The Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide (1622-1922)
Author(s): Peter Guilday
Source: The Catholic Historical Review , Jan., 1921, Vol. 6, No. 4 (Jan., 1921), pp. 478-
494
Published by: Catholic University of America Press
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THE SACRED CONGREGATION DE PROPAGANDA
FIDE (1622-1922)
The establishment of the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda
Fide was decided upon by the Holy See at the flood-tide of that
remarkable movement of the latter half of the sixteenth, and the
first quarter of the seventeenth centuries, which goes by the
inaccurate name of Counter-Reformation. The Council of Trent
(1545-1563) had succeeded beyond the sanguine expectations
of the day, in spite of great opposition, not only in deter
mining for all time to come the doctrinal basis of the faith, but
in formulating the first satisfactory method of correcting the
abuses which had arisen within the Fold of Christ. "Never
had a Council met under more alarming conditions; never had a
Council been confronted with more serious obstacles, and never
did a Council confer a greater service on the Christian world
than did the nineteenth ecumenical Council held at Trent.9'I
The Council of Trent removed the mask of hypocrisy from
those who had joined in the Lutheran clamor for a reformation of
the Church in capite et membris, and it defined without respect of
persons the limits within which an orderly, chaste, prudent, and
thoroughly orthodox reform could be carried out. Under the
Providence of God, the Church has been blessed from that
epoch down to our own with Popes who have never wavered from
the spirit of Trent.
When the true reform did come, it came quickly, almost
spontaneously; and it came efficaciously. From the day of its
official confirmation by Pius IV on January 26, 1564, down to
the latest reform in the organization of ecclesiastical law, begun
by Pius X and brought to a successful conclusion by the present
Holy Father, Benedict XV,2 the vivifying stimulus of Trent has
never weakened.
1 MACCAFFREY, History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French
Revolution, Vol. i, p. 199. London, 1915.
2 By the Providentissima Mater Ecclesia, Pentecost, 1917. For a general survey
of the New Code of Canon Law, cf. The New Canon Law in its Practical Aspects,
publishe(d by the Dolphin Press, Philadelphia, 1918.
478
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SACRED CONGREGATION DE PROPAGANDA FIDE (16292-19292) 479
The reforms effected within the first fifty years after the
Council almost surpass belief. They begin with the Roman
Seminary for the education of the priests of Rome (1566); the
erection of national colleges at Rome and the reorganization
of those erected before the close of the Council; the foundation
of over twenty Colleges in various parts of Europe for the edu
cation of English, Irish and Scotch youth;, the beginning of
Nunciatures in various parts of Europe;4 the publication of
new editions of the Roman martyrology, the Septuagint, the
Vulgate, the Breviary, the Missal, the Ceremonial and the Pon
tifical; the Gregorian reform in the Calendar (1582), and the
sweeping reform in the papal curia by Pope Sixtus V, by the
Apostolic Letter of January 922, 1587, Immensa Aeterni Dei,
which placed the entire administration of the Church under the
care of fifteen Congregations, in order that ecclesiastical affairs
of all kinds might be conducted henceforth with despatch and
accuracy. The Counter-Reformation has also to its credit the
founding of the Company of Jesus by St. Ignatius, which re
ceived official approval on September 27, 1540; and the un
paralleled missionary success of the Jesuits and the older religious
orders from that time down to the establishment of Propaganda
Fide gave to the founders of the Sacred Congregation a trained
body of workers, a field in which fresh discoveries were being
constantly made, and a plan of action which had stood the test of
almost a century.
The creation of the Congregation de Propaganda Fide by the
Bull Inscrutabili of June 22, 1622, may be accepted as the com
pletion of the formative stage of the Counter-Reformation.
It was the last of the greater Congregations to be established by
the Holy See, and it soon outshone all the others by the ex
traordinary extent of its powers and its jurisdiction. It re
sembled the other Congregations in its organization, but it differed
entirely from them in the range of its authority6. From the
3 GUILDAY, Les fondations r6ligieumes anglaises, in the Annuaire de l'Univer8ii.
de Louvain, 1912.
4 Cf. PIEPER, Zur Entstehung8ge8chichte der standigen Nuntiaturen. Freiburg, 1894t
6 BRUCKER, La Compagnie de Jgsus, p. 17. Paris, 1919.
6 BOURRET, La reorganization des sacrhe8 congr6gations tribunaux et offices ad
ministratifs de la cour romaine, p. 249. Montpellier, 1908.
