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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 is the oldest of four Pontifical Mission Societies of the Roman Catholic Church. == Origin and development == The Society was founded in Lyon, France, in 1822, by Venerable Pauline Jaricot. The very first collection of the Propagation of the Faith in 1822 supported the vast diocese of Louisiana, which then extended from the Florida to Canada, as well as the missions in China.〔("The Society for the Propagation of the Faith", Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States )〕 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. In 1822, Father Inglesi, Vicar-General of New Orleans, was sent to Lyon by Bishop Dubourg to visit his benefactors and reanimate their zeal. Seeing the success of Miss Jaricot, they thought at first of establishing a similar society for American missions, but decided to unite, instead of dividing, efforts. A meeting of the friends of the missions called by Father Inglesi was attended by twelve ecclesiastics and laymen, and on 3 May 1822, the Society for the Propagation of the Faith was formally established, with a declared mission to help Catholic missionaries by prayers and alms. 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, confirming its privileges, and raising the feast of its patron, St. 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. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Society for the Propagation of the Faith」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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