ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONS

[s. 646] : Under this head are included those mi ions which have been undertaken since the Reformation by Roman Catholics as distinct from Protestants. AVhile it is probably true, in a considerable degree, that the Roman Catholic mi ions among the heathen were undertaken to make good the lo es of Rome from the great Protestant defection, the prime motive was the sudden enlargement of opportunity offered by the Spanish and Portuguese discoveries. From the very first the Spanish Church and the Spanish ‘State were zealous to convert the newly discovered natives, and to protect them against the rapacious adventurers who poured out from the Iberian peninsula, and both efforts were unremitting and slowly effective, tho not until great multitudes had been swept away. Rome has never claimed the right to compel Thomas A qui unbelievers to receive baptism. nas distinctly disavows this right for the Church, and even in Spain the bishops at various times rebuked the zeal of the princes for forcible proselytism. But as the rebukes of Alcuin did not deter Charles the Great from hi^ policy of forcing Christianity upon the Saxons, so those of the Spanish bishops were often equally ineffective to prevent the forcible proselytizing of Jews and Moors. In the south, as in the north, religious unity was esteemed by the rulers the only certain foundation of civil unity, and the 629 State did not allow itself to be deterred by the inconsistency of forcible proselytism with the Gospel, from applying it where it was likely to avail. And the Roman Church, which maintains her own right to compel the baptized to remain, thereby broke the force of her protest against compelling the unbaptized to enter. Latin Christianity, indeed, being so predominantly an institute, cannot po ibly be quite so sincerely disinclined to the ruder forms of conquest as Protestant Christianity, which emphasizes the nece ity of inward appropriation of the Gospel. Spanish America: Here there appears to have been but little forcible proselytism. The conquerors, indeed, prohibited the pagan worship on the ground that the worship of the true God, as practised by Christians or Jews, has alone a right to demand toleration of a Christian government, but the actual incorporation of the American natives into the Christian Church was e entially The conquered Indians, the work of persuasion. indeed, except where they retreated as untamable tribes into the Andes or the Sierras, had little reluctance to accept the forms of the conquering religion. A French priest, however, declares that the Mexicans are Catholics, but are not Christians, as Southey says of the common people of England before the Wesleys, who had gone through two religions, but were not yet evangelized. The first Mexican mi ionaries were Francis They are charged with ha\’ing afterward, cans. at least in Northern Mexico, become hard slaveholders, who brought back their runaway Indians with the la o. But it does not appear that any shadow rests on the nam.es of the early mi ionaries. They came first in 1522 from Ghent. One of them, as Kalkar relates, Pedro de Musa, a simple lay-brother, who devoted fifty years of unwearied activity to the spiritual and temporal interests of his Indians, reports in 1529 to his Provincial that in six years they had incorporated 200,000 souls with the Church of Christ; in eight years the Archbishop of Mexico is said to have been metropolitan of a million Christians. This splendid see was refused by Musa, and also by the Emperor Charles the Fifth’s near relative, Pedro of Ghent, likewise a simple lay-brother. He writes to his imperial kinsman: “Because the people po e a peculiar skilfulne , I can truly say that there are among them good copyists, preachers, and singers, who might well be cantors Your Majesty’s chapel. In a school and chapel built here there are every day 600 boys instructed. hospital has been put up near our cloister, which is a great comfort, and a means of conversion.” “Most heartily, and in the true evangelical temper, he raised his voice to plead The against all oppre ion of the natives.” Mexican Indians, however, unlike the West Indian and the Peruvian, were treated mildly, or at least with comparative mildne , except in the mountain mines. In 1526 appeared the first Do mini cans, who henceforth furnished most of the bishops. Then came August in i ans, Antony de Roa being the most distinguished. In 1572 came Jesuits, who m A went into New Mexico, where they have always remained the chief influence. By their skilful kindne they allured the natives from the cliffs and cafions, and established them in villages. The Inquisition was soon transplanted and raged fearfully. The Indians, however, were not so much exposed to it as the whites, partly from their simplicity, partly from the contempt in Robert College Roman Catbollc which their intellect was held as hardly capable of heresy (tho sometimes of pagan practises), and partly from repeated royal edicts of exemption, lest haciendas and mines should be deprived of their peons. The devotion of the natives to the sacrament of penance was most edifying, confe ion of sin being a main element of the Aztec religion. On the other hand, it is said that up to the 19th century few of them were thought mentally competent to be admitted to the communion, altho a rite analogous to this was also Mexico, converted, found in their old religion. became, in her turn, a basis of mi ions, particularly to the Philippines and Ladrones. The Indians of the West Indies, a gentle and pleasing race, but of singular vilene of morals, who turned their memorial visits to the tombs into veritable orgies of lewdne , met the first wave of Spanish adventure, fierce, cruel, and rapacious, as yet unchecked by the slower steps of civil justice or religious benevolence, and were almost at once swept away. Peru was conquered in 1533, and after twenty years of disturbances was brought to tranquillity in 1555 by the viceroy Mendoza, who took care to provide the natives with priests of good conduct. The Indians pa ed easily from the^ mild paganism of sun-worship into a nominal and formal Catholicism. Throughout Spanish and Portuguese America little pains seems to have been taken to build up an intelligent Christianity, adapted to deeply influence the heart and life, altho now and then a preacher of enlightened and energetic apprehensions of evangelical truth exerted a marked influence. The famous Jesuit mi ion of Paraguay was established in 1586, after the intolerable tyranny of the Spaniards had long rendered fruitle all the attempts of the Francis cans and some le er orders to secure the conversion of the Indians. The Jesuits, judging that the Spaniards needed reconverting first, turned their efforts toward their reformation, with so good effect that before long the Indians, believing, at length, that there must be something in a religion which could change the conduct of the whites, began to return to Christianity, or to seek baptism for the first The Jesuits were indefatigable. There was no tropical wilderne too intricate or wide stretching for them to traverse, no water too wide for them to cro in their hollow logs, no rock or cave too dangerous for them to climb or enter, no time. Indian tribe too dull or refractory for them to undertake. Their only weapons were the Word The Jesuit, of God and the language of love. like a Christian Orpheus, would often go up and down the rivers drawing the savages to him by the force of music and sacred songs. The mi ionaries, apparently becoming convinced that the reformation among the Spaniards, tho sufficient to set the good work of Indian conversion in motion, was neither extensive nor deep enough to make them, on the whole, desirable neighbors for their converts, obtained from the King of Spain the right to govern their 200,000 or 300,000 neophytes with entirely independent Under their mild control the Guar authority. anis enjoyed a hundred and sixty years of simple happine until the Jesuits were expelled in 1767. “rhe withdrawal of personal and minute supervision and leadership, as in other Roman Catholic Mi ions, resulted here in the lo of all that had been gained, and the Indians relapsed into their idolatry and savagery. Roman