Apostolate of the Society: Interview with Fr. Rousseau

A priest since 24 June 2022, Fr. P. Rousseau teaches Church History at the Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort Seminary and at the Couvent de la Haye-aux-Bonshommes. Alongside his teaching duties, he is also responsible for an apostolate in Central Europe.

‘Father, so many airports, so many flights! But when did you first come into contact with central Europe?

As a priest? In fact, from the month following my ordination, for, ordained on 24 June, I celebrated my first Mass in Prague on 24 July. But I didn't think that that first Mass would lead to an apostolate that has continued ever since... In fact, even that first Mass in Prague was a bit unexpected, the result of a little geographical error on my part! An invitation in the Valais led me to accept another in Sankt-Gallen, at the other end of Switzerland; then I thoughtI'd take advantage of my proximity to Austria to visit our courageous confrere Fr. Martin Fuchs: I forgot how incredibly long Austria is! From there, Prague was not far away, and the Infant Jesus invited me to go. How could I refuse such an invitation? And that's how (after a number of ups and downs) I ended up taking over part of the apostolate of our dear Fr. Fuchs, which he had been forced to interrupt because of his leukaemia in 2019…

That's right. The faithful of Prague were the first to ask me to come back after my first Mass, but Providence allowed that trips, sometimes pilgrimages and holidays with a confrere, or connections between flights, put me in contact first with former faithful of Fr. Fuchs, then with new faithful. As a result, I've started to serve two other groups in the Czech Republic, one in Hungary and one in north-west Romania; other apostolates have opened up or are taking shape through contacts with French people abroad, be that a call from a friend on the Erasmus programme in Bulgaria or soldiers deployed on generally long missions in the Balkans. Our human resources are limited, but as long as Providence assists us, we will do our utmost to bring the Good Lord to all scattered souls and respond to the requests of the local or expatriate faithful.

It's not yet two years since I started travelling, and destinations are gradually being added ... The theoretical organisation is as follows: I go to Prague every two months for at least one Sunday. Romania and Bulgaria receive at least three visits a year, Hungary a little more because of its position as an air hub in Central Europe. No trip follows the same pattern as the previous one: everything depends on the price and availability of flights, trains and buses.

Yes: one of my major concerns is that this apostolate should not be ‘my’ apostolate, but an apostolate of the Church, so I try as much as possible to collaborate with different confreres, which enables us to intensify our visits. For example, for the past few months, Fr. Aloïs Brühwiler has been visiting Prague every two months, which means that, apart from a few exceptions, Prague receives a visit every month. As for extending our apostolate, we have to follow Providence: a new apostolate is taking shape in Bosnia, for example... So don't hesitate to contact us!

With such a low frequency of visits, it seems to me that the most important thing is to deepen the formation of the faithful. This means publishing solid docuмents and works: the faithful are already doing this themselves in the Czech Republic, and I'm currently working on the beginnings of a publication in Hungarian and Romanian. But we are sorely lacking in translators ... In God’s hands!

- Your ministry to souls requires intense communication with your faithful. In what language do you speak to them? Don't they find it difficult?

If my secondary school English teachers had ever predicted that I would do most of my apostolate in the language of Shakespeare, I would have smiled at the time ... But today it's difficult to ignore the lingua franca of our globalised world, even in France where we are frequently confronted with questions from foreigners, whether they be tourists, pilgrims or visitors ...

It is indeed difficult for the faithful; I preach with an interpreter, and we are in the process of updating and publishing a polyglot booklet for confession ... Fortunately, most of the faithful still have access, at least for confessions, to priests of good doctrine and unquestionable priesthood.

Probably not Hungarian! Even though it's a country I like very much, the language is a linguistic mystery that offers no similarity with the other European languages... If I had to learn one, it would probably be Czech, since that's where I have the majority of my faithful; however, they're also the ones most likely to get priests of their own language. In fact, Providence isn't giving me the time at the moment to get serious about learning a language ...

- What major differences do you see between Central Europe and the West?

Moral and intellectual corruption is lagging far behind, especially in the poorest countries like Romania and Bulgaria.  But ‘Western values’ are nevertheless spreading, thanks to EU propaganda, most of the time with the complicity of governments.

- Looking at Central Europe, what lessons can you draw for us Western Catholics?

Persecution preserves... decades of militant atheist communism have done far less harm to the faith of these Christians than our Western liberalism dripping with democratic ‘tolerance’. And it would undoubtedly take an even more violent persecution than that of the Soviets to purify us.

And then a great lesson in courage … Without pre-empting the official judgement of the Church, it is not out of place when my confreres and faithful speak of ‘our martyrs’; it is poignant to see the Communist jails where these heroic Christians bore witness to their faith and their attachment to the Church.