Catholic missions

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Further information: Christian mission

religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, parishes and dioceses would be organized worldwide, often after an intermediate phase as an apostolic prefecture or apostolic vicariate. Catholic mission has predominantly been carried out by the Latin Church
in practice.

In the Roman Curia, missionary work is organised by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

History

New Testament times

The New Testament missionary outreach of the Christian church from the time of

St Paul was extensive throughout the Roman Empire
.

Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, Christian

Gregory the Great sent missionaries, including Augustine of Canterbury, into England. The Hiberno-Scottish mission
began in 563 CE.

In the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries,

Great Khans of the Mongol Empire. (See also Catholic Church in China
.)

Age of Discovery

Main articles: Catholic Church and the Age of Discovery and Protectorate of missions

During the

missions in the Americas and other colonies through the Augustinians, Franciscans, and Dominicans in order to spread Catholicism in the New World and to convert the indigenous peoples of the Americas and other indigenous people. At the same time, missionaries such as Francis Xavier as well as other Jesuits
, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Dominicans were moving into Asia and the Far East. The Portuguese sent missions into Africa. These are some of the most well-known missions in history.

In the empires ruled by both

Congregatio de Propaganda Fide in 1622 and attempted to separate the churches from the influence of the Iberian
kingdoms.

While missions in areas ruled by Spanish and Portuguese, and to a lesser extent, the French, are associated with

Jesuit
mission to China, and the work of other Jesuit missionaries in the Nagasaki region in Japan) were focused on the conversion of individuals within existing social and political structures, and often operated without the consent of local government.

India

Main article: Catholic Church in India

Early missionaries

Main article: Catholic Church in India § History

Madras region or "Country of St. Thomas". There he preached for thirteen months and baptized about one hundred people. From there Monte Corvino wrote home, in December 1291 (or 1292), giving one of the earliest noteworthy accounts of the Coromandel coast furnished by any Western European. Traveling by sea from Mailapur, he reached China in 1294, appearing in the capital "Cambaliech" (now Beijing).[1]

Friar Odoric of Pordenone arrived in India in 1321. He visited Malabar, touching at Pandarani (20 m. north of Calicut) at Cranganore and at Kulam or Quilon, proceeding thence, apparently, to Ceylon and to the shrine of St Thomas at Maylapur near Madras. He writes that he had found the place where Thomas was buried.

The French Dominican missionary Father Jordanus Catalani followed in 1321–22. He reported to Rome, apparently from somewhere on the west coast of India, that he had given Christian burial to four martyred monks. Jordanus is known for his 1329 Mirabilia describing the marvels of the East: he furnished the best account of Indian regions and the Christians, the products, climate, manners, customs, fauna and flori given by any European in the Middle Ages – superior even to Marco Polo's.

In 1347,

Giovanni de Marignolli
visited the shrine of St Thomas near the modern Madras, and then proceeded to what he calls the kingdom of Saba and identifies with the Sheba of Scripture, but which seems from various particulars to have been Java. Taking ship again for Malabar on his way to Europe, he encountered great storms.

Another prominent Indian traveler was Joseph, priest over Cranganore. He journeyed to Babylon in 1490 and then sailed to Europe and visited Portugal, Rome, and Venice before returning to India. He helped to write a book about his travels entitled The Travels of Joseph the Indian which was widely disseminated across Europe.

Arrival of the Portuguese

Main article: Catholic Church in India § History

The introduction of Catholicism in India begins from the first decade of 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese missionaries there. In the 16th century, the proselytization of Asia was linked to the

Jesuits, Augustinians
, etc.) flocked out with the conquerors, and began at once to build churches along the coastal districts wherever the Portuguese power made itself felt.

The history of Portuguese missionaries in India starts with the neo-apostles who reached Kappad near Kozhikode on 20 May 1498 along with Vasco da Gama,[4] which represented less than 2% of the total population[5] and was the largest Christian church within India.[4] He was seeking to form anti-Islamic alliances with pre-existing Christian nations. The lucrative spice trade attracted the Portuguese crown.[6]

During the second expedition under Captain

St. Francis Church
(1506) using stones and mortar which were unheard of at that time, as local prejudices were against such a structure except for a royal palace or a temple.

