Transcript New Missionary Efforts

From Declaration of the Synod Fathers, 3rd General Assembly of the Synod
of Bishops; quoted by Pope Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi (Apostolic
Exhortation on Evangelization)
 Most trade went through the
Mediterranean sea
 Taxes were high in Muslim
countries, so European traders
sought different routes
 1488 – Bartholomew Dias is the first
known European to travel around
southernmost tip of Africa
 1497, Vasco de Gama made it all the
way to India by this route.
 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
 Inspired by Ptolemy, an ancient
Roman geographer, Columbus
believed one could reach Asia by
sailing west
 Isabella of Spain accepted his
proposal and funded the voyage.
 He underestimated the size of the
world by about 7000 miles
 BTW: why would Columbus be
reading Ptolemy???
 He died believing he had found
the passage to Asia
 Columbus’ discovery set of a frenzy of exploration
 Spain, Portugal, France, the Netherlands, and England
 Pope Alexander VI drew up the “Line of Demarcation”,
 Spain given all new lands 100 leagues west of the Azores,
and Portugal all new lands to the East
 France, the Netherlands, and England also joined in
the exploration
 We’re in the 1500’s; what events have recently taken
place in the Church?
 Avignon Papacy, Great Western Schism, Renaissance,
and Reformation
 With renewed zeal for the Gospel, a number of men
felt called – like the first Apostles – to “make disciples
of all nations”
 Following the wake of discovery and exploration, a
relatively small number of holy missionaries felt the
call to bring the Gospel to these new worlds
 Which of the 4 Marks does this exhibit?
 Great distances to travel
 Climate was also a great barrier
 Languages were difficult to learn and often lacked the
complexity to explain Christian doctrine
 Native medicine men, witch doctors, and pagan priests
were very opposed to missionaries.
 GREATEST OBSTACLE: the bad example of the
Christian, European settlers
ASIA
 One of the founding members of the Society
of Jesus (the Jesuits)
 Worked first to improve the moral character of
the Portuguese settlers in India
 Always tried to learn the native language
 Said to have baptized thousands
 Did much to evangelize the natives of India
 Remember, he’s the patron saint of Goa, India
 Eventually he traveled to Japan
 He wanted to go to China, but he died on the
way
 Tradition says that St. Thomas the
Apostle came to India to preach the
Gospel
 Why does a nation already evangelized
need to be “re-evangelized”?
 Missionaries in this area dedicated a
large part of efforts to learning the
particular cultural traditions of the
people
 Missionary efforts directed by St.
Francis Xavier
 By learning language and culture, the
missionaries could teach about Jesus in a
more convincing way.
 Christianity was presented in different ways
to the different castes.
 Bore great fruit because of the effective
preaching and well-ordered communities
established
 What does this work of the Jesuits remind
you of?
 After the suppression of the Jesuits in 1773,
the Christian population in India shrank
 By 1580’s – 160,000 Catholics in
Japan, numerous native priests as
well as Jesuit missionaries
 1587 – concerned by this “new
religion” & its connection w/ “quiet
takeover” by Europeans, the
Japanese begin to persecute the
Church in Japan
 1614 – over 200,000 Catholics
martyred
 From 1638-1825 no outsiders
allowed in and no connection to
the Universal Church
 When French missionaries return,
they find an underground Church
20,000 strong
 No priests, but they’ve continued
Baptisms for 200 years
 Taught by the Jesuits before they
were expelled
 China resisted foreign visitors for many years –
unimpressed with European “sophistication”
because China was so advanced culturally and
technologically
 1583, Fr. Matteo Ricci SJ was able to set up a
permanent residence in China
 He embraced the Chinese culture
 Through his good example and charity, he was able to
introduce the Chinese to the fruits of Western culture
 He developed a liturgy in Chinese, and wrote a
treatise on the faith in Chinese
 By 1724 the number of Chinese Catholics grew to
800,000.
