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Show CATHOLIC MISSIONS IN CHINA. (By Father Lambert in N. Y. Freeman's Free-man's Journal.) According to the Vera Roma a good authority on the subject there are in. China 581,775 Catholics, 3;119 churches and chapels, 693 European missionaries, mission-aries, .370 native priests, 2,739 schools and 34 seminaries. The Catholic mission in China is divided di-vided too five departments. The first comprises the Vicariates Apostolic of Northern, Southern, Eastern and West-. ern Chi-li; Northern Ho-nan, Manchuria, Manchu-ria, and Northern, Central, Eastern and Western Mongolia. The second comprises the Vicariates Apostolic of Kan-su, Northern and Southern Chien-see, Northern and Southern Chian-see, and Northern and Southern Chian-tong. The third comprises 4he Vicariates Apostolic of Chi-Chiang. Northern Ho-nan, Ho-nan, Northern and Southern Hu-nan, Eastern, Northwestern and boutnwesi-ern boutnwesi-ern Hu-pee, Kiang-nan and Northern, Southern and Eastern Kiang-see. The fourth comprises the Vicariates Apostolic of Northern, Southern and Eastern Sechuen, Tibet and Yun-nan. The fifth comprises the Vicariates of Amoy, Fo-kien, Hom-Kom, and the Prefectures Apostolic of Kuangse and Kanton. Southern Chien-see is under the charge of the Seminary of Sts. Peter and Paul of Aome, Amoy and Fo-kien belong to the Dominicans, Northern Hu-nan to the Augustinians, Southern Chi-li and Kiang-nan to the Jesuits, Eastern, Western and Southwestern Mongolia and Kiang-su to the Congregation Congre-gation of the Sacred Heart of Mary; Northern and Southwestern Chi-li, Chi-Klang, Chi-Klang, Northern Kiang-see, Southern Kiang-see, Western Kiang-see and Southern Kiang-see to the Congregation Congrega-tion of 'the Mission; Northern Chian-see, Chian-see, Southern Chian-see, Northern and Southern Chiang-tung, Southern Hunan, Hu-nan, Eastern Hu-pee. Northwestern Ilu-pee and Southwestern Hu-pee to the Franciscans; Manchuria. Southern Chiang tung, Kiu-chu Northwestern Se-chuen, Eastern Se-chuen, Southern Se-chuen, Tibet, Yunnan, Ki-am-se, Kiam-tung, 'to the Seminary of Foreign For-eign Missions at Paris, and lastly. Northern Ho-nan, Southern Ho-nan and Hong Kong to the Seminary of San Calcero at Milan. In connection with this subject the following, clipped from our Protestant contemporary, the Catholic Champion (Episcopalian), will prove interesting: "The Roman Church has been remarkably re-markably successful in its missions in China. A good idea of the great change which has taken place since the early years of this century can be obtained by reading the Abbe Hue's charming 'Voyages in China and Tar-tary.' Tar-tary.' With these few scattered, struggling Christians may be compared com-pared the flourishing condition of things described below. Some idea of the work of the Catholic Cath-olic missions in China may be gathered from the facts furnished by Father Scully. In one province alone, that of Kiang-Nan, not including Shanghai, the French Fathers of the order minister min-ister to fifty millions of population. These are divided into nineteen sec- I tions, which are suit-divided into ninety-eight districts. There is one Vicar Apostolic, 136 priests, twenty-one twenty-one of whom are natives; nineteen scholastics, seven of whom are Chinese; Chi-nese; twenty-seven brother coadjutors, twelve of whom are Chinamen. In all about two hundred Jesuit religions. In the same district there are twenty-two secular priests, twenty-nine seminarists seminar-ists and thirty-seven students. The Sisterhoods are represented by twenty-five twenty-five Carmelites, eighty-one Helpers of the Holy Souls, twenty-five Sisters of ' Charity and 116 Presentation Nuns. The missionaries are also assisted by 166 catechists, 532 masters and 611 mistresses mis-tresses of schools. These masters and mistresses teach in the chools, baptize lying infants, take charge of orphan asylums and keep the churches and missions in order. During the last year the Christians increased 5,000 in the province, and the number receiving receiv-ing instruction for entrance into the Church was lo,-". . There were 1,203 adults baptized ad 3,900 children of infidel parents. "At Za-Ka-Wei, eight kilometers from Shanghai, is the central directorate direc-torate of all these missions. There is a great seminary and college with 194 students. Connected with it is a magnetic mag-netic and meteorological observatory and a museum of natural history. A semi- weekly newspaper in Chinese is published and has 2,600 subscribers. The Messenger of the Sacred Heart, also in Chinese, is issued monthly, and has a subscription list of 2,900. At Tou-Se-We, half a kilometer from the directorate, is a European Chinese printing office, a foundry, carpenter shop, scupltors and painters studios, tailoring and shoemaking shops, so that an industrial education accompanies accom-panies the religious and intellectual training. At Sen-Mon-Yeu there is a school of medicine, and over the entire en-tire district there are orphan asylums, hospitals, homes for the aged and catechumens, day and boarding schools, pious societies, including 15,-000 15,-000 members of rosary societies and 25,-000 25,-000 associates of the Apostleship of Prayer. There are Conferences of St. Vincent de Paul throughout the region." |