In the beginning of the 16th century, the whole of the East was under the jurisdiction of the

Funchal, with a jurisdiction extending potentially over all past and future conquests from the Cape of Good Hope to China
.

The first converts to Christianity in Goa were native Goan women who married Portuguese men that arrived with Afonso de Albuquerque during the Portuguese conquest of Goa in 1510.[7]

Christian maidens of Goa meeting a Portuguese nobleman seeking a wife, from the Códice Casanatense (c. 1540)

During the mid-16th century, the city of

Goan Inquisition, but it was not set up until 1560.[10][11]

In 1557

Goa and its boundaries extended to almost half of the world: from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, to Burma, China, and Japan in East Asia. In 1576 the suffragan See of Macao (China) was added, and in 1588 that of Funai in Japan.[citation needed
]

In 1597 the death of the last

Thomas in swearing never to submit to the Portuguese or to accept Communion with Rome, in the Coonan Cross Oath in 1653.[citation needed
]

The

Diocese of Angamaly was transferred to Diocese of Craganore in 1605, and in 1606 a sixth suffragan see to Goa was established at San Thome, Mylapore, near the modern Madras. The suffragan sees added later to Goa were the prelacy of Mozambique in 1612 and Peking and Nanking in China in 1690.[citation needed
]

Missionary work progressed on a large scale and with great success along the western coasts, chiefly at Chaul, Bombay, Salsette, Bassein, Damao, and Diu, as well as on the eastern coasts at San Thome of Mylapore as far as Bengal. In the southern districts the Jesuit mission in Madura was the most famous. It extended to the Krishna River, with a number of outlying stations beyond it. The mission of Cochin on the Malabar Coast was also one of the most fruitful. Several missions were also established in the interior northwards, e.g., that of Agra and Lahore in 1570 and that of Tibet in 1624. Still, even with these efforts, the greater part even of the coast line was by no means fully worked, and many vast tracts of the interior northwards were practically untouched.[citation needed]

With the decline of Portuguese power other colonial powers – the Dutch and British and Christian organisations – gained influence.[citation needed]

Japan

Portuguese shipping arrived in Japan in 1543

Catholic missionary activities in Japan began in earnest around 1549, performed in the main by Portuguese-sponsored Jesuits until Spanish-sponsored mendicant orders such as the Franciscans and Dominicans gained access to Japan. Of the 95 Jesuits who worked in Japan up to 1600, 57 were Portuguese, 20 were Spaniards and 18 Italian.[15] Jesuit Fathers Francisco Xavier,[16][17] Cosme de Torres, and John Fernandes were the first to arrive at Kagoshima
with hopes of bringing Christianity and Catholicism to Japan.

Spain and Portugal disputed the attribution of Japan. Since neither could colonize it, the exclusive right to propagate Christianity in Japan meant the exclusive right to trade with Japan. Portuguese-sponsored Jesuits under

Nagasaki
) was founded under Portuguese protection.

In rivalry with the Jesuits, Spanish-sponsored

friars to enter Japan via the Portuguese Indies, and Pope Paul V
's decree of 1608 which abolished the restrictions on the route. The Portuguese accused Spanish Jesuits of working for their homeland instead of their patron.

Jesuit China missions
below.

China

Main articles:
Chinese rites controversy

The history of the

Catholic and Protestant missions
developed.

A map of the 200-odd Jesuit churches and missions established across China c. 1687.
Confucius, Philosopher of the Chinese, or, Chinese Knowledge Explained in Latin, an introduction to Chinese history and philosophy published at Paris in 1687 by a team of Jesuits working under Philippe Couplet.
Charles Maigrot's 1693 Mandate, which reopened the Chinese Rites controversy

Despite

Goa, India. One of them, known by his baptismal name Antonio, travelled with the Jesuit founder St Francis Xavier when he tried to begin missionary work in China in the early 1550s. Unable to receive permission to enter the country, however, Xavier died on Shangchuan Island off the coast of Guangdong
in 1552.

