weekly conferences (confp-essi) of the prefect, secretary, and consulters; and all important business is submitted to the pope in person by the prefect or the secretary. This congregation conducts the affairs not only of the missionary countries, properly so called, but also of those— as England, the northern kingdoms, the United States. Canada. South America, etc. —in which the hi- erarchical organization is not. or has no) I, ecu. full and formal. To the Propaganda no small part of tie ag-
j gressive power of the Church of Rome is due. It has Complete military power, under the pope, over tin1
i whole missionary field, not only to Bend missionaries
wherever it is the interest of the Church to send them, but to give them special training adapted to their spe- cial work. There are nowhere to be found better mod- ern maps of the newly settled states of the Cnited
States than in the college of the Propaganda, and no- w here men better informed as to the probable points of future importance than the cardinals who compos,. iiu. congregation of the Propaganda. The work of this congregation i.- greatly aided by several subordinate associations for the propagation of the faith, among the most important of which are those at Lyons (France), Vienna, and Bavaria. It supports, besides, another ; similar institution for the Chinese at Naples. The founder of this seminary was a prelate ol the house of Urban VIII, [on.Vives, born in Spain. It is part of the duties of the pope to superintend this vast and complicated work, and to invite all nations to the com- munion of the Church. See Erectio S. Congregationis di- rill i 'ath. Propaganda I Bullar. iii. 1 1 1 sq. i : Bullar, Pontif. S. Congr. </« Prop. Fid* I Rome, 1839 II. 5 vols. 4to); Boyer, Congr. de Prop. Fid* (Regiom. 1721, Ito); .Mejcr. Di* Propaganda (Gotting. 1852 53, 2 vols. 8vo; a most valuable treatise,: Base, Church Hist. p. 470; Alzog, Kirchengesch. ii. 110,429,574; Church /,' . toL vii; Wetzer u. Welte, Kirchen-Lex.n.v.; Aschbach, Kir- chen-Lex.a.v.; Barnum, Romanism (see Index); .'Mars- den, //is/, oft 'krist. ( 'hurches and Si <■/■<. ii. 202. (J.H.W.) Propagation of the Faith, Associations fob, Roman Catholic. The earliest .and the highest in dignity of these has been already described under the head Propaganda (q.v.); but the present century has
produced several private associations, the resources of which arise entirely from voluntary annual contribu- tions, and the organization of which is most complete and most extensive. The first of these is that founded at Lyons in 1822, under the title "GSuvre de la Propa- gation ,le la Foi." with a branch al Paris, and subordi- nate branches in the other Catholic kingdoms. It is under the direction of a council, which communicates as well with the local associations through which the funds are supplied by small weekly, monthly, or yearly contributions, as w ith tic missions to the aid of w hich the fund SO raised is applied, by an apportionment reg- ulated according to the necessities of each. The piety of contributors is stimulated by the exhortations ,,i the popes, and the granting of indulgences to those who, with the other requisite dispositions, shall aid in the work. The journal of the society, entitled . I mm i. . , ,/, l,i Propagation d* In Foi, is a very interesting bimonthly collection of letters and reports from the different mis- sions connected wiih the central body. L'he receipts of this association for the year 1863 were 1,788,496 ir. 86 c. t >i this sum, by far the largest proportion was
raised in Prance o.:',i>7._M.s fr. Italy came next, tl gh
at a long interval, contributing 420,653 fr. : Belgium gave 271,597 fr.; Germany, 251,873 fr.; the British isl- ands. 127,000 fr. Spain, once the greal propagator of i iiijhe New World, cut ributed but 12,549 fr.; but it is to be ol,-erve,r that Spain maintains for her own missionary enterprises a large and liberal establish- ment in connection with the mission of the Philippines and the South Sea. Another association of somewhat
later date is the >• I pol, liner Vorein." established at
Vienna in 1829, the chief object of which is t,, assist the missions of German origin, especially in America.
PROPATER
631
PROPER NAMES
This association also has its own journal, entitled Be- richte der Leopoldiner Stiftung. It is under the presi- dency of the archbishop of Vienna. A third is that established in Bavaria as an offshoot of the Lyons asso- ciation, under the name " Ludwigs Missions -Verein." Like that of Vienna, its chief, although not exclusive, object is the support of German missions. The Lud- wigs Verein is conducted under the auspices of the archbishop of Munich. All these associations, although quite independent in their management and direction, nevertheless maintain close relations with the Propa- ganda of Rome, and are often guided by the recom- mendations of the cardinal prefect in the distribution of their funds to particular missions. — Chambers.
Propater. See Godfather.
Proper Names, chiefly of the Old Testament. It is interesting, as well as useful, to know the original sig- nification of proper names. The chief use which ac- crues from an accurate knowledge of them is that we are by their means enabled to attain a more lively ap- prehension of the truth of ancient history. (In this investigation we chiefly make use of Ewald's article in Kitto's Cyclopedia.)