the British, commanded by Lord Mountbatten, and found themselves trapped in the mountains, forced to retreat. This retreat quickly turned into a rout. The fierce fighting and bombing that preceded the Japanese withdrawal had caused many casualties and extensive damage. The chapel-house where Father Moses lived in Tonzang, about 30 kilometers from Father Blivet’s home, had been reduced to ashes. Father Moses had joined Father Blivet in Lailui, but there too the mission buildings were destroyed by bombing. The priests who had taken refuge in the countryside were unable to save anything. Forced to live afterwards in Lailui in a tiny room measuring three meters by three meters, they spent the last months of 1944 there. It was only in March 1945 that Bishop Falière was able to announce in Paris that Mandalay had been retaken by the British.
Throughout this period, despite or perhaps because of the circumstances, the number of catechumens had increased. The perseverance of the first baptized Christians had been admirable. Some of them, who had crossed the border to escape the war, had gained hundreds of catechumens and were requesting priests. Father Blivet, for his part, had begun writing in the local language with his catechist. They had to write a catechism, compile a book of prayers and hymns, and also reconstruct baptismal registers that had been destroyed in a fire. They were wondering when and how they could have the results of their work printed when, in September 1946, a letter arrived from Paris informing Father Blivet that, on June 26th of that year, he had been chosen to represent the Missions of Burma, Siam, and Malaya at the Society’s headquarters. The letter had taken three months to reach its recipient, who was preoccupied with his translations and errands in the villages around Tiddim.
Father Blivet couldn’t say no, but he didn’t hide from the Superior General, Father Robert, his hesitation to accept: “After seven years in the Chin Hills, I’m apprehensive about civilized life.” He went to Mandalay for the annual retreat, and also to welcome two new arrivals to the mission: Father Muffat and his own brother, Father Michel Blivet, who, ordained a priest in 1940, had also been assigned to the Mandalay mission but had had to wait before taking up his post. After welcoming the newcomers, he prepared to leave, his heart heavy at the thought of the Chin Christians to whom he had grown attached, whom he feared he would never see again. He was determined, however, to finish the task himself—and Bishop Falière asked him to do so—the work that only he could oversee: the publication of his books in Chin. To do this, he first had to go to Calcutta, India. But then, on March 10, 1947, just as he was about to leave, Pierre Blivet, without informing his bishop, wrote to Bishop Lemaire to offer his resignation: “I cannot in good conscience accept the position of representative. I am afflicted with a kind of aboulia…” He said he was incapable of making decisions and suffered from a sort of mental anxiety whenever it came to settling practical matters. “I didn’t dare tell Father Robert. In the Chin Hills, this flaw doesn’t pose a problem: the people are simple…” And having thus unburdened himself, he left for Rangoon with a relieved heart. His resignation was accepted on April 2 by the Council in Paris.
In June 1947, Pierre Blivet was in Calcutta, where he was having his books printed. He was preparing to take his first leave in France after sixteen years of uninterrupted service in Burma. It was during a stopover in Bangkok that he learned his resignation had been accepted. On August 10, upon arriving in Marseille, he informed Bishop Lemaire of his intention to return to Paris after a month’s rest near Lyon. This would allow him to personally explain to the Superior General the situation and needs of the mission in Mandalay, much to the satisfaction of Bishop Falière, who felt he had been heard when the Paris council recognized the validity of the direction he intended to prioritize.
After six months in France, Father Blivet prepared to return home. In January 1948, with Father Ogent, who was also on leave in France, he paid a final visit to his mother in Paris, and on the 28th they both embarked from Marseille, arriving in Rangoon on March 12th. In Mandalay, Pierre Blivet saw his brother, Michel, who was studying Burmese, then immediately returned to the Chin Hills. In his absence, his previous post had been filled by Father Dixneuf. The latter promptly gave up the house in Tuilang to Father Blivet, to take up residence himself in Saizang. The two soon embarked together on an extensive tour of the surrounding villages. Their first visit was to Kaptel, which already had 350 houses, where they were very well received. They then went to Tuitawh, where those who had invited them had their houses blessed and entered the catechumenate. Further on, they learned that a group of Chin Baptist pastors had written letters to the villagers, urging them not to receive them, not to give them, and not even to sell them food. Passing through Laitui, they had to pay dearly for wood, and even water, to cook their meals. In Maizawl, the village chief practically threw them out, which didn’t stop some villagers from visiting them secretly. In Mualnuam, they were refused food, and it was with empty stomachs that they arrived the next day in Thalmual. ​​There, they found a group of catechumens, and with each visit from Father Dixneuf, their numbers grew. They stayed there for several days, getting to know the villagers better and baptizing young children, before returning, exhausted, to Tuilang and Saizang. It was then that Father Dixneuf, worn out by years of intensive work, had to return to France for medical treatment, leaving Father Blivet solely responsible for the entire area for a time.
In 1949, civil war broke out in Burma, and the fighting claimed victims throughout the country. On March 11, Mandalay surrendered with little resistance to the Carian rebels, allied with the communists. Bishop Falière was nevertheless able to write that “in Chin country, calm and peace reign, but the Fathers are overwhelmed with work… There are 5,000 baptized and catechumenal members in the Northern District… Father Blivet is rebuilding a chapel in Tuilang to replace the temporary structure that had been built previously…”
In 1950, Father Blivet was heard lamenting that the Chin had lost their simplicity: “Their main concern is making money…” he said. He regretted that, near Tiddim, there had been a number of defections, for example, due to unrequited healing or difficulties in observing the laws of Christian marriage. In 1951, however, the movement of conversions continued among the northern Chin. The missionaries are working tirelessly in service to the communities, and Bishop Falière has to tell them to take it easy. “I wonder how they can do such work with such poor food.” And then, should they blame the devil for wanting to hinder their work? Father Blivet was the victim of a strange accident. While he was on his way to bless a house in the distance, his horse, usually so gentle, suddenly became unmanageable. He had to borrow another, which died the very next day… In 1953, the missionaries in the Chin Hills received a visit from Father Ogent, who had just been appointed regional superior. Father Ogent went to see Father Blivet in Tuilang, whose area of ​​responsibility extended over four valleys beyond the Manipur River. He recounts how his host wanted him to test his cable bridge over the Manipur: “a bridge that sways strangely as soon as you step onto it above the rushing waters… impressive for a beginner…” Father Blivet often had to cross the bridge to visit some of the fifteen or so villages under his care.
