Any young man who joins us leaves his home country for missionary work in one of the missions entrusted to us. We take the three vows and make our religious and missionary commitment for life.

Every generation of CICM missionaries (in some countries called Scheutists) has been called to pursue our common missionary dream with the same passion as that of our founders, Theophile Verbist and companions, when they left Europe for China in 1862. Our history shows how, starting with our commitment with the Chinese people, we have moved on to Africa and the Americas.

Today CICM is in the following countries: Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Mongolia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Democratic Republic of Congo, China, Cameroon, Senegal, Zambia, Nigeria, Chad, Angola, Guatemala, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United States, Mexico and Rome, Italy. In the near future we are planning to send teams to Cuba, Papua New Guinea and Mozambique.

We have cast our lot with the Lord in his search for the disadvantaged, the oppressed, the disinherited of this earth. This has always been the way of Christ. It was the way of the founder. It is the CICM way.

From the very beginning we have pledged our willingness to leave behind familiar surroundings, blood ties and country, language, culture, friends and possessions, in order to free ourselves more fully in the pursuit of our vocation in CICM.

Diocesan priests who wanted to become missionaries in China founded us as a religious missionary Congregation in Belgium in 1862. For many years all the members of the Congregation were natives of either Belgium or the Netherlands. In the 1950's we started welcoming new members from other countries, mostly from the missions where we had been working for many years. Our headquarters are in Rome.

The turbulent years since the 1960's have had a profound impact upon the missionary movement in Western Europe and North America. A tremendous shift in missionary vocations has taken place: most new members for the past 25 years have been coming from Congo (former Zaire), the Philippines and Indonesia (less significant numbers have come from countries like Haiti, Cameroon, Singapore, Guatemala, Dominican Republic and Brazil).

The first novitiate for North Americans was opened in 1958. At present there are 15 members who are natives of either the US or Canada.

The internationalization process has had a profound impact upon the Congregation... for the better. All our Provinces now have an international membership. This gives us a golden opportunity to live and work together as brothers, even though we come from different races and cultures, and thus to witness to God's will that all men and women be brothers and sisters in Christ.

If you are interested in learning more about how to become a CICM missionary, you can contact us by e-mail: dirprom@missionhurst.org

Our missionary work would be impossible without the help and support of our benefactors. It is possible for you to participate in our work and thus to satisfy your mission to help the poor of this world. How?