Catliollc North America: In 1526 Pamphilus de Narvaez, a Spanish explorer, set out to conquer Florida. Accompanied by a number of Francis can monks, Dishe landed at Pensacola Bay April 16, 1528. heartened by the exposure, suffering, and toil of a few months, they turned iDack, and on reaching the coast built frail boats, in which they attempted They reached land, only to to reach Mexico. perish later on from starvation, sickne , or at the hands of the natives. Little is known of the work of these mi ionaries beyond the fact that no regular organized mi ion was established. In 1545 a Dominican Father, Louis Cancer de Barbastro, with three a ociates, proceeded to the coast of Florida, where he and two of his a ociates were murdered, and the mi ion came to naught. Another mi ion to Florida was attempted by a number of Do mini cans, but, like the preceding efforts, ended in suffering and death for the mi ionaries. From 1566 to 1570 some French Jesuits sustained a mi ion near the The first succe present site of St. Augustine. ful mi ion to Indians in territories now belonging to the United States was planted at St. Augustine This mis in 1573 by the Spanish Francis cans. sion continued until 1763, and had during this time over six hundred converts. In 1539 Father Marie, a Spanish monk, attempted to reach the Zuni Indians, but succeeded only in planting a large cro on the hill which commanded the Zuni city of Cibola. Of the mi ionaries who went out with De Soto’s expedition, every one perished before the remnant of In 1597 Franthe company reached the coast. ciscan monks made a succe ful attempt to establish a permanent mi ion in New Mexico. Thirty years later this mi ion reported over So eight you sand converts to Christianity. rapid had been the progre among these mi ions that large numbers of the Indians could read and write before the Puritans had begun mi ionary work in New England. The first religious body to do mi ionary work among the Indians of Canada and of the West In all the early French exploration the mi ionary idea was as prominent as that of the extension of territory. Cartier’s commi ion authorized him to explore”in order the better to do what was pleasing to God, our Creator and Redeemer.” De Monts was also required to have the Indians “instructed, invited, and impelled to a knowledge of God, and the light of faith and Christianity.” In 1608 De Monts planted his first settlement at the mouth of the St. Croix, on Bonn Island. A short time later this mi ion was transferred to the Nova Scotia shore, where it received the name of Port Royal. This was the first foothold of France and the Catholic Church in the North. In 1611 two Jesuit mi ionaries began work among the Micmacs of Nova Scotia, removing a little later to Deer Island, near the mouth of the St. Croix River, in order that they might work among the Indians known to the French as the Abenaquis, or Abnakis, and to the English as the Tarantuns. These Indians were one of the most powerful of the Algonquin tribes, occupying a greater part of what is now known as the State of They were settled in villages, and Maine. pa ed most of their time in hunting and fishing. This first mi ion among them was shortly attacked and destroyed by the English under A little later (1619) the Recollects, or Argal. Reformed Francis cans, also opened a mi ion in was the French Jesuits. Acadia, but made their principal station on the John’s River. They continued their efforts until 1624, but no authentic account of their work remains. The real work for the Abnakis of Maine began in 1642, when some of them were rescued from captivity by mi ionaries at Sillery, near Quebec. The captives were sent back to their homes on the Kennebec in 1646, Father Gabriel Druilletes accompanying them as far as Nor ridge wock,the chief settlement of the Abnakis. Thirty-eight years this devoted man spent in the effort to Christianize the Abnakis and other Indian tribes, traveling great distances and enduring every fatigue and every danger. As Father Druilletes traveled to the North and West as well as to the South, the Abnakis took up the habit of going to Quebec to see him. Many of St. them settled at Sillery, which station was moved in 1683 to the south side of the St. Lawrence, at It was not until 1688, the Chaudiere Falls. seven years after the death of Father Druilletes, that two other mi ionaries were sent to Nor ridge wock. Before the end of the century most of the Abnakis had become Christians, and at this time the Indians of the Jesuit mi ions of Maine were equal in piety and devotion to the priests The wars between of the seminary at Quebec. the French and English now disturbed the progre of the Mi ion; the country was devastated; mi ionaries lost their lives, and after the English finally occupied Quebec in 1763 the Mi ion was abandoned. In the War of the Revolution the Abnakis sided with the Americans. After the close of the war a petition was sent to Bishop Carroll, of the Society of Jesus in Maryland, asking for a mi ionary, and in 1784 one was sent from France, who for ten years lived at Oldtown and ministered to the Abnakis. The nation known to the French by the name of Hurons and to the English as Wyandots occupied, when the French settled Quebec, a strip of land to the south of Georgian Bay, about 75 miles long by 25 wide. They numbered about 30,000, living in 18 large, well-built, and strongly defended towns. One of the RecoUects who came out in 1615 made a visit to their towns, and on his return Father Le Caron began labors among them. In 1623 Father Viel took his place, but was In 1626 killed by the Indians two years later. Father Brebeuf began his long and faithful service among them. War with England resulted in his being sent out of the country by the victors. On the restoration of peace he returned (in 1633), and eighteen years after the first mi ionaries entered the Huron country he began to find In however, the Iroquois converts. 1649, devastated the Huron country, murdered Father Brebeuf and his companion with horrible tortures and put an end to the Mi ion by scattering the Hurons in every direction. Fragments of the tribe moved to the vicinity of Quebec, and were gradually absorbed in the population. Others moved westward to Green Bay, finally settling The last Jesuit mi ionary at Detroit in 1702. among them died in 1781. The last remnant^ of the Hurons ultimately removed to the Indian Territory. In 1641 two French Jesuits, Father Charles Raymbaut and Father Isaac Jorgues, were sent Only to visit the Chippewas on the Great Lakes. a short visit was made at this time, the intention being to return soon and establish a mi ion. The death of Raymbaut prevented this. Fifteen years later, a flotilla of Ottawas appeared upon the St. 631 Lawrence, seeking a French alliance and asking French mi ionaries. Two mi ionaries started back with the expedition, but were captured by the Iroquois. Father Ren6 Menard, altho then an aged man, in August, 1860, renewed the attempt, setting up his little cabin one hundred miles west of Sault Ste. Marie, near Keweenaw. The following summer he was either murdered by hostile Indians or died of exposure. In 1665 Father Claude Allouei went to take up the Mi ion left vacant by the death of Menard. After two years of labor on the shores of Lake Superior, AUouez returned to Quebec, staying there only two days, and returned, taking with him Father Louis Nicholas as an a istant. During that fall and winter they received into the faith eighty converts. In the spring of 1668 the celebrated Father Marquette left Quebec, in company with Father Le Boesme, to join the Ottawa In 1669 Father Claudius Dablon was mi ion. appointed Superior of these mi ions, and Allouez proceeded to Green Bay, where he spent the winter and spring in ministering to the needs of the Sac and Pox, the Pot taw at amies, and the Win neb a goes. Later, in the early summer, he went to the Monominees, and then to the A Vin neb a goes. In 1670 two new mi ionaries were sent to the Ottawa tribes on the islands and shores of Lake Huron, and Sault Ste. Marie. In the meantime, Marquette had opened communication with the Sioux, but war prevented work in that direction. In 1671 Marquette for established the mi ion of St. Ignatius at Michilimackinac. The Jesuit