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480 PETER GUILDAY
beginning of its existence, the object of the
Propaganda Fide was definitely understood:
the faithful in all those parts of the world wh
had been established, and to bring the light of
heathen lands. Botta has described its object
Suo principale fine e la propagazione della fide cattolic
del mondo; ma l'opera sua non era totalmente ristrett
che non mirasse anche a diffondere le lettere, le scien
genti ignare, barbare e selvagge; che anzi una cosa aiu
la fede serviva d'introduzione alla civilta, e questa a q
To reconquer by spiritual arms, by prayers
by preaching and catechising, the countries
to the Church in the debAcle of the sixteen
organize into an efficient corps the numerous
prises for the diffusion of the Gospel in pagan
distinct objects which soon ranked Propaganda
less in dignity than the Universal Church.
The genesis of this ideal is not known with
holds that it was the result of a slow evolution
two distinct periods, one creative and the ot
The creative period ends with the Inscrutab
22, 1622. That the reconquest of those pa
which had been lost through the rise and pros
ism, Calvinism, and Anglicanism, had been a d
the deliberations at Trent is certain. Shortly a
1563, Pope Gregory XIII (1572-1585) creat
Commission de propaganda fide, consisting of
Medici, and Santorio. The victory at Le
naturally turned the minds of all lovers of th
East, for the spirit of the Crusades had not di
years this Commission held its sessions, chu
cially interested in following up the naval
with a spiritual victory: union with Rom
Christians. It is to this spirit that we owe th
of Brest (1598). The Gregorian Commissioon
its plans by the rapid succession of the four
which followed Gregory's death in 1585, so tha
I Storia d'Italia, dal 1779 al 1814, lib 24, tom 6, p. 117.
8 Article, Propaganda in the Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. xi
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SAC:RED CONGREGATION DE PROPAGANDA FIDE (1622-1922) 481
that the Sacred Congregation was an outgrowth of the work of this
former body of Cardinals. Some writers see the origin of the
Congregation in a remarkable folio volume published at Antwerp
in 1613, by the Carmelite Thomas a Jesus, entitled De procuranda
salute omntum gentium, schi8maticorum, haereticorum, Judaeorum,
sarracenorum caeterorumque infidelium, in twelve books.9 The
Sacred Congregation may well be the result of many projects,
similar in scope or identical in design with which the Holy See had
become familiar shortly after the close of the sessions at Trent.
It may not be unfair to these projects to single out the design of
Dr. Vendeville, the friend of Allen and of the founders of the
English College at Douay. In 1567, Vendeville went with Allen
and Morgan Philips to Rome, where he intended placing before
Pius V the plan of a congregation for the redemption of slaves
in the Barbary States: "ut suas quasdam de infidelibus ad Chris
tum convertendis cogitationes cum Pio Quinto Summo Pontifice
communicaret."10
After its creation in 1622, the Congregation de Propaganda
Fide began that long and honorable life of three centuries which
will be rounded out within the next eighteen months. During
those three centuries of remarkable success in spreading the light
of the Gospel over every part of the world, only one definite change
has been made in the extent of its jurisdiction, namely, that by
Pius X, in the Constitution Sapienti Consilio, of June 29, 1908,
when the United States and several other countries were with
drawn from its regimen. The history of the Congregation can
be divided into three parts: (1) from the cardinalitial Commission
de propaganda fide under Gregory XIII down to 1622; (2) from
the founding of the Congregation de Propaganda Fide in 1622
down to the change effected by Pius X, in 1908; and (3) from 1908
down to the present.
I The volume is rather rare. We take from the British Museum copy the fol
lowing paragraph on America (fol. 3): "Denique America, quam orbis quartam par
tem Geographi constituunt, in extrema calamitate versatur. Nam et quod ad fidem
christianam pertinet, parum culta est: et in europeis hominibus Indi avaritiae potius
quam Christiani zeli exempla conspiciunt, quam Orientalibus Indiis quamplurimae
provinciae, quibus Evangelium nondum delatum est."
10 KNOX, Allen, p. 6, London, 1882. Out of this desire came the first impetus
towards the English College at Douay (1569), ibid., p. 7. Cf. BELLESHEIM, Wilhelm
Kardinal Allen, p. 24, Mainz, 1885; the subject is also discussed by DODD-TIERNEY,
Church History of England, Vol. ii, p. 158. London, 1889.