 Catholicism was encouraged by the Emperor
 BUT success was short-lived
 Ricci allowed for a blending of Catholicism with
some anti-Catholic beliefs (ex. Ancestor worship)
 Known as the ACCOMMODATION METHOD
 Church which is largely European, wants Church in
China to look more like Church in Europe
 Wary of Western expansion, the Emperor began a
persecution of the Church and numbers declined
 Situation today: “Patriotic Church” & “underground”
Church
AFRICA
 Because of the Line of Demarcation, Africa is in the
hands of which European nation? _____________
 This region of the world showed the least results from
missionary activity
 Historically, at least north Africa was Catholic
 Why was that not the case by the 1600’s?
 In addition, disease destroyed nearly all missionary
efforts
 Other obstacles included reprisals over the slave trade,
jealous pagan priests, and persecutions
 No real fruit born until late 19th & early 20th centuries
THE “NEW WORLD”
a.k.a. THE “WEST INDIES”
 After realizing they were not in
India, Spanish discoverers and
missionaries found a wealth of
opportunity
 …BUT Spanish missionaries had
many difficulties converting natives
(Apocalypto – sacrifice)
 The natives distrusted the Spanish
after their pagan temples were
destroyed and their human
sacrifices were stopped
 Apocalytpo – arrival of Spaniards
 After the apparitions of Our Lady of
Guadalupe, conversions abounded
(see video)
 Within 10 years of the apparition, 9
million natives would be baptized.
 Motivated by 3 things: GOD, GOLD, &
GLORY
 Arrived in Florida in April, 1513
 Juan Ponce de Leon landed at Bay of
the Mother of God
 BUT not exactly successful; natives are
VERY hostile
 Lots of martyrs among the Jesuits and
Franciscans
 1565 – 1st parish established in St.
Augustine
 1600’s – 1,000’s of Indian converts
 All comes to a halt in 1700’s with
English influence in area
 1763 – Treaty of Paris – Florida becomes
a British colony
 MUCH MORE SUCCESSFUL!!
 Stretched from Texas to Kansas to California
 Once Mexico was conquered by Spanish, discoverers
turned northward (bringing missionaries with them)
 Typically no widespread martyrdom, but isolated
incidents: Fr. Juan Padilla was martyred in Kansas
around 1540
 Problems between the native Americans and the
Spanish government
 Because the missionaries were apparently associated
with the Spanish, the natives often rejected or even
attacked the missionaries.
 Missionaries establish Indian communities
 The Indians were given control over their own
affairs
 The missionaries taught the Faith,
established schools, and transcribed the
native language into a written language
 They also taught them modern farming
techniques and industrial crafts
 Between 1610 and 1767, 700,000 natives
converted
 Much of the Spanish mission influence
remains…
 Notice the saints
& which order
they belong to…
 Spanish born Franciscan, taught
theology at University of Padua
 After hearing of the need for
missionaries in the New World, Fr.
Serra left without telling his parents
where he was going
 He would never see them again
 A powerful preacher with a unique
approach
 First start by trading with Spanish
goods, then preach the Gospel to
them
 Fought for the rights of the natives
against the evils of the Spanish
soldiers
 Even walked to Mexico City to speak
with governor
 Founded 9 of the 21 California
missions; traveled 24,000 miles
while making 1,000’s of converts in
his lifetime
 Not as strong as the Spanish because
France is not as Catholic…
 Jesuit missionaries accompanied French
traders and settlers
 Martyrdom a strong theme in French
missions
 Native Americans of this region were
violent men
 North American Martyrs
 St. Issac Jogues, John de Brebeuf, and
companions violently executed by the
Iroquois between 1642 and 1649
 St. Kateri Tekakwitha, virgin
 Native American, converted by the
Jesuits
 Rejected by her family for converting
 Dies of smallpox in early 20’s
 Going west…
 Fr. Jacques Marquette and Joliet explore
the Great Lakes into Mississippi River
area
 Lots of French Jesuits evangelizing the
natives
 Eventually reaching down to New
Orleans