all ages met death with a faith, simplicity, and courage, the recital of which brings tears to the eyes.
The Present.
The mission to-day may be said to consist actually of one diocese, Macao, suffragan of the archdiocese of Goa (India), and 43 missions, which depend immediately on the Pope, through the Congregation of Propaganda. Of these, 38 are vicariates apostolic, four are prefectures, and one, Ili or Kuldja, is a simple mission. All, except three, are governed by bishops, and as three bishops have coadjutors, the total number of bishops is 44.
The care of each of these missions is placed exclusively under the control of one missionary body, and no other order of priests is allowed to work within the same field. This arrangement has done much to avoid friction and maintain union and fraternal charity. It does not extend to lay congregations, e.g., of teaching brothers or nuns.
THE TWELVE MISSIONARY SOCIETIES.
The Paris Society for Foreign Missions.—This is the most important missionary association in the Far East. Its missions in China form two groups of unequal importance—the Manchurian group comprising two vicariates only, and the south-western group with three vicariates in Szechwan, one in Kweichow, one in Yunnan, one in Thibet including the Thibetan borders of Szechwan, and the two prefectures of Kwangtung and Kwangsi. A part of Kwangtung, however, belongs to the diocese of Macao, and to the vicariate apostolic of Hongkong.
The Thibetan vicariate has a station at Darjeeling, in India, and several in Yunnan and Szechwan, but Thibet proper is not yet open to missionary work.
The Society has "procurations," or agencies, in Hongkong and Shangai, with a sanatorium and a large printing office in Hongkong. It includes 11 bishops, 399 French priests, 170 Chinese priests, 256,779 baptized converts, and more than 80,000 catechumens or worshippers ("adorateurs"). The more flourishing centres of these missions are at Szechwan and Kweichow. The work extends also to the aboriginal tribes of Southwest China.
Franciscan Friars of various branches.—Their field of work extends over eastern and northern Shantung, Shansi, the greater part of Shensi, Hupeh, and southern Hunan. They have 11 bishops, 176 foreign and 121 Chinese priests, 149,424 converts, and over 74,000 catechumens.
Lazarists or Vincentians.—These, also called priests of the mission, actually evangelise the greater part of Chihli, where they have three vicariates; the whole of Kiangsi, which forms three vicariates, also; and Chekiang, which has not been divided. The northern group is very promising; indeed, it is the most promising in China, especially since the Boxer troubles. The city of Peking alone contains nearly 7,000 Christians. The increase in the diocese was nearly 15,000 from July, 1906. to June, 1907. The Visitor-General and procurators reside in Shanghai. There is a general seminary at Kashing (Chekiang). The Vincentians have 7 bishops, 158 foreign priests (a few of whom are secular priests) and 113 Chinese priests, 216,948 converts, and about 54,000 catechumens. In the vicariate of Peking there is a Cistercian monastery with 6 foreign and 5 Chinese priests and 65 monks, most of whom are Chinese. They do not engage in missionary work proper.
The Jesuits have two missions—one in the south-eastern part of Chihli and the other comprising the two provinces of Kiangsu and Anhwei (Kiangnan mission). There are 2 bishops, 179 foreign priests, 80 Chinese priests, 226,542 converts, and 103,000 catechumens. The prefecture of Sungkiang, in which falls the district of Shanghai, is the most densely-populated with Christians throughout the whole Empire. Next comes Paotingfu in the vicariate of Peking. The respective totals are 58,336 and 44,777.
Belgian Missions (Congregation of Scheutveldt, near Brussels).—The immense territory extending from the Great Wall, near Shanhaikwan, to the borders of Russian Turkestan, and including the extra-mural parts of Chihli, Shansi, and Shensi, as well as Ninghiafu (Kansu), is entrusted to this congregation, which has three vicariates in Mongolia, one vicariate and one prefecture in Kansu, and a mission in distant Ili. This last is practically for the care of the descendants of the martyrs who were exiled to Turkestan in the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth centuries. There are in Ili about 300 Christians, and their number seems to remain almost stationary. In the other vicariates the converts are mostly Chinese, the native Mongol tribes having so far paid little heed to the gospel news. The Ortos Mongols have 496 converts and 178 catechumens; the native Fangtze of Kansu have none. There are 4 bishops, 170 Belgian priests, 37 Chinese priests, 56,780 converts, and 18,000 catechumens. The General Procuration is in Shanghai.
Diocese of Macao (Secular Clergy).—This diocese, which, as has been said, depends on the archdiocese of Goa, and not on the Propaganda, comprises the Portuguese colony, the adjacent district of Hungshan, in Kwangtung, the islands of Hainan and Timor, and the Portuguese population of Singapore. In Chinese territory there are a bishop and 66 foreign and 8 Chinese priests, some of whom form a regular chapter, the only one in China. The number of Christians is 27,930, a large part of whom are of Portuguese descent.