With the

SAR's "Ilha Verde" neighborhood). Alessandro Valignano, the new regional manager ("visitor") of the order, came to Macau in 1578–1579 and established St. Paul's College to begin training future missionaries in the language and culture
of the Chinese. He requested assistance from the orders' members in Goa in bringing over suitably talented linguists to staff the college and begin the mission in earnest.

In 1582, Jesuits once again initiated mission work inside China, introducing

literati, regarded as impressive especially for their knowledge of astronomy, calendar-making, mathematics, hydraulics, and geography."[19] By 1610, more than two thousand Chinese from all levels of society had converted.[citation needed
] Clark has summarized as follows:

"When all is said and done, one must recognize gladly that the Jesuits made a shining contribution to mission outreach and policy in China. They made no fatal compromises, and where they skirted this in their guarded accommodation to the Chinese reverence for ancestors, their major thrust was both Christian and wise. They succeeded in rendering Christianity at least respectable and even credible to the sophisticated Chinese, no mean accomplishment."[20]

This influence worked in both directions:

[The Jesuits] made efforts to translate western mathematical and astronomical works into Chinese and aroused the interest of Chinese scholars in these sciences. They made very extensive astronomical observation and carried out the first modern cartographic work in China. They also learned to appreciate the scientific achievements of this ancient culture and made them known in Europe. Through their correspondence European scientists first learned about the Chinese science and culture.[21]

Ricci and others including

Chinese classics into Latin and spreading knowledge of Chinese culture and history in Europe, influencing its developing Enlightenment.[22][23]

The introduction of the

Ex Illa Die..., led to the swift collapse of all of the missions across China,[28] with the last Jesuits—obliged to maintain allegiance to the papal rulings—finally being expelled after 1721.[30]

Although Catholic mission work began again following the opening up of the country after the

Vatican II
.

Maya

Main article: Franciscan missions to the Maya

There are records of

Southwest United States.[31]

The goal of the

Christian faith to the people of the New World through "word and example".[32]
Spreading
missionaries are sometimes seen as tools of imperialism,[33] enabled other objectives to be reached, such as the extension of Spanish language, culture, and political control to the New World. A goal was to change the agricultural or nomadic Indian into a model of the Spanish people and society. Basically, the aim was for urbanization. The missions achieved this by “offering gifts and persuasion…and safety from enemies.” This protection also offered security for the Spanish military operation, since there would be theoretically less warring if the natives were pacified. Thus the missionaries assisted with another aim of the colonizers.[34]

California

Main article: Spanish missions in California
Mission San Juan Capistrano in April 2005. At left is the façade of the first adobe church with its added espadaña; behind the campanario or "bell wall" is the "Sacred Garden," in what is reputed as the "Loveliest of the Franciscan Ruins."
Franciscans of the California missions donned gray habits, in contrast to the brown cassocks that are typically worn today.[35]

Between 1769 and 1823,

industry
but Spanish occupation also brought negative consequences to the native populations. Today the missions are among the state's oldest structures and most-visited historic monuments; many of them also remain in operation as Catholic churches.

New Mexico

Main article: Spanish missions in New Mexico

The missions in

Navajo, and Apaches. The first permanent settlement was Mission San Gabriel in 1598 near what is now known as the San Juan Pueblo
.

Contemporary missions

Catholic missionary work has undergone profound change since the

social justice issues and striven to avoid the dangers of cultural imperialism or economic exploitation that had often accompanied religious conversion. Christian missionaries recognize that working for justice is a constitutive part of preaching the Gospel[37] and usually observe the principles of inculturation in their missionary work. Before Vatican II "baptism of desire" and salvation outside the Catholic Church were allowed very little scope.[38] With the Council's emphasis on individual conscience,[39] baptism is seen not only as the ordinary means of salvation but as a vocation call for Christians to spread the good news of God's love to all peoples by their practice of true charity, that is universal and inclusive of all God's children.[40]

The Church on mission through its various religious and lay associations is today much more involved in an

Dalits and Adivasi in India, than in direct conversion efforts. This is true also in China where proselytizing was forbidden but many Christians assisted with language studies.[41]
The present practice in Asia and Africa is detailed in the articles on hundreds of educational institutions and development centres that the Jesuits administer. Much the same can be said of other Catholic lay and religious groups and their contemporary missions.