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482 PETER GUIDAY
It is not our purpose in this preliminary
the history of Propaganda, for that is to b
historical students chosen by His Eminenc
Cardinal Prefect, and by the Secretary
Laurenti, and to be published as a tercente
The present writer has been asked to c
on the United States under the general t
Congregazione di Propaganda Fide nell'evan
Uniti d'America.
If just and reasonable pride be permi
carrying the message of the Gospel to the
Congregation may indeed be proud of it
States. For two hundred and eighty-s
Propaganda was the supreme court of adm
under the Holy Father, for the Church
Constitution of Pius X changes the C
status of a missionary church anld plac
guidance of the Holy See. But to no oth
Curia do we owe so much in the phenom
faith in the United States as to Prop
would search fruitlessly in American Ca
the past century for any adequate appre
services. Writers such as Smith," Murph
Goddard,'5 Humphrey,"6 Taunton,"7 and o
Propaganda for English-speaking count
opportunity of dwelling upon its great
science, merely give us a description of
no excuse to say that the design of these
outline rather than historical; for, to their
tion of Propaganda could not be simply on
administrative bodies of the Roman Cur
tion-more important, practically speakin
11 Elements of Ecclesiastical Law. New York, 1888, 3
12 The Chair of Peter. London, 1886.
13 Procedure at the Roman Curia. New York, 1907.
14 The Romant Court. Milwaukee, 1895.
15 Manual of Ecclesiastical Law and Practice in Mis
1906.
16 Urbs et Orbis. London, 1899.
17 Law of the Church. London, 1906.
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SACRED CONGREGATION DE PROPAGANDA FIDE (1622-1922) 483
together. It is significant also to note that those who have
written histories of the National Colleges in Rome, which are
under the jurisdiction of Propaganda, fail to give their readers this
historical appreciation.'8 Our purpose is then to prepare the way
for a general history of the Congregation, to sift and classify the
source-material at our disposal for a detailed story of Propaganda's
three centuries of activity. On such questions as: the jurisdic
tion of Propaganda, whether territorial, material, or personal;
the organization of the Congregation, its powers, rights, privileges
and duties; the faculties granted by Propaganda (Cf. PUTZNER,
(Commentarium in facultates etc., New York, 1897), and on all
other aspects of its juridic life, sufficient has already been pub
lished, both for the period prior to the Sapienti Consilio (1908),
as well as since. There is a bibliography of books on these
subjects in OJETTI, De Romana Curia, Commentarium in Con
stitutionem Apostolicam "Sapienti Consilio," seu de Curiae piana
reformatione (Rome, 1910, pp. 3-5). A special bibliography for
Propaganda will be found in the same volume, pp. 107-108.
Since it is rather difficult to find an accurate list of the Cardinals
Prefect and the Secretaries of the Congregation, we asked,
while in Rome this summer, the present Archivist of Propaganda,
Rev. Dr. Castellucci, to have one compiled. It is as follows:19
1. CARDINALS-PREFECT
SATUL, ANTONIUS MARIA (1622).
LUDOvISI, LUDOVICUS (1622-1632).
BARJBERINI, ANTONIUS (1632-1671).
ALTIERI, PAULUTIUS (1671-1698).
BARBERINI, CAROLUS (1698-1704).
SACRIPANTI, JOSEPH (1704-1727),
PETRA, VINCENTIUS (1727-1747).
VALENTI, GONZAGA SILVIUS (1747-1756).
SPINELLI, JOSEPH (1756--1763).
CASTELLI, JOSEPH MAIRIA (1763-1780).
18 STEINHUBER, Geschichte des Collegium Germanicum-Hungaricum. Freiburg.
1896; BRANN, History of the American College, Rome. New York, 1908; GASQUET
The Venerable English College, Rome. London, 1920. Even in the Memorial Volume
of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore (1884), where special praise is given to the
Societe de la Propagation de la Foi of Paris, Propaganda is scarcely mentioned.
19 A partial list is in the Alissiones Catholicae, etc., Vol. vii (1892).
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484 PETER GUIDAY
ANTONELL, LEONARDUS (1780-1795).
GERDIL, HYACINTHIUS SIGISMUNDUS (1795
BORGIA, STEPHANUS (1802-1804).
Di PIETRO, MICHAEL (1805-1814).
LITTA, LAURENTIUS (1814-1818).
FONTANA, FRANCISCUS ALOisius (1818-18
CONSALVI, HERCULES (1824).
CAPPELLARI, MAURUS (1826-1831).
PEDICINI, CAROLUS MARLU (1831-1834)
FRANZONI, PHILIPPUS (1834-1856).
BARNABO, ALEXANDER (1856-1874).