Dominican Friars.—These have two vicariates in the province of Fokien, including Formosa. Excluding the island from consideration there are 2 bishops, 54 foreign priests, 17 Chinese priests, 51,299 Christians, and 30,000 catechumens. The vicariate of Foochow is much more important than that of Amoy, which was only established in 1883.
German Missionaries of Steyl (Congregation of the Divine Word).—There is one vicariate in the German colony of Kiaochau with all the adjoining prefectures. The centre is at Yenchowfu. It counts one bishop, 52 German, and 12 Chinese priests, 39,370 converts, and 43,300 catechumens.
Foreign Missions of Milan.—There are three of these missions in China—two in Honan and one in Hongkong—to which are annexed the three adjoining districts of Kwangtung. The missions have 2 procurators—one at Hongkong and another at Hankow—3 bishops, 35 Italian and 25 Chinese priests, 31,627 Christians, and 10,800 catechumens.
Spanish Augustinian Mission of North Hunan.—There is a procuration at Shanghai and another at Hankow, with one bishop, 27 Spanish, and 2 Chinese priests, 2,677 Christians, and 3,300 catechumens.
Seminary of St. Peter and St. Paul (Rome).—That part of Shensi which is south of the Tsingling Mountains was separated from the Franciscan mission in 1887, and entrusted to the Roman Seminary for Foreign Missions with one bishop, 15 Italian and 2 Chinese priests, 11,489 Christians, and 6,300 catechumens.
Seminary of St. Francis Xavier (Parma).—Part of western Honan was entrusted to this seminary two years ago. It forms a prefecture apostolic, but, so far, only 8 Italian priests are carrying on work there. They can claim about 1,055 Christians and double that number of catechumens.
| Bishops… | … | … | 44 | 1,981 | |
| Foreign priests | … | … | 1,345 | ||
| Chinese priests | … | … | 592 | ||
| Baptized Christians | … | … | 1,071,920 | ||
| Catechumens … | … | … | 426,000 |
The annual increase in the number of baptized Christians is now about 8 per cent., and amounted last year to more than 80,000. The proportion varies very much in different parts of China, but is increasing.
The number of baptized Christians in the several provinces in 1907, irrespective of the ecclesiastical divisions, was as under:—
| Chihli…… | 217,947 | Anhwei… | 27,992 | |
| Kiangsu… | 136,096 | Kweichow … | 25,368 | |
| Szechwan and Thibet | 119,961 | Chekiang … | 25,126 | |
| Kwangtung … | 102,125 | Shenking … | 20,628 | |
| Shantung … | 72,838 | Honan… | 18,487 | |
| Hupeh… | 52,549 | Kirin and Heilungkiang | 15,823 | |
| Fokien… | 51,299 | Yunnan… | 11,389 | |
| Mongolia and Ili | 48,495 | Hunan… | 9,176 | |
| Kiangsi… | 36,329 | Kangsu… | 7,985 | |
| Shensi… | 35,881 | Kwangsi… | 3,610 | |
| Shansi… | 32,516 | Sinkiang… | 300 |
Mongolia includes the outer parts of Chihli, Shansi, and Shensi, but does not include Ninghiafu.
HELPERS.
In addition to the clergy proper there are—
| Ecclesiastical students preparing for orders, Chinese or foreigners | … | 1,120 |
| Religieux, other than priests, foreigners | … | 229 |
| Religieux, other than priests, Chinese | … | 130 |
| Nuns, foreigners | … | 558 |
| Nuns, Chinese | … | 1,300 |
| Schoolmasters, other than religieux[1] | … | 4,160 |
| Schoolmistresses, other than nuns[2] | … | 3,282 |
| Native preachers (catechists)[3] | … | 4,350 |
There are many other helpers, paid and unpaid, the number of whom cannot be given on account of the different organisation of the various missions. In the Kiangnan mission, for instance, there are about 800 secular "virgins," that is to say, women who, living in their family, take no vows, but openly profess to remain unmarried. They are employed by the mission sometimes as school-mistresses and sometimes as caretakers of orphan asylums, or in visiting the sick, taking care of the chapels, &c.
Though the Chinese priests are as much priests as any Catholic priest, still in several missions the more important functions are, as a rule, entrusted only to foreign priests. But a Chinese priest may have foreign priests under his control, and is of superior dignity to any unordained foreigner. In addition to priests there are religieux of four kinds, viz., those who are destined for the priesthood, but are not yet ordained; those who belong to an order having priests