Alumni

Main article:
List of Roman Catholic missionaries

See also

References

  1. ^ Odoric of Pordenone (Nendeln, Liechtenstein, 1967), Henry Yule, trans. Cathy and the Way Thither vol. II, p. 142.
  2. ISBN 1-58477-422-3
  3. ISBN 3-87294-202-6
    .
  4. ^ a b "Factfile: Roman Catholics around the world". BBC news.
  5. ^ Megan Galbraith Catholic Church of India Responds with Leadership Archived 2008-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Field note on Glocal Health Council website.
  6. ^ "Vasco da Gama collection". University of Michigan. Archived from the original on 2007-10-16.
  7. ^ Crowley, Roger (2015). Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire. London: Faber & Faber.
  8. ^ de Mendonça 2002, p. 67
  9. ^ de Mendonça 2002, p. 397
  10. ^
    ISBN 3-87294-202-6
    .
  11. JSTOR 313013
    .
  12. ^ Frykenberg 2008, p. 93; Wilmshurst 2000, p. 343.
  13. ^ a b "Synod of Diamper". Synod of Diamper Church.
  14. ^ Ruiz-de-Medina, Father Juan G., Documentos de Japon, Rome 1990, 1995)
  15. ^ Ruiz-de-Medina, Father Juan G., Cultural Interactions in the Orient 30 years before Matteo Ricci. Catholic Uni. of Portugal, 1993.
  16. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia, 1909 on St. Francis Xavier
  17. ^ Saint Francis Xavier on Catholic Forum Archived 2010-11-20 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ Ricci, Matteo (1603), 《天主實義》 [Tiānzhŭ Shíyì, The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven]. (in Chinese)
  19. ISBN 0-521-43519-6
    .
  20. ^ Dunne, George H. Generation of Giants. pp. 86–88.
  21. ^ Udías 2003, p. 53.
  22. ISBN 0-89073-050-4
    .
  23. ISBN 0-521-54724-5
    .
  24. ^ a b Von Collani, Claudia (2009), "Biography of Charles Maigrot MEP", Stochastikon Encyclopedia, Würzburg: Stochastikon, archived from the original on 2020-02-07, retrieved 2018-01-02.
  25. ^ Liščák, Vladimir (2015), "François Noël and His Latin Translations of Confucian Classical Books Published in Prague in 1711", Anthropologia Integra, vol. 6, pp. 45–8.
  26. ISBN 9789058673152
    .
  27. ^ Ott, Michael (1913), "Charles-Thomas Maillard de Tournon", Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. Vol. XV, New York: Encyclopedia Press.
  28. ^
    ISBN 9780898709162
    .
  29. ISBN 9789004345607
    .
  30. ISBN 978-3-8050-0348-3
    .
  31. ^ Habig 1945, p. 342.
  32. ^ Clendinnen 1982.
  33. ^ Graham 1998, p. 28.
  34. ^ Lee 1990, p. 44.
  35. ^ Kelsey 1993, p. 18.
  36. ^ Dignitatis Humanae, 7 December 1965
  37. ^ Justice in the World, (1971). World Synod of Catholic Bishops, #6.
  38. ^ Dulles, SJ, Avery. "Who Can Be Saved?". Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  39. ^ Acts 10:34f; 1Tim 2:4; Lumen Gentium, 1:16; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1260.
  40. ^ Rom 2:2–16; Mt 25:31ff
  41. ^ "AITECE- Teaching in China | Columban Fathers". columban.org. Archived from the original on 2017-04-22. Retrieved 2017-04-21.

Cited sources

Further reading

Historiography

  • Dries, Angelyn. "" National and Universal": Nineteenth-and Twentieth-Century Catholic Missions and World Christianity in The Catholic Historical Review." Catholic Historical Review 101.2 (2015) pp. 242–273.
  • Hsia, R. Po-chia. "The Catholic Historical Review: One Hundred Years of Scholarship on Catholic Missions in the Early Modern World." Catholic Historical Review 101.2 (2015): 223–241. online, mentions over 100 articles and books, mostly on North America and Latin America.
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