HOW THE CATHOLIC FAITH CAME TO ASIA

A HISTORICAL PANORAMA

ASIAThe MISSIONARY CONTINENT “PAR

EXCELLENCE”

The most fascinating continent

Half of the world’s population

Half of the world’s nations

The most ancient traditions

The most advance

d societies

The birthplace of all major religions

“Natus in Asia”

“Because Jesus was born, lived, died and rose from the dead in the Holy Land, that small portion of western Asia became a land of promise and hope for all mankind. Jesus knew and loved this land, He made his own the history, the sufferings and hopes of its people…” (Ecclesia in Asia)

The growth of Christian Faith in AsiaThe Apostolic Period.

After Pentecost,th

e people of God began

their missionary journey on

the roads of the world-

towards the far corners

of the earth.

With St. Paul and St.

Peter, the gospel

message spread to

many countries

around the world.

And with the zeal of the martyrs of

the early Catholic

Church, the Christian

faith spread far and wide

- into the heart of Asia

The Jesus StoryHow it was told in South Asia

IND

IA

Longstanding tradition credits the Apostle Thomas with the introduction of Christianity in the Kerala area in the year AD 52.

The arrival of the Portuguese in 1510 in Goa which became their centre of mission marked a new phase in missionary endeavour.

Missionary Journey of St. Francis Xavier

St. Francis Xavier arrived in 1542, laying the foundation for Christian education and worship.

Robert De Nobili, who touched the city of Goa in 1605, was an indigenous foreigner and his work is an example of far sighted mission work and inculturation. Jesuits, Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, and members of other religious orders figured in the early missionary history of the country.

A large percentage of the Catholic population is located around Goa, Kerala, and further south.

The country is predominantly Hindu.However, the story of Jesus continues to be told with increasing fervour.

SR

I LA

NK

A

The Catholic mission began with the arrival of the Franciscans in 1543 and made great progress by the middle of the 17th century. The Jesuits arrived in 1602, and later Augustinians and Dominicans.In 1687, the Oratorian priest Fr. Joseph Vaz arrived and set to work to revive and reorganize the life of the vanishing Catholic community.

The Vicariate Apostolic of Ceylon was established in 1834.

NEPA

L

Some Jesuits passed through from 1628 and a few sections were evangelized in the 18th century.

The territory is a Prefecture Apostolic since 1996.

Conversion from Hinduism, the state religion, is not recognized by law and is punishable by imprisonment

The Jesus StoryHow it was told in East Asia

CH

INA

The story of Jesus was first told in China by missionaries from Syria. In 635, the Nestorian Syrian monk Alopen arrived. Three years later Emperor Taizhong of the Tang dynasty authorized Nestorian Christians to undertake missionary activity.The great religious crusade in Asia during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries dates from the Council of Lyons held in 1245 by Pope Innocent IV.

The Catholic Church is present in China since 1246 when Franciscan Giovanni Pian del Carpine went to the court of the Great Khan in Mongolia.

In 1294, another Italian Franciscan Giovanni da Montecorvino arrived and was became the first Archbishop of Beijing.

A further wave of missionaries followed in the 16th century with pioneers like Jesuits Matteo Ricci, Miguel Ruggieri and later Adam Schall.

In China, during almost 50 years of communist regime, persecution, and systematic harassment, the Catholic population has more than tripled.

During the Boxer revolution (1900), 30,000 Christians were killed for their faith

The passionate witness of those who live persecution with joy has brought many Chinese intellectuals to embrace the faith.

KO

REA

Evangelization began in the 18th century when some Korean lay people – Confucian scholars - became Christians after reading Christian texts found in Beijing.

In 1794 the first missionary priest, a Chinese, James Choo was able to enter Korea.

In 1831, Pope Leo XII created the Vicariate Apostolic of Korea.

The very first local Korean priest, Andrew Kim, ordained in China in 1845 was beheaded in his native Korea only one year after ordination for witnessing to his faith. Of the 93 canonized Korean martyrs only three were foreign missionaries.

Since Korea was divided (1953), the communist regime has made evangelization almost impossible in the north.

South Korea is the fourth largest population of Christians in Asia.

This local church records the highest number of adult baptisms per year and sends numerous missionaries to other countries. Conversions and vocations in Korea increase at an equal pace.

