MISSIONARY. – The concept of mission suggests that of the missionary, meaning one who is sent by the competent ecclesiastical authority to mission lands in order to propagate and consolidate the faith among non-Catholics, that is, to plant the Church. Since, however, the office entrusted to the missionary entails participation in ecclesiastical jurisdiction, consequently, in the juridical sense, only a priest can be called a missionary, by virtue of his sacred ordination. Brothers and sisters may merit this title only in a derivative sense.
I. JURIDICAL STATUS
The juridical condition of the missionary today is clear and precise, but it was not always the same throughout the centuries. From the twelfth century onward, the missionary always enjoyed extensive faculties and privileges, which, even after the erection of the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide, he often received directly. Some were called apostolic missionaries because they were approved by Propaganda; they enjoyed special privileges and were bound to particular duties. Today the title of apostolic missionary is granted only rarely, and for several years it has not been bestowed on anyone. Its time has passed.At present all missionaries must request from the local Ordinaries the faculties necessary for the apostolic ministry. They are sent by their own superiors and depart no longer furnished with letters patent, as in the past, but only with the superior’s obedience. They will remain in the mission as long as the Ordinary and the religious superior see fit, and both, following mutual notice, may remove or recall them. In the event of conflicts, an appeal may be made to Propaganda. The missionary, if a religious, depends as a missionary on the local Ordinary and as a religious on his own religious superior.
II. RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR MISSIONARIES
After the development of monasticism, especially in the West, and following the foundation of the mendicant Orders and other religious Congregations, the ranks of the missionaries were composed exclusively of religious, with the exception of a very few secular priests. The latter joined them only later, in the seventeenth century, when the Seminary of the Foreign Missions of Paris was established in France. At present, foreign missionaries belong to religious orders and congregations or to societies without vows. The very few secular priests preferably go to Australia, New Zealand, and certain missions in America.Some, especially among the earlier missiologists, debate whether religious missionaries are to be preferred to secular ones. It cannot be denied that the religious state, through the practice of vows, makes its members more suited to the work of the apostolate; but this does not justify the conclusion of those who go so far as to say that the religious state is eminently missionary in character, since the same advantages can be found in those institutes of secular priests who, while remaining such, live in community, bound by an oath and under the direction of a superior. Indeed, these bring to the missions a mentality that can often make their work more effective.
III. MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL FORMATION
The Church, as well as all missiologists, ancient and modern, has wished the m. to possess deeply rooted priestly virtues, so that he might lead peoples to the truth first by example and then by word. The m. is therefore required to observe all the prescriptions of the canons and to fulfill exactly his own duties and, if he is a religious, those of his institute. He must be animated by a profound spirit of poverty, even if he is not bound by the vow; he must lead a life of extraordinary purity and practice the virtues of humility, obedience, and patience. Finally, his spiritual formation must be crowned by the exercise of the theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity.The m. also needs careful intellectual formation, even if he is destined to evangelize rough and uncivilized peoples, among whom the work of civilization is making giant strides. Certainly, it is not necessary for all m. to have an equal intellectual preparation. The first to perceive the need to provide m. with a specific intellectual formation were the mendicant Orders, which established schools and colleges for this purpose. Today, many discussions have been rendered obsolete because courses in missiology have clearly established which subjects future m. must study. Thus, in addition to the intellectual formation proper to priests, they must receive another, specific or professional formation, which, if directed to all m., will have a common character oriented toward the apostolic ministry; if instead it is intended for a few, especially to deepen the study of questions of ethnology and linguistics, it will have a specialized character.
The first formation is generally provided in the homeland in missionary colleges or designated houses and completed in the mission, so that the m. may properly learn not only the language but also the usages and customs of the people. In territories under colonial rule, the m., in addition to the indigenous languages, must also know the language of the governing authority. The intellectual formation of brothers and sisters must often include knowledge in the fields of the technical professions and health care, so that they may be better suited to develop the various works of charity and instruction.