''Saeculo exeunte'' is an

encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ...

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

in which he honors

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

at the celebration of its 800th anniversary. A large part of the encyclical deals with the missionary activities of Portugal and the need to modernize missionary work. It was given in Rome, June 13, 1940, in the second year of his pontificate.

Summary

The Pontiff reviews Portuguese history, mentioning among others explorers like

Henry the Navigator Princy Henry of Portugal, Duke of Viseu ( Portuguese: ''Infante Dom Henrique''; 4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator (), was a Portuguese prince and a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese ...

and

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

, who took missionaries along while making discoveries: Their illustrious example greatly inspired the Catholic world, including the spirited citizens of your fatherland, to promote more widely the works of the apostolate.

Afonso de Albuquerque Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa ( – 16 December 1515), was a Portuguese general, admiral, statesman and ''conquistador''. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across ...

and

João de Castro D. João de Castro (27 February 1500 – 6 June 1548) was a Portuguese nobleman, scientist, writer and colonial administrator, being the fourth Portuguese Viceroy of India from 1545 to 1548. He was called Strong Castro () by the poet Luís de C ...

governed the Portuguese colonies, giving protection and assistance to the Catholic missionaries. But now there is a shortage of missionary priests especially in Africa. The pope recommends missionary societies such as the ''Portuguese Society for the Promotion of the Catholic Foreign Missions,'' in order to improve the quality of preparation and training and interaction among clergy in missions. The selection of decent candidates is of special concern to Pius XII, who suggests that only persons with perfect character aptitudes should be sent. He appeals to the people of Portugal, to support their missionaries generously. He entrusts them and all of Portugal to the protection of

Our Lady of Fátima Our Lady of Fátima (, ; formally known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Fátima) is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus, based on the Marian apparitions reported in 1917 by three shepherd children at the Cova da Iria in Fátima, Portu ...

,''Saeculo exeunte'', 52 who, as Pius XII said in a radio address, may have aided in keeping Portugal out of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Significance

meant drastic reductions in Catholic missionary activities, as nationals from belligerent nations were either interned or expelled in Africa and Asia. Portugal was a

neutral country A neutral country is a sovereign state, state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, Collective Sec ...

and its missionaries could work relatively free from political reprisals. Therefore, Pius XII turned to Portugal in 1940, as one of the few Catholic countries which could help limit the consequences of the war in the missions.

References

External links

''Saeculo exeunte'' on the Vatican Website
{{Pope Pius XII, state=collapsed Encyclicals of Pope Pius XII Catholic theology and doctrine June 1940 in Europe 1940 documents 1940 in Christianity Cultural depictions of Vasco da Gama Cultural depictions of Henry the Navigator

Summary

Significance

See also

References

External links