VATICAN - Studying the past to outline the future of the mission: the Conference for the fourth centenary of Propaganda Fide

Tuesday, 15 November 2022 congregation for the evangelization of peoples  

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - "From the point of view of the history of the Church, and in particular, of the missions, the creation of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, better known as 'de Propaganda Fide' or simply as 'Propaganda' was a historical event of great importance. Central office of the Roman Curia since 1622, the Congregation was entrusted with the responsibility of directing missionary activities throughout the world". This was underlined this morning in the press room of the Holy See by Msgr. Camillus Johnpillai, Head of the Office of the Dicastery for Evangelization, when presenting to journalists the International Conference on Studies "Euntes in mundum universum", scheduled from 16 to 18 November at the Pontifical Urbaniana University, on the occasion of the IV Centenary of the founding of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide (1622-2022).
Retracing the main stages of these four centuries, Msgr. Johnpillai first of all highlighted the intention of Pope Gregory XV (1621-1623) when establishing this Congregation: the Pope, as universal Pastor, had the absolute responsibility of spreading the faith; the Congregation was to coordinate and guide the missionary activity of the Church, which until then had been controlled by the Catholic rulers of Spain and Portugal. All missionaries had to depend on Propaganda to be sent on missions, in the territories that were assigned to them.
Pope Urban VIII (1623-1644) gave a strong impetus to the progress of the missions, and the competence of the Congregation was divided into three categories: territories, persons and subjects. Another aspect is related to financial issues, taking into account the enormous worldwide commitment to missionary activity. The evolution of the powers of Propaganda Fide occurred above all in the 20th century, and in particular after the Second Vatican Council. The reform of the Roman Curia carried out by Saint Paul VI with the Apostolic Constitution 'Regimini Ecclesiae universae' of 1967 confirmed "the general competence of the Missionary Dicastery as the central body of the Church, in charge of organizing and coordinating missionary activity in the world". He also presented a new name for the Dicastery, for the Evangelization of Peoples, "emphasizing that evangelization is the aim of the missionary activity of the Church", and for the first time reference was made to the participation of the laity in missionary cooperation. St. John Paul II, with the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus of 1988, indicated among the competences of the Dicastery the promotion of research in missionary theology, spirituality and pastoral work as the first instrument in the task of the Dicastery for missionary cooperation. His task of forming the secular clergy and catechists and of animating all the people of God was further accentuated.
Speaking of the current physiognomy of the Dicastery for Evangelization outlined by Pope Francis, with the Apostolic Constitution 'Praedicate Evangelium' of March 19, 2022, Monsignor Johnpillai underlined that the Section for the First Evangelization and the Particular Churches acquires the legacy of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (Propaganda Fide). "The evangelizing mission of the Church is still far from being fulfilled - he concluded -. Thus the Church continues her evangelizing mission, recalling the words of the Risen Lord: "Euntes docete omnes gentes - Ecce ego vobiscum sum" (Mt 28:19-20)".
Fr. Bernard Ardura, President of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, speaking to journalists, pointed out that the Conference is an opportunity to re-read the history of this Dicastery, "rich in precious teachings for the life and mission of the Church today, and certainly very useful for outlining the future of the proclamation of the Gospel not only in territories considered "of Mission", but also in societies with an ancient Christian tradition, which need a new evangelization capable of facing the challenges of today's world". For this reason, Fr. Ardura wanted to point out that the Conference "does not have as its objective only the study of a distant past", but that "taking into account the role of History and the importance of its teachings, the different speakers will offer suggestions useful for the solution of the new issues that have arisen in contemporary times".
The Magnificent Rector of the Pontifical Urbaniana University who will host the Conference, Fr. Leonardo Sileo, pointed out in his speech that the Urbaniana University was born with Propaganda Fide: in 1627 the University was created, baptized in honor of Pope Urban VIII as the Urban College. However, the idea of this College was born before 1622. The Rector then illustrated the structure and specific objectives of the educational offer of the Urbaniana University, to which 108 affiliated universities from Asia and Africa belong , some of which work in very difficult contexts. (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 15/11/2022)


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