Youth

At the age of twelve, Augustin Bourry and his classmates attended a religious ceremony. The priest of the presbyteral school La Chapelle-Largeau presented them the relics of Jean-Charles Cornay, a missionary member of the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris, who had died a martyr. He added that he "would be happy if one of these children could later become a missionary like Mr. Cornay was". Augustin Bourry would later confide that from that day on, he was eager to respond to the priest's call.^[1]

In 1842, he entered the Collège de Saint-Maixent, and, although he had serious difficulties at school, the principal, who believed in him,^[2] kept him there and supported him. In 1847, he entered the minor seminary of Montmorillon where Théophane Vénard was his illustrious classmate^[3] and where he also had four difficult years. He remained in the bottom quarter of the class, so much so that he was denied entry to the major seminary.^[3]

Discouraged, Augustin Bourry returned to his family for a while and faced with his parents' concerns about his future, Augustin showed great self-confidence, assuring them that he would become a priest despite the difficulties.^[1] His somewhat excessive piety and almost obsessive desire to become a missionary eventually took their toll on his health. The young man imposed such severe penances on himself that his superior ordered him to limit and moderate^[4] them. Like Thérèse of Lisieux,^[5] he also suffered from scruples. He later described his condition to a colleague: "In my room, while I was working, I would think about it, and often, when I was writing, my pen would suddenly stop and I would think about being a missionary. During the breaks in the seminary, during the days I spent in Mauron, where I used the breaks so well to distract myself, I thought about being a missionary; at night I couldn't sleep, so strongly was this thought engraved in my mind^[5]".

Seminary professors described Augustin Bourry as stubborn, passionate, devout, respectful, and considerate of his superiors, but reserved with his fellow students.^[6] With the help of his spiritual director, he was able to free himself from his scruples and obsessions. As a result, he was able to continue his studies at the major seminary in Poitiers.^[2]

He was ordained subdeacon on December 21, 1850, at the same time as Théophane Vénard,^[6] and deacon on July 4, 1851. He could then enter the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris, where Vénard had preceded him in March 1851.^[7]

Society of Foreign Missions of Paris

Arriving in the capital in July 1851,^[8] he was immediately welcomed by the missionaries present.

His beginnings in Paris coincided with the resumption of the persecution of Christians in Asia: the martyrdom of Augustin Schoeffler in Tonkin and Jean-Baptiste Vachal in China.^[9] These victims only strengthened his desire to become a martyr. His ordination was postponed. On the domestic front, the coup d'état of December 2, 1851, by the President of the Republic, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, the future Napoléon III, was the prelude to major political upheavals. Anecdotally, it is said that during a visit to Paris, he was shocked by the nudity of the statues and paintings. He went so far as to consider those in the Église de la Madeleine impious.^[8]

Although his training in the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris was carried out within a very strict framework, Augustin Bourry soon seemed to adapt to it. He discovered the importance of joy in the spiritual life: "Sadness is banished forever from this place. If one day you let a little sadness show on your face, and a director saw it, he would immediately go and find you, and you would return from him as cheerful as if you had never experienced happiness^[10]". He learned to play billiards and pétanque in the garden of the seminary.^[11] These new disciplines, as insignificant as they may seem at first glance, changed his behavior: he became firmer and more self-confident, and his activities revealed talents and intellectual abilities previously unknown.^[11]

Augustin was assigned to the infirmary where his duties included caring for two sick missionaries.^[12] In May 1852, an epidemic of paratyphoid fever broke out in the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris and took up all of his time.^[13]

On June 5, 1852, Augustin was ordained a priest at Notre Dame with five other seminarians, a deaco], and three subdeacons.^[13] The next day, the superior asked him to prepare for Korea, one of the most dangerous missions, however, Augustin, who was very happy with this destination, was forced to postpone his departure.^[14] Finally, on July 28, 1852, he was sent to Tibet, where Christianity was still completely unknown.^[14] His choice was motivated above all by his experience as a nurse. This part of the world suffers from diseases that require urgent and appropriate care. The Abor, Mishmi, and Tibetan tribes with whom Nicolas Krick came into contact were in dire need of health care.^[15]

A portrait of him taken by a photographer dates from this period and the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris sent it to his mother.^[15]

Missionary in Tibet

The beginnings of hagiography

Augustin Bourry's murder was quickly interpreted as martyrdom.^[36] The directors of the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris wrote to the Archbishop of Calcutta, comparing Bourry's death to that of the Vietnamese Martyrs: "Respect for their memory, which should remind the savage tribes among whom they passed only of the martyrs of charity and apostolic zeal, as well as the entirely spiritual character of their undertaking, from which they endeavored on every occasion to remove even the slightest hint of political views, seem to us sufficient reasons not to desire the intervention of the British government^[40]".

A few years later, in 1862, Auguste Desgodins tried to persuade the British government to initiate proceedings for the beatification of Krick and Bourry as martyrs. However, the directors of the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris did not respond favorably, believing that "martyrdom for the faith is not well established^[38]".

Posterity among the tribes of Assam

The Indian government's policy of protecting the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh led to missionaries being denied access to the region. It wasn't until 1978 that an Indian Salesian priest and school principal, Father Thomas Menamparampil, managed to renew contact with the Mishmis at the invitation of one of the tribal chiefs. During his visit, the tribal chief and his tribesmen converted to Catholicism. On August 2, 1979, nine hundred and twenty-four members of the Noctes tribe requested baptism.^[41]

Father Thomas Menamparampil wrote the biography of Nicolas Krick and Augustin Bourry from the bishop's archives. This hagiography increased devotion to the two missionaries considered the founders of the Church of Arunachal Pradesh.^[42] In 1981 Menamparampil was appointed Bishop of Dibrugarh and set about organizing the evangelization of the region. In 1983, a school was opened, which increased conversions.

In 1991 Menamparampil renewed contact with the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris, who discovered the influence of Krick and Bourry in the region. In 1993, the first church was consecrated in the presence of Mother Teresa.^[43] The new Christians officially request the beatification of Krick and Bourry, whose trial is underway. The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris is once again interested in the two missionaries and supported the publication of the writings of Krick and Bourry, as well as the history of the first mission to Northern Tibet. In 1999, historian Françoise Fauconnet-Buzelin publishes Les Porteurs d'espérance, La mission du Tibet-Sud published by Les éditions du Cerf.