Ad extremas

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Ad extremas is an encyclical of Pope Leo XIII. dated June 24, 1893, subtitled “On Seminars for Native Priests in Mission Countries”.

Welcome and introduction

In his introduction, the Pope recalled the missionary work of Saint Francis Xavier in China and praised his work for Christianization , especially of Hindus . He then presents possible ways to expand Christianity in the Far East .

Foundation of new dioceses

In close cooperation with the Portuguese authorities in India and Indochina as well as the Portuguese king, an agreement was reached in the " Apostolic Letter Humanae salutis" of September 1886 to establish the following church provinces:

Local priests

He describes the missionary work as difficult as long as there are no local priests and St. Francis Xavier has already expressed this opinion . This is also necessary because local priests know the rites and customs of the population and can therefore establish personal contact, because they know best when to talk or to remain silent. With these measures he promised himself a better spread of Christianity in India and demanded that the number of native priests should increase proportionally to the foreign priests. The persecution of Christians in Japan , China and Ethiopia could be significantly reduced if the local clergy succeeded in protecting the sacraments and conveying the gospel to the people through their language and knowledge of their native country . From his point of view, respect for nature and antiquity is also very important ; it is not about threats, but about conviction.

Establishment of seminaries

The synods of Colombo , Bangalore and Allahabad from 1887, with the consent of the Holy See , decided that seminars for local priests should be founded in the church provinces. The bishops should try to support these institutions financially and the seminarians could also study in other dioceses. No expense or effort should be spared in offering young men a thorough and good education.

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