FRANCHI, ALEXANDER (1874-1878).
SIMEoNI, JOANNES (1878-1892).
LEDOCHOWSKI, MIECISLAUS (1892-1902).
GOTTI, HIERONYMUS MARIA (1902-1916).
SERAFINI, DOMINICUS (1916-1918).
VAN ROSSUM, GUILLELMUS (1918)
2. SECRETARIES
INGOLI, FRANCISCUS (1622-1649).
MASSARI, DYONISIUS (1649-1657).
ALBERICI, MARIUS (1657-1668).
UBALDI, FRIDERICUS, Arch. Caesarien. (166
RAVIZZA, FRANCISCUS, Arch. Laodicen. (1
CERRI, URBANUS, (1675-1679).
CIBO, EDUARDUS, Patr. Constantinop. (168
FABRONI, CAROLUS (1695-1706).
BIANCHIERI, ANTONIUS (1706-1707).
DE CAVALIERI, SILVIUs, Arch. Athenarum
CARAFA, ALoISIuS, Arch. Larissen. (1717-1
RuSPOLI, BARTHOLOMAEUS (1724-1730).
FORTEGUERRA, NICoLAus (1730-1735).
MONTI, PHILIPPUS (1735-1743).
LERCARI, NICOLAUS (1743-1757).
ANTONELLI, NICOLAUS (1757-1759).
MAREFOSCHI, MARIUS (1759-1770).
BORGIA, STEPHANUS (1770-1789).
SANDODARI, ANTONIUS, Arch. Adanen. (1
BRANCADORO, CAESAR, Arch. Niaiben. (1
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SACRED CONGREGATION DE PROPAGANDA FIDE (1622-1922) 485
COPPOLA, DOMINICuS, Arch. Myren. (1801-1808).
QUARANTOTTI, JOANNES B. (1808-1816).
PEDICINI, CAROLUS MARIA (1816-1822).
CAPRANO, PATRUS, Arch. Iconien. (1823-1828).
CASTRACANE DEGLI ANTELMINELLI, CASTRUCCIUS (1829-1833).
MAi, ANGELUS (1833-1838).
CADOLINI, IGNATIUS, Arch. Spoletanus. (1838-1843).
BRUTNELLI, JOANNES (1843-1847).
BARNABO, ALEXANDER (1848-1856).
BEDINI, CAJETANUS, Arch. Thebarum. (1856-1861).
CAPALTI, HANNIBAL (1861-1868).
SIMEONI, JOANNES (1868-1875).
AGNOZZI, JOANNES B. (1877-1879).
MASOTTI, IGNATIUS (1879-1882).
JACOBINI, DOMINICUS, Arch. Tyrem. (1882-1891).
PERSICO, IGNATIUS, Arch. Tamiathen. (1891-1893).
CIASCA, AUGUSTINUS, Arch. Larissen. (1893-1899).
VECCIA, ALoISIUS (1899-1911).
LAURENTI, CAMILLUS (1911 ).
The historical material for the story of Propaganda may be
divided into Books and Sources.
I. BOOKS
1. ON THE ROMAN CURIA AND THE MISSIONS
The general literature on the Roman Curia which has
already been referred to, is too extensive to be listed here.
The literature on the Missions in general and on the Missions
conducted by the religious orders, all of which were under
Propaganda's jurisdiction, is one of the richest we possess; and
this source-material must be studied by any one who desires
to write a complete or partial history of Propaganda. The
story of Catholic missionary endeavor begins with the Gospels
and the Acts of the Apostles, and in a certain sense it is equivalent
to the universal history of the Church. The best guide to this
literature will be found in HEIMBUCHER, Die Orden und Kon
gregationen der Katholischen Kirche, (Paderborn, 1917, 3 vols.).
Among the general works on this subject are the following:
WITTMANN, Die Herrlichkeit der Kirche in ihren Missionen seit
der Glaubensspaltung (Augsburg, 1841, 2 vols.); KROSE, Katho
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486 PETER GUILDAY
lische Missionsstatistik. (Freiburg, 1908); HA
katholischen Missionen (Cologne, 1857-65,
Missions Catholiques au XIXme Siecle (Lyo
Histoire des Missions Catholiques (Paris, 1
lischer Missionsatlas (Freiburg, 1885); an
tories of the different countries. For the Un
the Jesuit Relations (Cleveland), 1886-91
Ensayo Cronol6gico (Madrid, 1723); SHEA, H
Missions Among the Indian Tribes (New Y
Western Missions and Missionaries (New Yor
Missions (New York, 1847); ENGELHARD
sionaries of California (San Francisco, 19
Directories. 2 The general histories of
histories of the Church in particular cou
consulted. For example Shea's four volume
1492 to 1866 are indispensable for the st
work in this country.