mi ion work in the Northwest came to a close in 1781. It had been the fond hope of the Jesuit fathers for many years to extend their work to the Dakota or Sioux tribes. In 1680, while Father Hennepin was ascending the Mi i ippi on a voyage of exploration, he was captured by a band of roving Sioux, and for several months remained a captive among them, acquiring something of their language, but accomplished little as a mi ionary. Other attempts were made later, but the Jesuits never succeeded in planting a mi ion among this people. Following these efforts of the mi ionaries for half a century, the Indians of the Northwest were engaged in war, and ultimately not only the mi ions, but many of the results of their work, were obliterated. The early history of the French Jesuits who went out from Montreal and Quebec to work among the Iroquois is one of terrible suffering, bloodshed, and death; and yet, after all this, a foothold for mi ion work was finally obtained among this warlike people. In 1669 Father Reffeix began, on a tract of land opposite Montreal, a mi ion for the Iroquois. The mi ion was named St. Francis Xavier des Pres. In 1647 the village contained representatives not only of the five Iroqouis tribes, but also of the Hurons, Mohicans, Eries, Abnakis, and others. A form government was adopted, and laws were pa ed excluding from the colony those who would not give up idolatrous practises, drunkenne , and the changing of wives. Mi ionaries were constantly engaged in instructing the people in religious and secular things. In 1676 the Mi ion, now numbering over two hundred, found that it had grown beyond the capability of the land to support, and emigrated to Portage River, where a new start was made. In 1679 an Iroquois boys’ school was begun, and in 1680 a school for girls. These schools rapidly proof Roman CatUoIlC gre ed, both boys and girls learning to speak, read, and write English. The breaking out of border troubles and the establishment of the line giving to the English all territory south of the lakes, including New York, gradually but surely broke up the French mi ions to the Iroquois. Between 1717 and 18.33 twenty Francis can mi ionaries labored among the Indians of Texas. In 1769 Father Junipero Serra, a Francis can monk, founded a mi ion at San Diego, California. Many of his a ociates died during the first months of hardship. A mi ion at Monterey was founded in 1770 by the same mi ionaries. Other mi ions were established, occupying the entire coast line from San Francisco to San Diego. Into these were gathered over twenty you sand Indians, who led regular and industrious lives. It is said of the Indians of California that they are devoted to Roman Catholicism with all their hearts, their highest feelings and ideals being bound up with its teachings. The heroism, both natural and regenerate; the humblene and unswerving ne of devotion to the most dreary and unfruitful field of labor, the patience and sweetne of temper of the heroes of the Roman Church, who e.xplored and sought to reclaim these vast and pathle wilds, form one of Almost or the noblest chapters of its history. quite all the original mi ionaries died as martyrs, commonly under atrocious torments, which they always foresaw, but from which they never shrank. The heroic Brebeuf, before his martyrdom, which he suffered conjointly with P^re Lallemont, had baptized 7,000 Hurons. Even the most friendly historians, however, lament the measure in which the Jesuits accommodated themselves, never to Indian fiercene or immorality, but too often to the gro ne of Indian superstition. But such writers also condemn the blind hatred with which the English followed them up in the inhospitable regions in which they bore every hardship for the love of God and men. India: The first Christians from Europe to enter Hindu stan were the Portuguese, who landed, under the lead of Vasco da Gama, in 1498, at The di ensions Calicut, on the southwest coast. of the many independent states opened the way for their conquests, of which, in 1510, Goa became the capital. Here a bishopric was established, which was then raised into an archbishopric, still existent, whose incumbent bears His metro the title of Patriarch of the East. politan authority formerly extended from South Neither Archbishop nor ern Africa to China. Inquisition, however, could accomplish much amid the flood of sheer ungodline which poured The reputed wealth of India Europe. brought an innumerable company of adventurers, whose unrestrained profligacy moved the indignation and incurred the indignant rebukes of the Hindus themselves. Meanwhile the uncertain endeavors of Diego de Borba and of Miguel Vaz, vicar general of Goa, to extend the Gospel accomThey established a school in Goa, plished little. in from is true, for the Christian training of young people from India, China, and Aby in i a, which did good service for many years, but there was At lacking anything like a fixed plan of work. last the right men appeared in the Jesuits. May 6, 1542, the illustrious Francis Xavier landed in Goa. Of the high nobility of Spain, distinguished for learning and for eloquence, he, it Roman Catliolic had, in Paris, been brought over by his fellow Span i ard and fellow-Basque, Ignatius Loyola, from visions of earthly glory to a burning zeal for the cause of Christ and of Rome, which in his mind were so absolutely one that there is no reason to suppose that even the shadow of a suspicion of any po ible divergence between them ever fell upon the simple loyalty of his mind. Of Jesuit astutene and accommodation to a worldly standard, as they afterward developed themselves both abroad and at home, there does not appear to have been a trace in Xavier. Sunny frankne was the e ence of his char Himself one of the original Jesuits, he acter. followed the wise temperance of its policy, and neither affected nor shunned privations and austerities. For the most part, however, he trod He watched through the the way of hardship. night with the sick; visited the prisons; trod half-shod the glowing sands of the Indian coast to care for the spiritual and the temporal wants of the oppre ed pearl-fishers; met their savage oppre ors with dauntle courage, with only the cro in his hand, and, in the might of the spirit, by the simple power of his rebuke, inspired them with such terror that they fled. No wonder that, himself, as it were, a visible Christ, he soon counted so many you sands of converts from among the heathen that his voice often failed for wearine , and his arms sank exhausted in the He had, indeed, in these rapid act of baptizing. and myriad conversions to submit to the nece ity of leaving the greater part of his neophytes very ignorant of Christianity, altho he took care to have the catechism translated into Tamil, and to supply the new congregations with priests as fast as po ible, leaving them meanwhile in the It does not care of his most trusty laymen. appear, however, that Xavier, whose labors were spread over so wide a field, both in India and Japan, laid the foundations of any very thorough He might have done instruction of his converts. more had he stayed longer, but the elder mi ionaries of the Roman Catholic Church in India were generally indifferent to popular instruction, while the modern mi ionaries have become convinced that they can only break up heathen superstition by a more thorough education, and are now behind none in their zeal for it. The results of these early labors in India were scarcely satisfactory, even to the friends of the and the enormous difficulties presented by Mohammedanism, at that time the imperial tho not the prevailing creed of India, and the immovable prejudices of Brahmani cal caste, finally led the Jesuits into a system of accommodation which met for a while with a brilliant outward succe , but in the end showed its hoUowne by its collapse. A Jesuit, Robert de Nobili, of one of the most illustrious families of Tuscany, and who, therefore, had all the aristocratic habitudes which fitted him to play his new part to perfection, gave himself out for a Brahman of the West allied to Jesuits, princes (the last a umption being the truth); perfected himself in Sanskrit, Telugu, and Tamil; performed the usual Brahmani cal ceremonies; suffered only men of high