Fr. Andrej Majcen was more than a missionary—he was a visionary, a mentor, and a father to countless young people. Born in Slovenia in 1904, his journey led him across continents, from China to Vietnam, where he dedicated his life to serving others with unwavering commitment. His mission was not merely about spreading faith but about uplifting communities, educating the underprivileged, and embodying the spirit of Don Bosco. Over decades, he left an indelible mark on the Salesian movement, inspiring generations with his humility, resilience, and deep love for the people he served.
Early Life and Formation[]
Born on 30 September 1904 in Maribor, Slovenia, Andrej Majcen grew up in a Christian household. His father, Andrej, was a pragmatic and kind-hearted man, always ready to help those in need. He instilled in his son a guiding principle: "Be good to everyone, and you will never regret it!"
His mother, Marija Šlik, was deeply devout and encouraged Andrej to pursue a clerical vocation. However, his father insisted that he become a teacher, believing it was the best way to help others. Concerned about his future, his mother urged him: "Never forget the Blessed Virgin!" and gave him St. Francis de Sales’ Introduction to the Devout Life as spiritual reading.
During his studies at Teachers College in Maribor, Andrej remained dedicated to his faith, visiting the Marian Shrine each morning and reflecting at the baptismal font where he had become a child of God. He developed into a hardworking and resilient individual, overcoming obstacles with determination.
After completing his studies, he began teaching at the Salesian Elementary School in Radna, where he was drawn to Don Bosco’s mission. Inspired by Don Bosco’s life, he decided to enter the Salesian novitiate in 1924.
Despite facing humiliations, suspicions, and slander, his novitiate was extended, but he persevered, shaping his character in Don Bosco’s spirit. During his ten years at Ljubljana – Rakovnik, he prepared for his missionary vocation. His weak grasp of Latin threatened his future, so he intensified his studies. However, poor nutrition took a toll on his health.
In 1930, news of the martyrdom of Bishop Louis Versiglia and Fr. Callisto Caravario in China reawakened his desire for missionary work. A meeting with Fr. Jožef Kerec in 1932 led to his decision to embark on a mission to China.
In 1933, he was ordained a priest, and on 15 August 1935, at the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Rakovnik, he received his missionary cross, sealing his lifelong covenant with the Help of Christians.
Missionary Work in China and Vietnam[]
Fr. Majcen began his missionary work in Kunming, China, alongside the esteemed missionary Fr. Jožef Kerec. His commitment was resolute: "I will announce the Gospel to the Chinese in their language, so I will be Chinese with the Chinese."
With this approach, he built strong relationships, considering the Chinese people his brothers and sisters. He learned their language and was undeterred by resentment from some missionaries. His work centered on serving poor youth and underprivileged communities, earning him a reputation as a sincere friend and caring father.
His humility and goodness were well recognized—people often said: "Be humble and good like Fr. Majcen, and you too can become a saint!" Even under Mao’s communist regime, authorities saw his dedication to the people. While many missionaries were expelled or imprisoned, he served for a year as a Russian language teacher in a state middle school.
Eventually, he faced his first expulsion and exile but remained steadfast, preparing for his next mission in Macau. Later, in Hanoi, he took charge of an orphanage with just five dollars in his pocket. Despite the odds, he became a father to 550 orphaned children.
After the fall of North Vietnam, he successfully transferred all the orphans to the south, saving their lives. His golden age of missionary work followed, during which an immense Salesian presence flourished in Vietnam over twenty years.
Fr. Majcen’s leadership roles included Rector, Vice Provincial, Novice Master, and foremost, a mentor and promoter of vocations. He was instrumental in planting Don Bosco’s spirit within Vietnamese culture, following his guiding principle: "Vietnamese with the Vietnamese, in the Vietnamese manner."
He led efforts to translate the Salesian Constitutions into Vietnamese and welcomed all who sought refuge in Salesian houses, prioritizing those most in need. His dedication earned him deep respect and admiration.
When Communists took power, he rejected an American general’s offer to evacuate him and the Salesians abroad. He insisted: "The Vietnamese must stay with the Vietnamese, and I with them!"
Through strategic planning, he helped the Salesians survive under communist rule by sending them into rural areas in small groups. Even the new authorities acknowledged his contributions to the people, granting him voting rights despite being a foreign citizen.
Upon his departure, they told him:
"You have educated the Vietnamese Salesians well. They will now continue your work."
Although expelled again, it was done with recognition and respect. Physically exhausted but spiritually fulfilled, he moved to Taiwan, where he was cherished as a spiritual guide and friend of young people. Following Dr. Janez Janež's advice, he returned home to recover his health—a departure that would be without return.
Missionary Work from Home (1979–1999)[]
In Yugoslavia, due to diplomatic relations with Vietnam, Fr. Majcen remained the key link between Vietnam and the Salesian world. From Ljubljana, he mobilized financial and material aid for Vietnam.
Over twenty years, he exchanged countless letters with Vietnamese Salesians, local communities, and Superiors, earning titles such as: "The Don Bosco of Vietnam," "Moses," "Dad," "Father of Light."
These expressions reflected the deep love and admiration people felt for him.
Following his golden jubilee of priesthood in 1983, he accepted that he could never return to Vietnam and focused entirely on holiness and spiritual growth. His dedication was documented in his personal spiritual diaries, meditations, and notes—spanning 6,500 pages, each meticulously planned.