Over the years, the parish priest of Tuilang received several distinguished visitors: in 1954, Father Prouvost, advisor to the Superior General; in 1955, Bishop Martin Lucas, Apostolic Delegate; and in 1956, Bishop Joseph U Win. All were impressed by his zeal and the warmth of his welcome.
On July 1, 1956, a grand celebration was held in Tiddim. Reluctantly, to please the Christians, Father Blivet agreed to celebrate his silver jubilee, the twenty-fifth anniversary of his priestly ordination. Several fellow priests and many local Christians gathered for this celebration, for whom it was an opportunity to realize that the Catholic Church is a force to be reckoned with and that it has made significant progress since Bishop Falière’s visit to Tiddim 17 years earlier. Father Blivet’s zeal and hard work have played a major role in this progress.
Father Blivet seemed inexhaustible, tireless, always ready to continue his ceaseless rounds at the same pace under very trying conditions, content with a frequently meager diet. But then, in 1957, he fell gravely ill. Father Ruellen, visiting him in Tuilang, found him in adoration before the altar, suffering from a high fever. It was typhoid fever, which was treated by transferring him to Saizang, but Bishop Falière had to be summoned to his bedside by radio. He had suffered a severe attack, and everyone expected him to die. But the sick man, defying all predictions, eventually recovered and resumed his work. He would, however, have to return to France after Easter 1958 to rest. In 1959, he was back in Burma. After temporarily replacing Father Kelbert in Tonzang, he moved to the other side of the Manipur River, to Tuithang. It’s a large village where he was able to find land to build on, but initially he lived there without a fixed address, staying with local families, sometimes with one person, sometimes with another. Since returning from leave, he seems to have recovered well. He is pleased to be able to make the regular monthly visits to outlying villages. The years go by, but he remains a tireless worker and walker. One day in 1962, he went with Father Kelbert to Haka to attend the blessing of the church and returned home immediately. The two priests must have walked 45 kilometers in 7 hours, in torrential rain. The next day, Father Blivet was already up at 5:30 a.m. to teach the 26 catechists gathered there. However, sometimes the price of these exhausting hikes on mountain trails must be paid: in 1963, he had to admit he was suffering from a knee injury and had to travel all the way to Rangoon for treatment. The doctor gave him little hope of being able to continue his hikes. But, as he would later write: “The doctor was wrong. Thanks to the Sisters’ prayers… I am almost completely cured.” And indeed, he began hiking again, braving the fatigue.
Father Blivet remained in charge of the Tuithang mission until the end of his stay in Burma. For years, he led the same life at the forefront of the mission in Chin country, seemingly indifferent to hardship, wholly devoted to serving his flock, attentive to the training of catechists, and always ready to welcome new catechumens. He had the joy of witnessing the ordination of the first Chin priest in 1960, and in 1965 he attended the episcopal ordination of the new Archbishop of Mandalay, Mose Ba Khin, with whom he had first learned his craft in the hill country. The mission in the Chin Hills was growing, but the political situation throughout the country was gradually deteriorating. After the 1962 military coup that brought General Ne Win to power, a socialist and authoritarian regime was established, which implemented xenophobic measures. Ethnic rebellions and tensions between Hindu and Christian minorities and the Buddhist majority were on the rise. Foreign Christian missionaries quickly realized that their presence was considered unwelcome. And as early as 1966, missionaries who had arrived in Burma after a certain date were notified that their residency permits would not be renewed: thirty MEP missionaries would have to leave the country before the end of the year. The more senior ones, such as Fathers Pierre Blivet, Muffat, Ogent, and a few others, were allowed to stay and enjoyed relative freedom, though they could not move about as they wished.
In 1975, Father Blivet had to admit that he had been experiencing frequent and intense fatigue for some time. After several unsuccessful attempts to rest and regain his strength, he decided to return to France after 44 years of missionary work in service to the Church in Mandalay.
In France, he first served for a time as vicar in Mer, in the diocese of Blois, his home diocese, then as chaplain to the Dominican nuns of Burtin, until they gave way to the Lion of Judah community, which has since become the Community of the Beatitudes. In 1983-1984, he spent a few months in Montbeton before resuming his service with other Dominican nuns in Mortefontaine, in the Oise region, where he taught catechism to the children at their school. Then, in 1986, he became chaplain to the Poor Clare sisters of Voreppe, in the Isère region, where he remained until his final retirement in Montbeton in 2007. He died in Montbeton on November 7, 2008, at the age of 101. When the Poor Clare sisters learned of his death, the abbess sent a message of condolence to the secretary general in Paris, which was also a tribute to Father Blivet. It read: “Father Blivet’s time among us for about ten years remains as vivid as the memory of a missionary with a contemplative gaze, deeply inhabited by the One he celebrated with such fervor. He integrated himself into our monastic liturgy with great simplicity, full of joy. He loved to sing the Gospel and the announcements of feast days, as if naturally at home in the customs of our monastery.” Missionary and contemplative: throughout his life, Pierre Blivet had striven to be both.

Note: All data are collected from https://irfa.paris/missionnaire/3443-blivet-pierre/