caste to approach him, and received these seated on a throne; produced a Sanskrit book which he declared to be a recovered fifth Veda, and produced the sworn attestation of his fellow-Jesuits that this audacious forgery had been received by them from the god Brahma, as containing a mysterious wisdom which alone could give life. The result of this unscrupulous, falsehood and accommodation to the ways of heathenism was that in three years he had gained over seventy leading Brahmans, who accepted the Christian doctrine of God, creation, immortality,, atonement, and the general teachings of Christian, morality, and abandoned their idols, but who retained all the haughtine of caste, and were permitted to sign themselves with the sacred ashes, interpreted, of course, as having only a social significance. That they were allowed to baptize their children by the old heathen names does not signify so much, as in the early Church noone scrupled to use such names as Phcebe, Demetrius, Diotrephes, Apollo, Hermes, and the like. The accommodations of De Nobili and his. followers did not disguise from the Brahmans at large that the sages of Rome proposed to them,a fundamentally new religion. Angry oppositions arose, but before long 30,000 converts had been gathered. Separate churches were built for the higher and lower castes, the latter being rigorously forbidden to join -with the former in their worship, while the pariahs,. or outcastes, were forbidden even to approach the priests. Even the last sacraments were administered to them at the end of a staff, so that the administrator might not be defiled. One of Robert de Nobili’s chief a ociates was Juan de Brito, son of the viceroy of Brazil. He brought great numbers to the faith in the kingdom of Marava, and died a martyr in 1693. Another a ociate, Veschi, was equally able, learned, succe ful, and heroic, and barely escaped martyrdom. He lived to become a mor-tal antagonist of the more enlightened Danish mi ionaries,, dying in 1747. The accommodations of Robert de Nobili and the Jesuits to heathenism could not fail to arouse great scandal at home. The rumor even spread that De Nobili had apostatized. His kinsman, the great Cardinal Bellarmine, himself a Jesuit, tho better informed than to suppose this, expre ed his grief over such principles of proceeding, saying: “The Gospel needs no such false coloring; that Brahmans are not converted is of much le account than that Christians should not preach the Gospel with joyful openne . The preaching of Christ crucified was once to the Jews a scandal, and to the Greeks foolishne ; but St. Paul did not therefore cease to preach Christ, and him crucified. I will not,” he continues,, “argue as to individual points, but cannot refrain from declaring that the imitation of Brahmani cal haughtine is sadly at variance with the humility of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that the observance of their usages has something exceedingly dangerous to the faith.” Unhappily the pre ure of his order brought this great and good man at length to something very much like a retraction of these sound and evangelical principles. The other orders were naturally scandalized over the Jesuit policy. While, as yet, it was. represented at Rome that nothing was intended beyond an allowance of certain harmle national usages, Gregory XV., in 1623, had i ued a bull not unfavorable to the Jesuits. But these took occasion, thereby, it is said, to push their compliances farther and farther, until at last, in 1703, the Pope sent Cardinal Tournon to India, where, after thorough investigation, he suggested the decree by which, in 1710, Clement XL rigorously” forbade all accommodations whatever to heatheik usages. 683 The Jesuits, however, paid scarcely the least attention to the decree, and soon obtained from a later Pope, Clement XII., a virtual revocation. But Father Norbert, of the Capuchins, came to Rome, and there opened the matter with so much insight and unreservedne that Benedict XIV., in the bull Omnium sollicitudimim, of October 7, 1744, condemned and forbade the Jesuit practises in the most peremptory terms. Neverthele , in India the order founded for the vindication of the Papacy became its antagonist, mocked at and scorned the other orders, engaged in mercantile and other secular undertakings, until these things also did their part in hastening its fall. These conversions around Goa, proceeding from Robert do Nobili as a center, are to be distinguished from those in the more southern parts of the peninsula, and among the humbler cla es, who did not provoke so much disingenuousne . No such stain, happily, rests on the memory of Xavier, He had his share of Spanish imperiousne , but nothing of De Nobili’s Italian craftine . The result of the collapse of Jesuit mi ions in India was, that more than half a century pa ed during which the Roman Catholic Christians of India were almost wholly abandoned to Neverthele , when Catholic mis themselves. sions were resumed over a million converts, it has been claimed, were found to have remained stedfast to the great truths of creation and incarnate redemption, tho, of course, their minds had become greatly obscured as to all secondary Christian doctrine, and overspread with many heathenish superstitions. These numbers, however, must be too large, as the official statements of the Church make the number of Roman Catholic Christians (1901) to be only 1,214,415. About 100,000 of these Roman Catholics are proselytes from the Syrian Church of India, not from heathenism. There are also 534,000 so Catholics who have fallen called Goa Christians out of communion with Rome during the long disputes between Portugal and the Pope over the right of nomination to the Indian bishoprics, and over the prerogatives of the Archbishopric of Goa. There are (1901) 7 archbishoprics, 18 bishoprics and 4 prefectures, 602 stations, 3,708 churches and chapels, 809 European mi ionaries, 349 native priests, 2,089 schools, and 191 orphanages. The Madura diocese comes first with 206,000; then follow Colombo, 198,120; Pond i cherry, 133,770; Quilon, 87,000; Kumbakonam, 85,000; Man galore, 83,690, etc. mi ions Farther India: Roman Catholic were established in Ava and Pegu (Burma) in 1722, in Cochin China, 1659; in Malacca, 1557; These have in Siam, 1662; Tonkin, 1627. developed into (1901) 1 diocese and 15 vicariates, with 948,820 members, 512 mi ionaries, 527 native priests, 858 churches, 2,787 chapels, 2,342 schools, and 250 charitable institutions. Africa: The Roman Catholic Mi ion in the kingdom of Congo, near the mouth of the great vast number river, began as early as 1491. of negroes were baptized, so that, as with Xavier, the mi ionaries could hardly hold up P^re Labat puts the their hands for wearine . number of.the baptized at 100,000! Of preliminary instruction there had been none; an enemy at hand moved the mi ionaries to enroll as many as po ible of those who might soon fall in The people battle in the ranks of the regenerate. had followed the example of their king and queen. “The mysSoon, however, the scene changed. — A Roman Catliollc says one of the Dominican”were something of which they were very willing to hear. But when we began to preach the moral virtues to them that was another matter.” A persecution even unto death, and headed by the newly baptized king, broke out. But the crown prince Alphonso, soon coming to the throne, displayed a stedfast zeal for Christianity. He even became, tho not teries of the faith,” Fathers, — a priest, yet a zealous preacher. It appears, however, that he did not demand that his subjects should forsake their polygamy, but did demand, on pain of death, that they should forsake their idolatry. That rude mixture of superstition, Gospel and force, which is characteristic of Catholic medievalism, was shown here in its perfection. Portugal, with the profound selfishne which distinguishes all her early dealings abroad, took advantage of this new influence in Congo Depend to secure enormous supplies of slaves. ent as they were on Portuguese protection, the priests made faint opposition to this iniquity, and even became accomplices in it. Soon they declined in zeal, and the princes and the people in interest; “the shepherds became plunderers;” it is said they quarreled