2. ON PROPAGANDA FIDE
No history, official or otherwise, of the
yet been published. The libraries of Ro
and London were searched during the pa
purpose of finding source-material dealing
apart from the few items which we list i
important was discovered. There is one ex
ment: the two volumes of OTTO MEJER, en
ihre Provinzen und ihre Recht, mit beso
Deutschland (Gottingen, 1852, 2 vols.). This
was begun and completed in an unfriendly
use to the historian today, and is marred
show a lack of canonical law values. Natu
Encyclopedias and Dictionaries contain
Propaganda. Moroni in his Dizionario d
ecclesiastica (Venice, 1840-61, s.v., Congrega
gives a concise statement of its foundation
Trede has an attack on the object of Pro
20 An excellent series of articles with bibliographie
Catholic Missions in general, and of those of Canada a
ticular, will be found in the Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol.
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SACRED ONGREGATION DE PROPAGANDA FIDE (1622-1922) 487
Die Propaganda in Rom, ihre Geschichte und Bedeutung, in the
Deuteche Zeit- und Streit- Fragen, vol. xiii (1884), no. 201. This
is an anti-Jesuit pamphlet. The bedeutung of Propaganda is
interpreted by Trede from the viewpoint that St. Ignatius'
canonization (May 22, 1622) preceded the foundation of the
Congregation (June 22, 1622). As is well known, the Dis
calced Carmelites were foremost among the religious orders in
the project, among them being Dominico di Gesiu e Maria, the
General of the order. Baumgarten in the Katholik (vol. 79
(1899), pp. 250-261), summarizes the story of Propaganda in
his paper: Die heilige Kongregation zur Verbreitung des Glaubens
und ihr Gebiet. The best account of this nature in English is
Benigni's article s.v., Propaganda, in the Catholic Encyclopedia
(vol. xii, p. 456-461). This has the added merit of having been
written after the change of 1908. The student will do well to
consult the numerous references to Propaganda in the Ecclesias
tical Review, of Overbrook, Pa.; an excellent account of the Con
gregation will be found in the article by MARTIN, The Congregation
of Propaganda (Ibid., vol. Ix, pp. 524, ss.).
The leading articles and essays dealing with the successful
theft by the Italian Government of the Congregation's property
are: BONGHI, La Propaganda Fide ed il governo italiano, in the
Nuova Antologia (vol. xxviii, pp. 280-312); Propaganda e la con
versione dei suoi beni immobili per opera del governo italiano (2 vols.,
Rome, 1884), which contains the dossier of the case as it was tried
before the Cour de Cassation in Rome; SODERINI, La Propaganda
Fide ed il governo italiano (Rome, 1884); O'REILLY, Propaganda
Question and our Duty (in the ACQR, vol. viii (1884), pp. 226 ss.);
SPILLMANN, Die Beraubung der Propaganda, in the Stimmen aus
Maria-Laach, (vol. xxvi, pp. 225 ss.); Church Spoliation in Italy,
in the Month, Vol. xxii (1874), pp. 463-477-a review of Dupan
loup's Memorial on the Spoliation of the Church at Rome and
throughout Italy, which was translated into English (London,
1876), but which is now quite out of print. Articles will also be
found in the leading continental newspapers of the day, Osserva
tore Romano, Moniteur de Rome, Unita Cattolica, Journal de
Bruxelles, Monde, Voce della Verita, etc., and in the Acta Sanctae
Sedis. The attempted theft of the American College at Rome
by the Italian Government is treated by Brann.
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488 PETER GUILDAY
A reliable account of the famous polyglot pr
will be found in MELCHIOR GALLEOTTI, Della T
di Propaganda (Turin, 1866).20
For the extent and results of the change in t
of Propaganda by the Sapienti Consilio, al
mentaries on the new Codex should be stud
OJETTI, De Curiae piana reformatione (pp. 107Die
rechtliche Stellung der Propaganda Kong
neuen Kurialreform Pius X, in the Zeitchrift fi
schaft, 1911, pp. 147-158. The best commen
will be found in the Ecclestastical Review.
