From “Franciscans in China” to “Chinese Franciscans”: Franciscan Missionaries and Chinese Assistants, Priests, and Bible Translators

The Franciscan presence in China is one of the first expressions of the Chinese encounter with Christianity. Despite the significant number of preserved documents and archives, research on the Franciscans in China is still limited. Furthermore, previous studies have predominantly focused on the texts and activities of foreign missionaries, often neglecting the role of their Chinese collaborators and converts. The purpose of this paper is to examine the interactions between Franciscans and Chinese people from a diachronic perspective, starting from the first phases of the Franciscan presence in China during the Yuan dynasty and tracing its development through the centuries up to the 20th century. Analyzing the transformation of these interactions, this paper will outline the long and gradual evolution of Franciscan foreign missions into expressions of a local church, detecting unexplored issues such as the establishment of institutes for the local clergy or the shift in the assignment of significant tasks in the Order to Chinese members. The preliminary findings of this research underscore the necessity for further studies to fully address these complex dynamics.