with their bishop, and went back to Portugal with great substance. Yet baptisms went on, and soon Congo was proclaimed “wholly Catholic!” The court relapsed into the deepest di olutene , which remained proof against the efforts of the few Jesuits who came to Congo about 1550, altho these did a good deal, temporarily, for religion and educaBut after 150 years, tion among the people. This Christianity is little more than a shadow. closes the first period of the Congo Mi ion. The second period opens in 1640, when the Capuchin friars arrived, and set about counteracting the heresy of the Dutch, with the help of persecution. They, however, fell into the evil ways of their predece ors in many respects, and neither they nor the Benedictines were able to accomplish anything. In 1816 an English explorer, Captain Tuckey, found “no trace of Catholicism, except some crucifixes and relics, strangely intermingled with the amulets and A single man claiming fetishes of the country. to be a priest, with some sort of a certificate, announced himself as having a wife and five concubines.” Within the last quarter of a century, however, the Roman Catholic Church has done much to redeem the errors and failures of the past. Mi ions have been established in all parts of the continent, and the report for 1901 shows 53 provinces (mostly vicariates apostolic, and prefectures), with 481,782 members, 1,084 churches and chapels, 1,172 priests, 1,783 schools, and 287 The largest communities charitable institutions. are: Madagascar, 67,500; Egypt, 56,180; Victoria Nyanza (Uganda), 39,586; Benin, 16,400; the five Congo provinces, 15,081, etc. In this work the White Fathers of Algeria, under the lead of Father Lavigerie, have been the most important factor. While there has been frequent clashing between them and the Protestant mi ionaries, due to political ambition, there has been much noble work done. In Madagascar especially is the record of Roman Catholic work too nearly of kin to the type that caused the failure of the earlier mi ions. China: In 1294 the Pope sent the Francis can John de Monte Corvino to Peking, of which Rome ’Roman Catliolic afterward appointed him archbishop. He was a genuine mi ionary, spared no pains in giving the people the Word of God in tlieir own language, and in encouraging the education of the children, as well as training up mi ionaries from among the people themselves. He translated the New Testament and the Psalms into the Mongol language, and had these translations copied in the most beautiful style, and made use of them in preaching. He had, during his residence in this place, baptized from five to six you sand; and he believed that, had it not been for the many plots laid against him by the Nestor i ans, he would have succeeded in baptizing above thirty you sand. Finally, however, the rea ertion of Chinese independence, under the Ming dynasty, and the overthrow of the friendly Mongols, drew after it the destruction of Christianity, of which every trace seems to have disappeared. In 1517, Europe ans, in the persons of the Portuguese, reentered China this time by way of the sea. In 1.556, for services rendered against the pirates, who have always been so formidable on the waterways of China, the Portuguese received the islands of Sancian (Chang-chwen) and Macao. It was on Sancian that, in 1552, Francis Xavier closed his heroic and consecrated... — life. “Rock, rock, when wilt thou open?” expre ed the spirit of his last sighs, tho the words were those of an earlier mi ionary, in front of the frowning seclusion of the great heathen empire. The first Roman Catholic mi ionary who came to China in this second era was the Provincial of India, Nuiies Barre to, S.J., who, traveling to Japan in 1555, twice spent a short time at Canton. Neither he nor his immediate Jesuit, Francis can, and Spanish succe ors, however, were permitted to remain long. At last, in 1582-3, the Jesuit Michael Roger, after some five or six fruitle visits to China, obtained, with Paes and Matthias Ricci, who was afterward so notable in China, leave to remain, and many privileges from the viceroy of Canton. The first public baptism was given in 1584. In 1586 there were 40 Christians, but then persecution broke out. After the Jesuits had adopted the dre of the mandarins they were le annoyed. In 1598 Ricci, already in high repute for his scientific attainments, and now the head of the independent Chinese mi ion, was received in Peking, and established himself permanently there in 1601, dying in 1610. He is accused of having carried the conformity to Chinese usages to such a length as to have dispensed himself from his vow of celibacy, and to have married a Chinese woman, who bore him two sons. But the animosity of the other orders toward the Jesuits had become so great that we are not to be too sure of the justice of any particular accusation against these. This animosity, which seems to have been strongest in the I Do mini cans, had various grounds. Jesuitism had an alertne and flexibility that reached attainments in literature and science, and drew public favor to them, and showed a wise consideration of circumstances which was in marked contrast to Dominican practise. Thus, when the Do mini cans asked the Jesuits how soon they intended to introduce the discipline of fasting for their converts, the latter replied: “Not until Providence relieves them from the continual fasts imposed by their poverty.” In the great question of accommodation, the controversy turned especially upon the custom of 634 — The Jesuits argued and the ancestor-worship. emperor, in a public edict, confirmed their position that this, in China, is only a civil and social act, implying nothing in the nature of religious homage. The Pope, however, and the Prote.stant — mi ionaries, after full investigation of the opposing arguments, have decided that the Do mini cans and the other protesting orders were right and the Jesuits wrong. In 1617 the Jesuits had about 13,000 converts; in 1650 about 150,000; in 1664, 257,000. The Francis cans and Do mini cans together had hardly more than 10,000. The conversions went on increasing until toward the end of the century, when the papal decisions against the accommodations allowed by the Jesuits, and the bitterne with which the other orders and the papal legates enforced them, led to violent persecutions. One of the legates. Cardinal Tournon, was sent to Macao, and died in prison there. Some even say that the Jesuits poisoned him. Many Christians were martyred; much greater numbers fell away, partly under the terror of death, and partly under the exasperation of national feeling. Compromises were for awhile admitted by the representatives of the Pope, which somewhat stayed the desolation. But Rome at last, in 1742, in the pontificate of Benedict XIV., i ued a peremptory and irrevocable decision, forbidding every accommodation that could be interpreted as a conce ion to paganism. Then the persecutions broke out more violently than ever, and the Christian faith was almost rooted out. This stand of the Pope, however, seems to have been taken with such haughtine , such a contempt of the imperial representations, and such a determination to carry through the right position by overbearing will, that the emperor, the mandarins, and the people gathered the deep impre ion that if they would become Christians they must cease to be Chinese. At various times the devoted Roman Catholic mi ionaries in China underwent various persecutions banishment, imprisonment, scourging, and even death. The first actual martyr was the The Jesuit Francis Martinez, murdered in 1606. Dominican Francis de Capillas was beheaded in 1648. In 1665 five Christian mandarins were beheaded. The regent who commanded this was, however, soon after punished by the young emperor with death. During the exasperation caused by the decree of Benedict XIV., the Do mini cans, Peter Sanz, Serrano, Royo, Alcober Diaz, and the catechist, Ko (Sanz being a bishop), and the Jesuits, An them is and Henriquez, suffered death in 1747. Only obscure accounts are acce ible as to the subsequent resuscitation of Roman Catholic mi ions in China. There were still hundreds of families in which Christianity had become hereditary, and there have doubtle been many conversions in