We come now to the actual history, partia
the Sacred Congregation. Probably the earlie
of BEYER, Breve compendium historiae congr
Fide, published at Konigsberg, 1721. This
unable to find in any of the large libraries of
search. The next publication in point of tim
MEJER, Die Propaganda in England (Leipzig,
to have been inspired by the "uprising" of 185
on the Brief of September 29, 1850, restorin
archy under Wiseman. The book had a certai
encouraged Mejer to write his larger work, the
given above. This larger work in two volume
we were able to find in the libraries abroad, pr
complete history of the Sacred Congregation
non-Catholic, and he writes as an opponen
"Wenn ein Protestant tiber die romische Pro
so kann er nur gegen sie schreiben (Vol. i,
apriori attitude, Mejer gives us an interesting
account of Propaganda's labors up to that ti
divided into four books: Book I. contains t
legomena necessary to the subject, and treat
conducted by the Franciscans, Dominican
Jesuits, up to 1622; (b) the National College
foundation of the Congregation de Propagand
sources for the history of Propaganda; (e) C
20 Cf. Catalogus Editionum quae prodierunt ex typograph
de P. F.. Rome, 1878.
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SACRED CONGREGATION DE PROPAGANDA FIDE (1622-1922) 489
1677.21 Book II. describes the ecclesiastical provinces under
the jurisdiction of Propaganda, the method of organization
followed, choice of missionaries, their training and faculties,
and the general work of Propaganda in Catholic lands. Book
III treats these same subjects for the work of Propaganda in
Protestant lands. Book IV. attempts to describe the canonical
cases brought before the Congregation and deals with
the alleged political influence of Propaganda in international
affairs. Several Appendices are added; one being the 1844 edi
tion of the Notiz'ia. The work is frankly biased, but it could
serve as a model for a general history of the Congregation.
Propaganda, Mejer holds, is but a disguised branch of the
Society of Jesus. Pieper published at Cologne in 1886, as a
result of his studies in the Roman Archives, his well-written
essay: Die Propaganda-Kongregation und die nordischen Mis
sionen im siebenzehnten Jahrhundert. A good description of the
foundation of the Congregation will be found by this same writer
in the Akten of the fifth international Congress of Catholic
Scholars (Munich, 1900)-Griindung und erste Einrichtung der
Propaganda-Kongregation.
II. SOURCES.
Trede makes a statement, which Mejer repeats, to the effect
that Propaganda has never officially given the world any knowl
edge of its labors during the past three centuries- "Ist sie doch
ein Institut welches nicht von sich spricht?" The Sacred
Congregation has indeed said very little about its stupendous
activity since 1622. Its field of labor has been coterminous
with the universal Church. So much had to be done that there
was little time to do more than publish yearly statistics from
time to time. Propaganda reorganized in 1622, upon the then
modern system of efficiency, the entire missionary activity of
the Church. It correlated the forces at work in thousands of
different directions and under thousands of different conditions.
It supplied missionary workers for practically the whole known
21 Relazione all'Santita di N. S. P. P. Innocenzo XI dello Stato di Propaganda Fide
(pp. 52), published by the Secretary of the Congregation Msgr. Urbano Cerri. It
was published (with an Introduction) in English by the Anglican Bishop Hoadly,
under the pseudonym Sir Richard Steele: An Account of the State of Religion through
out the World, (Cf. CHR, Vol. i, pp. 478-480).
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490 PETER GUILDAY
world. This task demanded unlimited courage
officials. As in every great undertaking, the
from the outset; difficulties with sovereign
and privileges invaded; difficulties with m
religious congregations, which up to that
sort of laissez-faire in their choice of missionary
difficulties arising from indefinite canoni
regular and secular met on the same groun
material nature which often brought the w
Literally speaking, there was too much to be
too few resources to call upon for the work,
at hand, for the Cardinals-Prefect or their Se
the purpose of chronicling all that had b
There was more than the work of spreading
and of winning back to the fold erring child
Propaganda. It was, and is today, one of th
forces the world has ever seen.
