Missionary Cooperation

MISSIONARY COOPERATION. — The faithful can cooperate in the propagation of the faith through prayer, offerings, and the promotion of vocations to the apostolate.

The pontifical works of missionary cooperation must be promoted as a priority. They are the Missionary Union of the Clergy, the P. O. for the Propagation of the Faith, the P. O. of St Peter the Apostle for the Indigenous Clergy, and the P. O. of the Holy Childhood. Each of these works has its own central organization, coordinated from the directive and administrative points of view. The Missionary Union of the Clergy is directed exclusively toward engaging the clergy in the missionary apostolate, whereas the other works collect offerings and prescribe brief prayers. The « Consociatio mulierum et puellarum catholicarum pro missionibus », founded in 1903 at Coblenz, is also pontifical, though it has a local character.

Besides the pontifical works, there are numerous other initiatives to assist the missions. Here only the principal ones will be indicated, grouped into works of prayer and works of material and intellectual assistance. A work of prayer is the Apostleship of Prayer, which since 1928 has added another particular missionary intention each month to the general intention. Among the works of material assistance, mention must be made of the Epiphany Collection for the suppression of slavery, instituted by Pope Leo XIII with the constitution Catholicae Ecclesiae of 20 November 1890 and recommended in 1919 by Benedict XV, with the aim of collecting offerings on the feast of the Epiphany for the African missions. The Sodality of St Peter Claver aims to arrange for the printing of missionary books and to collect offerings, especially for the African missions. The Apostolic Work for the Provisioning of the Missionary was founded in France in 1838 and subsequently developed in Europe and America. Medical-assistance works have a twofold purpose: to provide missionaries and sisters with theoretical and practical instruction in medical and surgical care, and also to facilitate the acquisition of medical supplies by the missions. Courses of this kind are offered at the Universities of Louvain, Lille, Rotterdam, Freiburg, Parma, Georgetown in Washington, and at the Catholic Institute of Paris and that of Würzburg. In Rome, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta has opened the International School of Emergency Medicine and Surgery for Missionaries, as well as the Missionary Health-Care Group, which accepts donations of money or medical supplies. The Union of Italian Missionary Physicians (U.M.M.I.) is also active in Milan. Worthy of mention is the M.I.V.A., that is, the « Missions-Verkehr Arbeitsgemeinschaft », founded by Fr. Schulte with the purpose of providing the missions with means of land, water, and air transport. After an initial flourishing development, it ceased to exist, and only the Swiss section remains. During the war, Fr. Schulte himself established a similar work, « Wings of Mercy », which had only a brief existence.

Works of intellectual cooperation are also very numerous and vary according to the countries. The Roman Conference for the African Missions is recalled (v.).

In missionary cooperation among students, Catholics were preceded by Protestants in the United States, who in 1888 founded the « Students Voluntary Movement ». Toward the end of the last century, Catholic initiatives of this kind arose in Germany and also developed in Austria in various forms of missionary leagues. In Belgium, the « Pro Apostolis » and the A.U.C.A.M. (v.), which has a Flemish counterpart, are flourishing. In the United States, the « Catholic Students Mission Crusade » is highly developed, and in France the following associations are working successfully: « Les amis des Missions », the « Ligue Missionnaire des Etudiants », and « Ad Lucem », that is, the Association of University Laymen and Missionaries. The missionary leagues

(courtesy of the Danish Legation in Rome)
COPENAGHEN - Aerial view. Rosenborg Castle, which houses the Royal collections and the State Art Museum.

The student missionary leagues are also active in Switzerland, Holland, and Spain.

In Italy, the Student Missionary League (L. M. S.), which has its own bulletin, Gentes, has been active since 1927. Among university students, since 1931, the F.U.C.I. (Italian Catholic University Federation) has carried out extensive missionary activity. Furthermore, the Missionary Union of the Clergy has sought to interest teachers in the missionary ideal and to have a short missionary chapter inserted into the catechism. Recently, the fathers of the Pious Society of s. Francesco Saverio of Parma founded the Missionary Education Centre (C. E. M.), which, in the minds of its promoters, should lead to the establishment of a broader missionary movement among the educated classes.