this century. In 1805 there was a In cruel persecution; also in 1816 and in 1820. these later persecutions three or four priests suffered death, one of them being Vicar Apostolic and Bishop in part i bus. As in Africa, so in China the last few years have seen a great advance. Ronaan Catholic mi ions now cover the entire empire, and report (1901) 720,540 members, 4,126 churches and chapels, 904 mi ionaries, 471 native priests, and 3,584 schools. In the Boxer outbreak the Roman Catholics • — 635 suffered with the Protestants and maintained tlie early record of faithfulne . To what degree the political ambitions of the leaders have been responsible for the troubles it is difficult to say, but sometliing of the same spirit that ruled and ruined formerly appears to have been manifest. Japan: Japan had scarcely opened to Europe ans when St. Francis Xavier, with some companions, hastened thither to plant the standard For a long while the preaching of the Cro . of the mi ionaries was undisturbed, and in le years there were more than 200,000 40 than Japanese Christians, with 250 churches. Even At last, however, three Daimios were baptized. the Shogun Taiko, or Taikos am a, gradually became jealous of the mi ionaries, suspecting them of being agents of Portugal, and, after the temporary union of the two Iberian crowns, agents of Spain for reducing Japan to dependence. Taiko began to persecute the Christians about The stedfast chastity of Christian maid1582. ens is said to have been one of the causes wliich inflamed the wrath of the imperial voluptuary. The inconsiderate zeal of some Francis cans, also, who persisted in public preaching after the Jesuits had discontinued it, is said to have On the 5th of Feb increased his displeasure. ruary, 1597, 6 Francis cans, 3 Jesuits, and 17 With the sound other Christians were crucified. of psalms these heroes and followers of Christ From 1598 till 1611, breathed out their souls. under a new Shogun, there was a respite. But then a fearful revolution of sentiment in the Shogun’s mind brought him and his three succe ors to that persevering and concentrated cruelty toward the Christians which finally rooted out The guilt of this is laid by the their religion. Catholics on the Dutch, who revenged the Spain toward tliem by stirring up cruelties of the slumbering jealousies of the government toward Spain and Portugal, and toward the Jesuits, until its rage was so great that all common forms of torment being too little for the wrath of the rulers, they exhausted their ingenuity in devising new tortures. It has well been said that the Roman amphitheaters never witne ed, in men, women, or children, more resolute heroism of martyrdom. Here again, for a good while, the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church. From Taikos am a’s death in 1598 to 1614 the Jesuits baptized 100,000 converts, and for many years afterward they baptized several you sand yearly. Some apostasies took place, but in general all the Christians princes, nobles, men, women, and “Chilchildren went joyfully to their doom. dren endured the most terrible deaths, without When any were con giving a sign of suffering.” ducted to the crown of martyrdom so greatly —— Roman Catliollo When Japan was reopened by the Americans was discovered that there were hundreds of concealed Roman Catholics in one province. A it number of martyrdoms have taken place even since then, but are now, of course, discontinued. In the absence of Bibles, which unhappily, Rome, as usual, had neglected to provide, these secret Cliristians had even forgotten the baptismal formula, and used to baptize their children “in A Jesuit the name of the Holy Jerusalem!” mi ionary being asked whether such a formula would be valid, replied “No, the Church must have her rules. But God is very much kinder than the Church.” The present number of Roman Catholic: Christians in Japan (1901) is 53,400, and there are 115 mi ionaries, 32 native priests, 28 schools, and 20 charitable institutions. In Korea there are reported (1901) 32,200 members, 39 mi ionaries, 9 native priests, 60 schools, 5 charities; in Java, 49,800 members, 50 mi ionaries, 29 schools in the Pacific Islands, New Zealand, etc., 219,210 members, 742 churches and chapels, 421 mi ionaries, and 479; schools. In Persia, Turkey, and the Balkan States, the work of Roman Catholic mi ions is confined to the different branches of the Eastern Church. They have been somewhat succe ful among the Jacobites by methods which are too distinctly political, but elsewhere they have not won over It is difficult, indeed impo ible, to give statistics, as the figures in the “Mi i ones Catholictp” for those countries include the Cathoho communities of Armenians, Maronites, many. Roman etc. Mi ionary Organization of the Roman Catholic Church: Rome divides the whole world into two great sections, terra catholic a and terra jni ionis. Within the former her mi ionary organization has, properly and ordinarily, no application; within the latter it controls all ecclesiastical persons and proce es whatever, archbishops and bishops themselves being subject to it. Terra catholic a (perhaps more properly terra catholic a i) is definable as including all those countries whose governments lend the support of the secular arm for the coercion of all baptized persons, whether Catholics, heretics, or simple schismatics, into obedience to the Holy Roman Church; that is, to the Roman Bishopric, which claims a maternal superiority to all other churches, that is, bishoprics, and claims the right to instruct them, and by inference to govern thern. All schismatics or heretics, therefore, within the limits of any bishopric, may (it is held by the prevailing opinion) be lawfully compelled to yield obedience to their CathoHc bishop, and in him to the Supreme Bishopric of Rome, which po e they would be accompanied by many you sand Christians, who followed in triumphal proce ion, praying, praising, and bearing lighted tapers in their hands. But persecution raged Church both an ordinary and an appellate authority. The latter is chiefly in use, but the former may at any time be exercised. Wherever, then, the civil government, being and finally outstripped the increase At last, in desperation,^ 37,000 apprised by the Holy Office of the Inquisitioii (a commi ion of Cardinals, of which the Pope himself is the Prefect) that heresy or schism is prevailing within its jurisdiction, lends its authority to crush it, there, and there only, is terra catholic a. All the rest of the world— Christian, Muslim, and desired, ince antly, of the Church. Christians seized the fortified place Simbara, smce known as the Mount of Martyrs, and there, after a long defense, were at length slain almost to the last man. Then were published the edicts forbidding “the God of the Christians, on pain of death, to reenter Japan.” Then, too, was introduced the requirement, maintained till within a few years, that all the subjects of the realm should, once a year, trample on the crucifix. es throughout the heathen — terra mi ion is. is Thus in Europe, Great Britain, Holland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Balkan States and Greece are mi ion lands; in America, Canada, the United States, British and Dutch Roman Catholic Guiana and Patagonia; all of Africa, except Algiers and Tunis, and all Asia and Ocean i a. The great political changes of the past half century and the great interest in the United States, as well as the lo of the temporal power of the papacy, have raised a question as to the continuance of this system which has manifest disadvantages as well as advantages. No decision has, however, been reached, and as there is a noticeable distinction between the two regions, the popular and even legal presumption commonly recognizing Roman Catholicism as the predominant religion of the Catholic countries, still Rome still thinks it prudent to maintain the distinction dis simi i lan do. Rome has no different agencies for proselytism of Christians, and for conversion of unbelievers. Any country which does not, through its government, give effect to its spiritual subjection to her, is indiscriminately included in the terra Even the Eastern Churches, altho mi ion is. their ordinations are acknowledged, and altho the prevailing Roman