1. PROPAGANDA ARCHIVES
But even though Propaganda has not yet wr
its Archives are the pride of Rome and the de
had the privilege of working therein. These
in the Collegio Urbano, Piazza di Spagn
suffered the same vicissitudes as the oth
They are among the best housed Archives i
tematically arranged, and are bound in ab
volumes. The indications on the backs of
ever, are not accurate, but there is a comple
Indexes. The Archives have been described
Archives Pontificales (pp. 20-21); by GACHAR
Vatican (Brussels, 1874, p. 31), who states the
of documents; by ANTON PIEPER. Das Propag
Romische Quartalschrift, Vol. i, (1887), pp
HINOJOSA in Los Despachos de la Diploma
pania; and by KOLLMAN, in 0 Archivu Sv.
in the Casopis Musea Kralovstvi Ceskeho, Vol
The English reader will find an excellent
Archives in FISH, Guide to the Materials for
Roman and Italian Archives, pp. 119-124,
The chief divisions of the Archives are: Atti
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SACRED CONGREGATION DE PROPAGANDA FIDE (1622-1922) 491
riferiti, Scritture non riferiti, Lettere, Udienze, Cause, Memoriali,
Congregazione particolari, Miscellanea, Istruizione, Scripta
Varia, and Visite e Collegi. The Notizia of 1843 (p. 477), speaks
of the Archives as follows:
L'Archivio conserva colle lettere originali et le copie delle risposte loro
date come ancora dei decreti, risoluzioni fatte, e de'rescritti, bolle, e brevi
Apostolici: collezione pretiossima alla religione, ed inestimabile pe'monu
menti autentici d'istoria ecclesiastica che racchiude.
With the exception of a short period towards the close of the
last century (HASKINS, The Vatican Archives in the American
Historical Review, Vol. ii, p. 42), the Archives of Propaganda
have been closed to research workers. Permission to use the
documents was never readily granted. Cardinal Gotti told the
present writer that these are not primarily historical documents
but the family archives of the Church, and as such do not fall
within the expressed wish of Leo XIII. Propaganda's answer to
historical students has been, with few exceptions, the same as
that issued on August 20, 1669
Respondeatur non e.ee solitum ut Sacra Congregatio mcriptura8 exisentes
in Archivio alteri communicet.
Some works, however, are the result of original research in
the Archives: ROCCA DA CESINALE, Storia delle Missioni dei
Cappuccini (Paris-Rome, 1867-76); MORAN, Spicilegium Os
soriense (Dublin, 1874-78, 3 vols.); BELLESHEIM, Kirchenge
schichte Schottlands (Mainz, 1882); WERNER, Katholischer Mis
sionsatlas (Freiburg, 1884); SHEA, VOIS. i and ii of his History of
the Catholic Church in the United States (New York, 1886-88);
BLOK, Li'jst van Dokumenten betreffende ons Land, in the Archief
voor de geschiedenis van het Aartsbisdom Utrecht (Vol. xxvii, pp.
329-376, Vol. xxviii, pp. 38-110); HUGHES, History of the Jesuits
in North America (New York, 1907); GUILDAY, English Catholic
Refugees in the Low Countries (London, 1914), and recently
O'DANIEL, Life of Bishop Fenwick, 0. P. (Washington, D. C.,
1920).
2. COLLECTION OF SOURCES
The Sacred Congregation has guided the publication of
certain volumes of sources entirely composed of archival material.
The earliest of these is the Constitutiones Apostolicae Sacrae
Congregationis de P. F. (Rome, 1642, pp. 292). This is a rare
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492 PETER GUILDAY
volume and is incomplete. The copy in the
seems to have belonged to Propaganda itself
Pontificium sacrae Congregationis de P. F. (R
in five volumes, with two columes of Appendixe
documents prior to 1622, the extreme dates bei
The Collectanea S. Congregationis de Propaganda
instructiones rescripta pro Apostolicis Mlissionib
(Rome, 1893-1907), contains documents from
from 1866 to 1906. In all there are 2,317 p
should be completed from 1906 to 1908. Th
mental works are now superseded by the officia
DE MARTINIS, Jus Pontificium de Propagand
volumes, with a supplementary Index Alphabeti
Rome (1888-1898). There are excellent ono
the end of each volume, and the pieces go from
Propaganda also published statistics from tim
the Notizia statistica delle Alissioni cattolici in
(Rome, 1843, pp. 305, 1844, pp. 718). Pieper
that these two volumes were meant for the p
Congregation.23 Mejer bases much of his wor
of 1844, which he has published as an appen
(Vol. i, pp. 477-562). There were issued also
years from the Propaganda Press a series of
entitled: llissiones Ritus Latini cura S. Congr
descriptae, which were begun in 1886 and app
1892. The history of the Church in the Unit
year by year without change, and we read of
Hibernus nomine Baltimore" who made th
Maryland in 1634. Excellent ecclesiastical m
of the volumes.
