RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Missions to the Heathen
A detached prefecture is that of Bettiah, named after a successful station with extensive benevolent institutions. To it three districts and even Nepal are assigned. The northwestern half of the United Provinces includes the bishopric of Agra, where the Roman mission was active two and a half centuries ago, but had small success. The prefecture of Rajputana, with its seat in Ajmir, was separated in 1892. The diocese of Lahore also, formerly the vicariate of the Punjab, has been detached from Agra, from which the prefectures Kafiristan and Kashmir were separated later. The archdiocese of Bombay embraces Sindh, the northern Mahratta country and the intervening region. The rest of the Mahratta country has been detached as the diocese of Puna. To the east of this are the dioceses of Nagpur and Vizagapatam. In Nagpur, where 8,000 Roman Catholics were counted, there were, in 1900, no less than 30,827 baptisms. It is true that 28,930 baptisms, administered to children in peril of death, are included.
The statistical summary, on p. 398, of the missions in India is taken from the Missioned Catholicce. It should be remarked that among Roman Catholics, Europeans and Eurasians are included; their number is placed at 79,661, according to the census of 1901. In this way the number of native-born Roman Catholics is reduced to 805,534. The Roman Catholics under Portuguese jurisdiction are given in the same source at 534,000. This statement can not be checked, nor can any figures be obtained in regard to other missionary work in the various fields. In all, the separate reports account for 398 lay brothers and 1873 sisters; among the latter are many native nuns.
Ceylon, as a British Crown Colony, is not connected with the Empire of India. Roman Catholicism gained much ground here under the Portuguese rule (1517-1658) ; during the 3. Ceylon. Dutch sovereignty (until 1796), the Reformed religion was introduced by pressure from without. When the English brought religious freedom, it was not difficult to lead back great numbers of these migratory Christians to the Roman Catholic Church. Therefore, the Roman Catholics who are to-day in Ceylon are only to a small extent the result of modern Roman missions. There are the following dioceses:
The two former are assigned to the Paris Seminary and the last to the Milanese. But of a population of 9,930,000 there are 56,600 Roman Catholics, 46 stations, 154 schools, 3 seminaries, 70 priests, 13 native priests, 42 lay brothers, and 62 sisters. Siam had, in the eighteenth century, a flourishing Roman Catholic mission, which died out under the Burmese rule, but was revived in 1840. Now it is a vicariate under the care of the Paris Seminary, with 22,000 Roman Catholics (out of five million inhabitants), 27 stations, 41 schools, 1 seminary, 36 priests, 14 native priests. The diocese of Laos, detached in 1888, has 9,430 Roman Catholics, 12 stations, 30 schools, 21 priests, and 4 native priests.
In the French possessions of to-day in Eastern India, the Jesuits (especially Alexander of Rhodes) had already won a great number of adherents at an earlier time by skilful use of the political conditions. Bitter persecution of the Christians induced France to intervene and to found its colonial domain, in which the Roman Catholic mission exerts a widereaching influence. In the eighteenth century Spanish Dominicans worked alongside of the Jesuits. This resulted in troublesome conflicts between them. Instead of the former, missionaries of the Paris Seminary have recently entered this field in Cambodia and Cochin China.
There are 10 apostolic vicariates, one in Cambodia, three in Cochin China, and six in Tonkin. Altogether, there are 840,760 Roman Catholics, out of twenty-three million inhabitants, with 370 stations, 353 priests, 494 native priests, 2,068 schools. The diocese of Malacca (under the Paris Seminary) has, out of 1,200,000 inhabitants, 19,830 Roman Catholics (among these some Chinese), 26 stations, 32 priests, 2 native priests, and 25 schools. All Eastern Asia has, out of a population of forty-one millions, 948,650 Roman Catholics, and 481 stations, 512 priests, 527 native priests, 2,318 schools, about 134 lay brothers and 541 sisters, among these some natives. (Evangelical: 127,707 Christians, 46 stations, 94 missionaries, 299 ordained natives, 599 schools.)
In the Dutch East Indies the Roman mission has only the prefecture of North Borneo, with Labuan (St. Joseph's Brotherhood of Mill Hill) and the vicariate of Batavia (Jesuits). The
5. Dutch former compete with the Anglicans East Indies; in Sarawak (1,200 Roman Catholics), Philippines.the latter have 10 stations in Java, 4 in Sumatra, 3 in Celebes (where they work among the Evangelical population of the Minahassa — 5,974 Roman Catholics), and 7 in Flores
Diocese.
Population in thousands.
Cath.
St.
Ch.
Sch.
Sem.
P.
N.P.
O.A.
Congregation
Ad. Colombo
D. Jaffna
D. Kandy
D. Galle
D. Trinkomallie . . .
1,083
198,120
42,500
21,150
6,300
7,150
Of the Immaculate Conception
Of the Immaculate Conception
Benedictines
Jesuits
Jesuits
Evangel, mission
2,015
275,220 31,953
In addition there are 70 lay brothers and 308 sisters, the latter principally natives. The number of Roman Catholics has especially increased in the archdiocese of Colombo, where in 1889 there were 139,978, and in 1868, 102,222.
In Burma, where formerly different congregations had worked, without noteworthy success, Romanism was first able to record im- 4. Eastern portant results under English rule.
' There are here three vicariates: North
Burma (6,000 converts), South Burma (41,000 converts, among these not a few formerly Evangelical Karens), and East Burma (9,600 converts).
and Timor. The Missiones Catholicce reports 49,831 converts. According to Die katholische Kirche there are among them only 22,382 Asiatics, 40 stations, 63 priests, 48 schools, 28 lay brothers, and 259 sisters. The Philippines are not in the charge of the Propaganda. Die katholische Kirche states that many different orders work here with a smaller number of secular priests. In 736 parishes and 105 missionary parishes, there were in round numbers 6,560,000 converts and 957 priests. According to this there would be only 590,000 heathen,
Missions to the Heathen