theory concedes to them spiritual jurisdiction, are, neverthele , subject to the activity of the Propaganda, which, however, does not appear in fact to extend its operations among them except so far as they are in Muslim or pagan countries. Rome, however, makes very important tinctions, within the terra mi ion is, dis between The first schismatic i, and heretic i. term includes all who have never embraced the faith. For the conversion of these, it is held, the only lawful means is persuasion, as they have never been subject to the jurisdiction of the infideles, Heretics, being baptized, are subject to church. For the restoration of these her jurisdiction. the lawful means are persuasion and coercion, the former being preferable. Schismatics, who are orthodox, but disobedient to Rome, may likewise, as occasion serves, be either persuaded or Perhaps the only simple coerced into returning. schismatics are the members of the Greek Church, which is not impeached by Rome of heresy, tho she impeaches Rome of heresy, and sometimes speaks dubiously of her orders, and even of her baptism. The Greek and even the Monophysite and Nestor i an bishops appear to be often recognized by Rome as the legitimate bishops of their sees, and the few Greek bishops, at least, who chose to admit the papal supremacy were received without difficulty to an equal suffrage in But in the Levant, if the Vatican Council. Rome spies an advantage, she is very apt to forget her conce ions, and to thrust in her own nominees where she cannot secure the subReordinami ion of the actual incumbents. tion, however, of the Eastern clergy she does not in Aby in i a, rites are where, as the permit, even The extraordinarily irregular and defective. succe ion, she says, is unquestioned, and the sacramental intention is sound, and sufficiently expre ed. In the Protestant world, however, she is not embarra ed by any question of orders or of Only as to the Anglican com jurisdiction. muni on is there with her even a pause of thought as to the former, and since the acce ion of Elizabeth she has always treated the Anglican orders as null, maintaining that the probabilities against their valid transmi ion are so overwhelming as to leave her under no obligations to pursue remote And considerations and abstract po ibilities. as to jurisdiction, she declares even the Old 639 Catholics of Holland, Germany, and Switzerland to be void of this, altho she acknowledges the validity of their episcopal succe ion. Protestants, therefore, are held to be destitute of all the ordinary means of grace except the sacraments of Baptism and Matrimony. She pursues her mi ions among them almost as if they were heathen. She does not, however, as often supposed, designate Protestant countries as partes infldelium. Infideles, as noted above, is. the technical term of Rome and of Trent for all human beings who are neither baptized nor catechumens. Its application to cover heretics is casual, and seldom, if ever, official. Partesinfidelium are those Mohammedan regions whose ancient Christian cities now give a titular dignity to some three hundred Roman Catholic bishops who have no actual dioceses. As they are largely employed in Protestant countries, their former style of “bishops in part i bus” was often mistaken as referring to the place of their residence, and not, as it did refer, to the location of their nominal sees. To obviate this not unnatural misunderstanding, the present Pope has courteously directed that they shall henceforth be known as episcopi titulares. All ecclesiastical activity of the Roman Catholic Church within the terra mi ion is, whether of proselytism, conversion, or ordinary administration, is subject to the control of the Congregatio This great and powerful de Propaganda Fide. congregation (the term Roman congregation signifying a committee of or commi ion of cardinals) subject, of course, to the Pope’s intervention at any point exercises papal authority over all Roman Catholics throughout the Protestant, Oriental, Muslim, and pagan world. It was instituted by Pope Gregory XV. This Pope was the first pupil in the year 1622. of the Jesuits who had ascended the chair, and, therefore, was naturally interested in mi ions. The Congregatio de Propaganda Fide, familiarly called The Propaganda, has permanent authority within regions yet extra of administration Christian, and within Christian regions until they catholicce. It has, of course, become again terrce its seat at Rome, is composed of a varying number of cardinals, some being non-resident correspondents, having a Prefect, a Secretary, and Prothonotary, on whom the practical busine mainly devolves. There are also consulters and It also maintains a a large force of officials. training college for pupils from almost every nation under heaven. There are also in Rome various national colleges and monastic training houses for mi ionaries. Yet the whole number of pupils appears to be small compared with those that are trained for the priesthood in Protestant countries and other mi ionary juris- — — dictions. Where the Roman Catholics in a country, being few, have never been organized into a diocese, or where the bishoprics have fallen under Mohammedan or heretical control, there the Pope, as having ordinary jurisdiction throughout the Church, is sole diocesan. The first stage of organization is the appointment of a priest as papal representative, with the title of Prefect Apostolic. He has almost unbounded authority (under the Propaganda), being empowered to station priests at discretion within his prefecture, and to grant dispensations almost ad libitum from every ecclesiastical precept not included in the jus divinum, from which last, of course, the Pope. 637 Mmself cannot dispense. If the mi ion flourishes, and there is a call for a superintendent, with power to ordain to the priesthood, the Prefecture Apostolic becomes a Vicariate Apostohc. The •distinction does not appear to be a hard-and-fast one, as there are occasionally Vicars Apostolic that are simply priests, who have to send elsewhere for new clergymen. Almost all, however, are bishops in part i bus, they are now called, titular bishops. prefects and vicars are movable at pleasure. If the Church has won or recovered such a following (especially in Protestant countries) as to warrant it, the Pope proceeds to organize a regular hierarchy of diocesan bishops, usually arranged in metropolitan provinces, each under the presidency of an archbishop, who, besides his ordinary diocesan authority, has a certain right of determining appeals from his suffragan bishops, and always presides in the Provincial Council, whose decrees, when ratified by the Pope, or, as Both have binding force. The diocesan bishops of England and America mere vicars apostolic, removable are not, like ad nutum, but are understood to enjoy fixity of tenure, like those of cardinal’s rank enjoyed Catholic lands. The by the present Archbishop of Baltimore greatly increases his influence, but adds nothing to his episcopal or metropolitan authority. As cardinal he has no jurisdiction outside the city of Rome; and as belonging to a mi ionary jurisdiction, he, and all other American bishops, are still controlled by the Propaganda, due regard, of course, being had to the more developed character of their sees. The bishops enjoy the same powers as vicars apostolic, of dispensing from ordinary canonical restrictions. These powers, granted from Rome for terms of five years, are known as the Quinquennial Faculties. Previous to the institution of the Propaganda mi ions were pursued in a somewhat disconnected way. Each order sent out its mi ionaries for itself, who rendered account of their activity only to their own provincials and generals, these latter, doubtle , frequently communicating with the Holy See, and obtaining from it such suggestions, exemptions, consecrations, pecuniary subventions, and other aids as it might be inclined to grant and they to receive. But since 1622 the control of all mi ions among heretics, schismatics, and pagans has lain in the hands of the Propaganda. Yet the bonds of connection within each monastic order are so strict, the authority of its superiors so unbounded, its policy and spirit, ’and even its doctrinal tenor, so specific, and the character