"The prosperity of Propaganda," says Ran
22 In dealing with the sources for Propaganda, care mus
found the great Roman Congregation with the Society for t
of Paris-Lyons, founded in 1822. This mistake has been m
p. 122 note 22. Obviously, the archival sources of the Paris
the Annales de la Propagation de la Foi contain material of first
of Propaganda.
23 Das Propaganda-Archiv, 1. c., p. 262.
24 History of the Popes, Vol. iii, p. 244. London, 1852.
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SACRED CONGREGATION DE PROPAGANDA FIDE (1622-1922) 493
by day more btilliant. Who is there that knows not what the
Propaganda has done for philological learning? In all respects
it has ever striven, and perhaps most successfully in its earliest
period, to fulfil its calling upon a vast and noble scale." Dupan
loup has described Propaganda as the Prime Minister of the
Church, as the foremost and the most indispensable of all the
papal administrative offices. One of the best tributes given
to Propaganda will be found in Balsimelli.25 To Gregory XV, he
says, the Church owes that Congregation
che chiamasi la Propaganda, di cui non v'ha alcun esempio antico ne
moderno, e che desto la meraviglia e l'invidia del p'iu illustre conquista
tore, che sia vissuto da molti secoli; ma lo scopo di essa risiede nel con
quistar gli spiriti al vero, e alla virtiu i cuori, abilitandoli coll' innocenza a
godere in terra una felicita virtuosa e a fruire in cielo i gaudii della vera
patria. Mentre i superbi potentati di Europa consumano le loro cure,
e spendono sovente un tesoro di sudori e di sangue infinito per provvedere
a volgari interessi o soddisfare a grette ambizioni, acquistando al loro
dominio una nuova striscia di terra, la Propaganda abbraccia colle vaste e
animose sue speranze tutto il genere umano, estende i suoi benifici influssi
sino ai termini piu lontani del mondo. Ella spedisce a tal effetto i suoi
miti conquistatori, non ad uccidere, ma a convertire ed a mansuefare, e,
se occorre, a morir perdonando; e questi uomini poveri ed umili, aventi
per insegna una croce e per sole armi la fede e la persuasione congiunte
ad una carita eroica e ad uno spirito illimitato di sacrificio, operano spesso
quei prodigi, che sono interdetti at valore dei capitani e degli eserciti.
Chi potrebbe descrivere le maraviglie dell' apostolato? Chi potrebbe
dipingere adequatamente cio che vi ha di bello e di grande in una missione
cattolica, che fra i trovati cristiani e forse il piiu stupendo, poiche con mezzi
debolissimi in apparenza produce gli effetti piiu grandiosi e durevoli?
Qual e 1' instituto, che sia pi 'u degno della considerazione del filosofo, dell'
amore e dell' ammirazione di chi anela a diffondere la civilta, ed ha
un animo benevolo per la famiglia universale de' suoi fratelli? La storia
coetanea c' insegna a che riescano le spedizioni conquistatrici e trafficanti,
per diffondere 1' incivilimento e felicitare le nazioni barbariche ed infedeli,
quando la cupidigia politica e mercantile non e raifrenata dalla religione.
Le missioni cattoliche convertirono e addimesticarono la Spagna, la
Francia, l'Inghilterra, la Scandinavia, la Germania, l'Ungheria, la Boemia,
la Polonia, e vi seminarono quella gentilezza, che ora fruttifica e si spande
sul resto del globo; il che basta per rispondere a coloro, che le giudicano
inutili, o mettono i conquistatori e i missionari nella medesima schiera.
The Popes of the past three hundred years have been able to
look out over the wide expanse of Christendom, over the Provinciae
25 Compendio di storia della Chiesa, Vol. ii, p. 311. Rome, 1929.
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494 PETER GUILDAY
Aposiolicae, subject directly to the lloly See, a
Mi&sionum, subject to the Sacred Congregation
Fide, and to recognize the steady progress of t
parable in every way with the first three centuries
No country in the world owes so much to Propaga
and guidance as the United States. Down almos
middle of the eighteenth century, American histo
history of discoveries and explorations. The th
Atlantic coast is small in contrast with those b
in the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys and in the F
the missionaries sent by Propaganda were the fir
way to the trader and to the home-seeker; and
these soldiers of Christ was a sharer in the str
humanitarianism, of benevolence, of religious zeal
source in that Sacred Congregation which is no
its third century of devotion to the highest go
Scholars of every science, both within and withou
will rejoice that Propaganda is at last to have its h
It will be a record of marvelous successes-succ
it has never boasted; all has been done for the edi
Church, for the glory of God and for the bet
world.
PETER GUILDAY.
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