Католик миссиялық қоғамының тарихы мен қызметі

Catholic mission agency

The Society for the Propagation of the Faith (Latin: Propagandum Fidei) is an international association coordinating assistance for Catholic missionary priests, brothers, and nuns in mission areas. The society was founded in Lyon, France, in 1822, by Pauline Jaricot. It is the oldest of four Pontifical Mission Societies of the Catholic Church.

In 1815, Bishop Louis William Valentine Dubourg of New Orleans, Louisiana was in Lyon collecting alms for his diocese, which was in a precarious condition. To a Mrs. Petit, whom he had known in the United States, he expressed the idea of founding a charitable association for the support of Louisiana missions, which suggestion she cordially embraced, but could procure only small alms among her friends and acquaintances. Separately, in 1820, Pauline Jaricot of Lyon received a letter from her brother, a student at the Seminary of St. Sulpice, in which he described the extreme poverty of the members of the Paris Foreign Missions Society. She conceived the idea of forming an association whose members would contribute one cent a week for the missions. The membership rose to a thousand and the offerings were sent to Asia. Pope Leo XIII designated Jaricot as the official founder of the society. The society's goal was to support missions worldwide, which excluded majority Catholic countries like France, Italy, Austria, Spain, and Portugal. As soon as missions are able to exist by their own efforts the society discontinues its aid, because demands are many and resources inadequate. In 1823, a delegate was sent to Rome and the group received the blessing of Pope Pius VII. In 1840, Gregory XVI placed the society in the rank of Universal Catholic institutions, and on 25 March 1904, in the first year of his pontificate, Pius X recommended it to the charity of all the faithful, praising its work, and raising the feast of its patron saint, Francis Xavier, to a higher rite. A large number of provincial and national councils (especially the third of the Plenary Councils of Baltimore, 1884), as well as thousands of bishops from all parts of the world, have likewise enacted decrees and published letters in favour of its development. It receives contributions from all parts of the Christian world.

Pontifical status was granted to the Society on May 3, 1922 and its central administration was transferred to Rome. In 1926, Pope Pius XI established an annual collection for the missionary work of the Church called "World Mission Sunday". World Mission Sunday is organized by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. The Society is under the direction of the Dicastery for Evangelization. The national office for the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in the United States is located in New York. The Society for the Propagation of the Faith concentrates its efforts to communities in Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands, and remote area of Latin America. It provides financial support to mission bishops for day to day expenses and special projects. It supports pastoral and evangelizing programs, catechists and catechetical work, the building of churches and chapels, the work of Religious communities in health care and education, and for communication and transportation needs. formerly Mission Today.

The society works in England and Wales with the Mill Hill Missionary Society. Mill Hill was one of the first societies to introduce lay missionaries; and its priests, lay brothers and associates work in 27 countries on every inhabited continent. In England and Wales funds for the missions are collected through the famous red collection boxes. In 1913, these could be found in 200,000 homes.

Fulton J. Sheen