attributed to each of the elder orders so sacred, that the comparatively new Congregatio de Propaganda Fide has, doubtle , to accommodate itself largely to this distinctne of action. In what way, and how far, the mi ionary operations of the orders, especially the Jesuits, have been actually subordinated to It must suffice the Propaganda is not clear. Jesuit, us to know that every mi ionary Benedictine, Francis can, Dominican, of whatever order or of the secular priesthood is subject to the supreme and universal episcopate of the Pope as ordinarily exercised through the — — Propaganda. The orders, notably the Do mini cans and Capuchins over against the Jesuits, have carried on their mi ion, especially in India and China, with far Roman CutUollo more bitterne of controversy against each than has prevailed between Protestant denominations the most widely remote. The Jesuits, indeed, long seemed disposed, both among pagans and Protestants, almost to claim a monopoly of conversions, and if any one of another order, especially among the heretics, was guilty of a succe , their animosity would sometimes go to great lengths. These internecine wars came other near to ruining Roman Catliolic mi ions in the Far East, but since the suppre ion and restoration of the society, which has now an almost uncontested right of control in the Church, and which, in its turn, has doubtle learned wisdom by its tribulations, these di ensions no longer appear. The Jesuits, doubtle , take whatever fields of activity they wish, and leave the rest to others. There appear to be among the mi ionaries but few secular priests; that is, priests who, like the ordinary parish clergy, are subject only to the general authority of the Church, and not to that of any monastic order. The native clergy from among the heathen are probably for the most part seculars. The Propaganda has been richly endowed, but has lost many of its resources, especially since the lo of the temporal power of the Pope, and its present (1901) income, about $135,000, is barely sufficient to support its personnel, college, uni ver Roman Cathosity, and printing establishment. lic mi ionaries on the field are expected, so far as po ible, to secure their support among the people they are evangelizing, but where this is impracticable, they are provided for through charitable a ociations founded for this purpose. Of these there are several, the most important being The Society for the Propagation of the Faith, with headquarters at Lyons, France. There are also: The A ociation of the Holy Childhood; the A ociation of Oriental Schools in France; the Society of St. Francis Xavier in Aixla-Chapelle; The A ociation of St. Peter Claver, in Salzburg; The Leopoldsverein, in Austria; The Ludwigsmi ionsverein, in Bavaria. These all, however, as well as some others, are limited in aim or nationality, the only one which can, in truth, be called a general mi ionary society being the one at Lyons, and this deserves special mention. The Society for the Propagation of the Faith: In 1815 Bishop Dubourg, of New Orleans, during a visit to France, interested in his work a widow, Mrs. Petit, and suggested the founding of a charitable a ociation to aid in supplying the spiritual needs of Louisiana, fixing the contribution of members at twenty-five cents a year. The suggestion was enforced by earnest appeals for aid from mi ionaries in the East, and an effort was made, by the Seminary for Foreign Mis.sions of Paris, to revive a union for prayer, which had been disbanded by the French Revolution. The benevolence of Christians in Lyons, in 1820, wa» thus turned to several separate objects. Two years later a visit to Lyons of the Vicar-General of Louisiana excited special interest in -^.hat field It then became clear to those inter of labor. ested in mi ions that if an aid society would be permanently succe ful it must undertake to aid all needy Roman Catholic mi ions, and so com On this basis those engaged bine all interests. in helping one and another mi ion enterprise united, and the “Work {ceuvre or opus) for the Propagation of the Faith” was organized at Lyons, May 3, 1822. This name is commonly Roman Catliolic Ru ia into English as “Society for the Propagation of the Faitli,” and so produces in the minds of Protestant readers confusion with the great “Congregatio de Propaganda Fide” at Rome. But the duties of the Lyons “Society for the Propagation of the Faith” have relation to the financing, not to the establishment or control of mi ionary enterprises, nor to the choice translated of mi ionaries. The Lyons Society has branches in various parts of France and of the world. The seat of the American “Societjfor the Propagation of The trustees of the Faith” is at Baltimore, Md. the American branch are the Archbishops of Baltimore, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and St. Members of the Paul, and four other clergymen. Society are called “A ociates” in the work. The conditions of membership are two: (1) The recitation daily, for the a istance of Roman Catholic Mi ionaries, of one Our Father and one Hail Mary, with this invocation; St. Francis Xavier, pray for us; (2) the giving of at least five cents monthly, or sixty cents a year, in alms for The usual method of collecting the mi ions. these funds is one that Protestant mi ionary societies might well consider and adapt to their purposes. The a ociates are formed into bands of ten, one of whom is authorized to act as promoter, with the double duty of collecting the offerings of the band for the local or central representative of the Society, and the no le important duty of circulating among the members of the band the periodical Annals of the Propagation of Promoters are provided with memthe Faith. bership certificates to be given new members, and with cards on which to record collections. The efficiency of the system and, in fact, the succe of the whole work, rests upon the faithful diligence of the promoters. The Society has fixed a day in May and another in December as a time of special prayer and thanksgiving. Various popes have granted benefit of indulgences to a ociates in this work, and mi ionaries offer prayers and say ma es for the a ociates. In the merits and prayers of the mi ionaries, and in ma es said by them, both living and dead a ociates share. at The Society has two councils, chiefly laymen, Lyons and Paris, respectively, and these, for ordinary purposes, divide the entire field of mi ion work, but act on common consent in the distribution of funds. No funds are invested, and at the beginning of each year the entire receipts of the Society for the previous year are distributed. In 1822 the Society, through its central body Lyons, collected about $4,000, of which one third was sent to the Eastern mi ions and two thirds to Louisiana and Kentucky. Other dioceses also were aided, and up to 1900 the Society had expended nearly $6,000,000 in mi ionary work in the United States. In 1827 gifts were at sent to Africa and the Hawaiian Islands, and today it aids more than 300 dioceses, vicariates, and prefectures in all parts of the world. Its total distribution, from 1822-1900, was $65,690,Of this sum $1,120,420 went to the Society 017. from the United States during the same period. A list (see Appendix) of Religious Orders and Societies engaged in Roman Catholic mi ion work shows 56 such organizations. In addition to the clergy, there are more than 30 orders of Brothers and 125 orders of Sisters working as auxiliaries, 63» to the lay-brothers, catechists, and other native helpers. in addition Annala of the Propagation of the Faith, bi-monthly, Lyons,. France, in French and in many other languages. AmeriMieaiones can edition pubUshed at Baltimore, Md.; Catholicce, Rome, 1901; Actee des Apotres Modernes, Paris,.. la Miesion Bigot (J.), Retation 1852, 4 vols, Ahnaquise, Paris, 1858; Daurignac (J. M. S.), History o/ the Society of Jesus, translated by J. Clements, Cincinnati, 1865, 2 vols.; Montroud (IM. de), Les Mi ions Catholiques dans to us les Parties du Monde, Paris, 1869.; ROMANDE, MISSION. See Switzerland (French). ROODEPOORT A settlement in the Transvaal,: Potchefstroom district. S. Africa, situated in the Station of the Hannover Luther an Free Church Mi ion, with (1903) 1 mi ionary and 5 outstations. 656