Four milestones deeply shaped his life:
- Baptism – When he became a child of God.
- Religious vows – When he became a Salesian.
- Priestly ordination – When he became a priest of Christ.
- Missionary cross – When he became a messenger and apostle of Christ.
While continuing missionary animation, he dedicated himself to spiritual direction and reconciliation ministry, becoming a highly sought-after guide, especially for priests and religious figures.
He often expressed his wish to live to 95 years old, a goal he ultimately fulfilled. His final months were spent like a candle burning to its end.
On 30 September 1999, he passed away at the age of 95, on the exact anniversary of his birth.
Delivery of the ‘Positio super virtutibus’ of the Servant of God Andrej Majcen, Salesian missionary[]
- Source: ANS
(ANS - Vatican City, 13 June 2025) - On Thursday, 5 June 2025, the volume of the Positio super Vita, Virtutibus et Fama Sanctitatis of the Servant of God Andrej Majcen, Salesian missionary, was delivered at the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in the Vatican.
The Positio was presented by Father Szczepan Tadeusz Praśkiewicz, OCD, with Fr Pierluigi Cameroni, SDB, as Postulator, and Dr Lodovica Maria Zanet as Collaborator. The structural elements of the ‘Positio’ - which presents the entire documentary and testimonial evidence concerning the virtuous life of the Servant of God in an articulate and in-depth manner - are: a brief presentation by the Relator; the Informatio super virtutibus, i.e. the theological part in which the virtuous life of the Servant of God is demonstrated; the two Summarium with the testimonial and documentary evidence; the Biographia ex Documentis; the final Sections and the iconographic apparatus. Special thanks go to Fr Alojzij Snoj, SDB, for his passion and the qualified and generous collaboration offered, both in the diocesan and Roman phases of the Cause.
After delivery, the Positio will be examined by the Theological Consultors of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. It will then be studied by the Cardinals and Bishops: these articulated stages of study and evaluation will allow the Supreme Pontiff, in the event of a positive outcome, to declare Father Andrej Majcen a ‘Venerable Servant of God’. A miracle attributed to his intercession will then be needed to open the way to beatification.
This news aroused great joy both in the Slovenian Province, the land where the Servant of God was born and which has accompanied this Cause of Beatification with great commitment and interest, and in that of Vietnam, the frontier of his missionary activity after the years spent in China.
Andrej Majcen was born in Maribor, Slovenia, on 30 September 1904, the eldest of four children. His parents - father Andrej and mother Marija Šlik - were a united couple, exemplary for their integrity and dedication to others: his father, a court clerk, taught Andrej to be good to everyone, not to judge, to reconcile tensions; his mother, a woman of profound faith whom the Servant of God considered a religious in the world and who he believed he had never equalled in devotion, transmitted to him an all-encompassing love for Our Lady and the commitment to always be of God in a changing world.
His father’s and mothers’ teachings found confirmation for the young Andrej when - after the state teacher-training school - he was taken on as a teacher at the Salesians in Radna, in an environment characterised by joy, commitment and a faith that informs daily life. To Don Bosco's vocational proposal to become a Salesian, he responded with a moment of prayer and struggle on his knees before the Blessed Sacrament.
On 8 September 1924 he took part in the solemn consecration of the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians at Rakovnik, Ljubljana, before officially entering the novitiate on the following 4 October. He went through the stages of formation to Salesian consecrated life (first profession on 4 October 1925) and to the priesthood (priestly ordination on 2 July 1933), while he was entrusted with numerous obediences and was asked to carry a sometimes excessive burden of hard work, which served as an apprenticeship to life for him.
After learning of the martyrdom in China of Louis Versiglia and Callistus Caravario - later canonised by John Paul II as Salesian protomartyrs in 2000 - and having met the missionary Fr Jozef Keréc, Andrej Majcen also felt a strong missionary vocation. This path, after repeated requests, opened up for him in 1935, when the state imposed the closure of the craft schools in Rakovnik of which he was headmaster. From then on, it was mainly: in Kunming (Yunnan, China) from 1935 until his expulsion in 1951 at the hands of the Communists; in Hanoi in North Vietnam (1952) and in Saigon in South Vietnam (from 1956). Here he, much loved and already accompanied by a reputation for holiness, lived the season of most intense fruits of his Salesian life, founding the Congregation in Vietnam, with different assignments, but above all as Novice Master.
Also expelled from South Vietnam by the communist regime (in 1976), after a period still in the East (Taiwan), he returned to his homeland in 1979 to take care of his health and, against all expectations his Superiors asked him to stay in Slovenia, then under communist Yugoslavia. Here, too, he found a regime, living in a persecuted Church and in communities impoverished of so many goods. Except for the first few months, he always had a home in Rakovnik, under the mantle of his dear Mary Help of Christians.
From Slovenia Fr Andrej Majcen led an intense action of mission promotion and mediation with Vietnam, including on behalf of the Major Superiors. Above all, he became a sought-after and beloved confessor. His reputation for holiness accompanied him in his homeland as well as in Vietnam, for whom he remains an unforgettable father.
He died on his 95th birthday. More than one hundred priests concelebrated at the funeral and all experienced the moment of farewell as a Paschal experience and one of gratitude to God. His legacy is also 3417 pages of Diaries and Meditations from which transpires the commitment - so he said - to ‘walk in the footsteps of the saints’.
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