JAPA

N

Japan’s first contact with Christianity began with the arrival of Francis Xavier in 1549. By 1582 there were 200,000 faithful and 250 churches in Japan. In 1614, anti-Christian laws expelled missionaries, forbade the practice of Christianity under penalty of death. There followed a period of persecutions until 1873.In 1622 took place what was called the "great martyrdom", fifty-two chosen Christians being martyred at Nagasaki on the same day (2 Sept.), twenty-seven being decapitated, and the remainder being burned alive.

Catholic missions restarted their work in 1863. The year 1873 marked the beginning of a new freedom for Christians as Japan’s new pattern of society emerged.

On 11 August, 1884, an official decree proclaimed that there was no longer a state religion.

The 158 Japanese martyrs are witnesses of the convincing power of Jesus’ story in Japan.

The Jesus StoryHow it was told in South East

Asia

VIE

TN

AM

In 1580, Franciscans from the Philippines went to Cochinchina in Vietnam. 1615 saw the official opening of the Cochinchina mission.

Jesuit Alexander de Rhodes visited the country in 1627 and became the “Apostle of Vietnam”

117 of this immense multitude of heroes were beatified.

Persecutions against the Christians,for nearly three centuries, the 17th, 18th and the 19th with approximately 130,000 martyrs

Among the figures that have left a heroic and courageous witness of faith and an indelible trace in the hearts of the Vietnamese in the last few years, there is the Vietnamese Cardinal François Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan (1928-2002)

The Church in Vietnam, 3rd in Asia in number of Christians, is dynamic and confident despite a difficult situation under the communist regime.

PH

ILIP

PIN

ES

Ferdinand Magellan who claimed the island for Spain in 1521 introduced Christianity in the Philippines, and the Church here started with the telling of the story of Jesus by missionaries from Mexico and Spain.

The Roman Catholic Church was permanently established in 1565 by the expedition of the Augustinians. After them came the Franciscans, the Jesuits, and the Dominicans.

Within one hundred years the vast majority of the population was converted and thus was established the only Christian nation of Asia till the recent independence of East Timor. Nearly 85% of the population is Catholic. Bishop William Finnemann svd, is a modern example of living the story of Jesus in his life.

TH

AIL

AN

D

The first Catholic priests visited Siam in 1511 Two Dominican priests came in 1555 and were martyred 10 years later. A few Jesuits and Franciscans started work in 1607. .

The arrival of the French fathers in 1622 from the “Foreign Missions of Paris” (MEP) was a great contribution to the development of the Church and her activities.

Since the Second World War, the mission has expanded with missionaries from many nations and congregations. The sacred hierarchy was established in 1965.

There have always been very close relations between the Royal Court and the Holy See.

The Jesus StoryHow it was told in Central Asia

CENTRAL ASIAA BRIEF HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY

1st century - Asia Minor reached by Apostle Paul and companions.

1st-3rd century - Christianity spreads east to Persia and reaches western Caspian. 6th century - Huns are evangelized. Large numbers of Christians throughout Persia / Bactria / Turkestan.

7th/8th century - Muslim advance weakens church in Persia through conquest.

11th-13th century - Nestorianism made advances among Turkic tribes; Mongolian invasions weakened all religions in the region.

14th century - Catholics first began attempting to evangelize the area.Timur (Tamerlane) massacres Nestorians in the region, and Islam becomes dominant.

1453 - Constantinople falls to the Ottoman Turks

16th–19th century - Russian Empire spreads into Turkestan, attempts to spread Orthodoxy to Turkic peoples.

19th century - Protestant missionaries have first contacts with Turkish peoples with little success.

1917 - Communist revolution shuts out mission efforts.

1970s - New initiatives among evangelicals. 1980s - Non- residential missionary strategy and collapse of communism provides new current advance

AFG

HA

NIS

TA

N

The only country in the world where the Catholic Church has no structures of any kind.

The Nestorians planted Christianity here and there have been 9 bishops and dioceses in the region.

This early establishment of the Church was overcome by the Muslim conquest in the 7th century

All inhabitants are subject to the law of Islam. Christian missionaries are prohibited.

KA

ZH

AK

HS

TA

N

Catholic Population: about 200 000

KYR

GYZ

STA

N

Population: 5,213,898 Catholics: 300 Russian Orthodox: 20% Islam: 75%Others: 5%Priests: 1Men Religious : 3Women Religious: 4Parishes: 11

CONCLUSIONKEY INSIGHTS

The Catholic Church in Asia has given the largest number of martyrs.

Wherever there are missionaries or local Christians who for their faith bear fatigue, making of their life a gift to others, there the Church grows. The noticeable living testimony of "Christians" in Asia is a miracle worth celebrating.

Thank You