The present scope of the SAM is to support the Samists still alive and to classify the archives that are in our possession to make them accessible to researchers. There are still 10 living samists. The youngest is 77 years old and the oldest 95. Five are in Asia and the five others in Europe.
HISTORY OF THE "SOCIÉTÉ DES AUXILIAIRES DES MISSIONS" (S.A.M.)
At the dawn of the twentieth century, all the existing bishops in the Catholic Church were Europeans. None existed outside the Continent yet ... and thus was created the: "Société des Auxiliaires des Missions". The goal of this organisation was to constitute an episcopate outside Europe. The tireless promoter for China was a Belgian Missionary known as: Father Vincent Lebbe.
On October 28, 1926, the first six Chinese bishops were ordinated.
These Chinese bishops had only a very small staff in their diocese. They need the support of secular priests from abroad. They were supported by Rome at the proposal of Father Lebbe and his friend, Father André Boland. The task was to organize a group of secular priests ready to serve exclusively under the jurisdiction of Chinese bishops. It was the beginning.
From 1927 and on, the "Société des Auxiliaires des Missions" (S.A.M.) takes shape under the direction of the abbot Boland. The first members of the new society come from the diocese of Liège in Belgium. In September 1930, the first Auxiliary of the Missions, Raymond de Jaegher, went to China. The seminar of the SAM, which later became the Vincent Lebbe Center in Kessel-Lo, was opened in August 1931 in Leuven. The specificity of the Missionary Auxiliary Society (S.A.M.) is to train secular priests to serve them individually. First, Chinese bishops in China, then young churches in Africa, in an unconditional and definitive way. The Society no longer has any authority over them when they are in the service of their bishop. The Samistes do not differ from the local clergy and strive to be faithful to the spirit of Father Lebbe which could be summed up as: to be of his time, to be of his people, to be with the weak and those who suffer injustice, and to share the common destiny of the people where the Samists are sent.
On June 1, 1939, Bishop Joseph Kerkhofs, bishop of Liège, canonically established the Society of Missionary Auxiliaries in Society under Diocesan Law and became its Major Superior.
In 1972, the members of the General Assembly of the S.A.M. take the decision to pave the way for new initiatives for the Samists service in order to adapt to the new needs of the Christian communities in Asia and Africa. Indeed, the Second Vatican Council brought a change in missionary perspectives. The context of the mission in which the S.A.M. has been designed no longer exists. The promotion of local churches has become a fact. The world has also changed profoundly.
In 1982, members of the General Assembly decided that as an institution recruiting and sending new members to local churches, the S.A.M. has fulfilled its mission and no longer has any specific reason to exist. They believe that the "Fidei Donum" formula offers young people wishing to go on a mission, more opportunities than S.A.M., both in terms of individual support and the level of exchange between the churches.
S.A.M. trained 118 priests. Most of them went to serve in more than 30 dioceses in Asia or Africa. Their responsibilities were as varied as their living conditions.
According to the needs of the Church and of the world, some have devoted themselves more to traditional pastoral tasks, to the formation of the future clergy, to administrative tasks, while others have become part of the non-Christian world. Many have focused on issues of development and awareness, others in support of the disabled and hospital work. Some of them served the nationals of the mission countries who were staying in Europe and the USA.
In 2016, there are still 11 Samists, most of whom are retired: 7 in Asia and 4 in Europe. The leaders of the S.A.M. continue to ensure that the best services are delivered to them.
