All About The Fantastic Catholic Missionary Rosary
You want to know more about the Missionary Rosaries , then wait no more and continue reading all about the fantastic Catholic missionary rosary.
What is a Traditional Rosary?
Said prayer is one of the oldest and best-known devotions among the religion of Catholicism, it dates back to Santo Domingo Guzmán who was the founder of the Dominican order for the realization of the prayer. Despite this, the one who actually managed to make this rosary known was Pope Saint Pius V through a Bull in 1569, said man completely shaped the rosary and was used for more than five centuries, discovering more than fifteen mysteries of pain, glory and joy, then for the year 2002 Pope John Paul II added to this rosary, five new mysteries that were called the mysteries of light.
What does the Missionary Rosary mean?
Within what is the life of the rosaries, it can be understood that this is specifically a way of praying that involves a part of the Traditional Rosary, where by conciliation of Mary the Lord is begged to be present for everyone in their needs and intentions. Said prayer is considered a universal and missionary Marian prayer which is structured in the same way as the traditional rosary, that is, it has five mysteries which in each of them must be entrusted to the continents and which each one has different colors from a missional view.
Colors of the Missionary Rosary
Within what is the missionary rosary , you can find the five mysteries reflecting the colors and continents of the world, each one of them reveals who or who should be prayed for, the colors are:
In the first mystery you will find the green color representing the continent of Africa which reminds us of the beautiful color of the jungles that are inhabited by Africans, with this you should pray for all those churches in Africa so that once evangelical they can convert to others.
With the second mystery is the red color that represents the American continent which symbolizes all that blood shed by the fallen who gave their lives for the culture of that continent. With this we pray to the churches of America which give hope to be missionaries of Christ and we can take religion to other continents.
In the third mystery, the European continent will be found, symbolized by the white color, which shows the original Aryan race and all the Pope’s vestments. With this, each church is prayed to unify them in a single belief that is that of the Lord all. powerful, faith and baptism. For the fourth mystery, the continent of Oceania is found, which shows the thousands of islands within the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean, with this one prays for the continent and its inhabitants so that they can join the Catholic Church and achieve possession the missionary spirit
Finally, mystery number five will be found, which represents the yellow color for the Asian continent, which gives recognition to Asia’s wealth and its large population, as it is the last, one must pray for each of the inhabitants, since it is where almost half of humanity lives get the perpetual catholic faith.
How to Pray the Missionary Rosary
Within the missionary prayer it must be performed in a corresponding way which gives the certainty that it is such a rosary, mainly it begins with the typical cross sign, that is, from the forehead to the chest and from the left to the right, then You should pray a prayer of forgiveness or in this case the prayer of condolences in order to be able to pray the mystery that is due depending on the day.
Said mysteries are prayed in the following way: on Monday and Saturday it is time to pray the Joyful Mysteries, on Tuesday and Friday it is time to pray the Sorrowful Mysteries, then on Wednesday and Sunday it is time to pray the Glorious Mysteries and finally on Thursdays You must pray the luminous mysteries. At the end of the prayer of the corresponding mystery, an Our Father and ten Hail Marys and a Glory be prayed so that God can be present before all the generous spirits, whether or not they are devoted to him, in order to achieve peace in their lives. Then, if desired, the prayer can be continued with the following prayer to close the mystery:
«Lord, You have wanted your Church to be a sacrament of salvation for all men, so that the redemptive work of Christ perseveres until the end of time; Move now the hearts of your faithful and grant us the grace to feel that you call us urgently to work for the salvation of the world, so that, from all nations, one people, one family, consecrated to your name, may be formed and developed. . Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Mysteries of the Missionary Rosary
Within each mystery there are five prayers which are made in a series as follows:
In the Joyful Mysteries, the first mystery is prayed to the annunciation of the angel to Mary, in the second mysteries the prayer is made to the visit of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth, then in the third mystery the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem is prayed. , already in the fourth mystery is prayed to the presentation of the Child Jesus in the temple and finally the fifth mystery is prayed to Jesus lost and found in the temple.
In the Sorrowful Mysteries, the prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Olives is given in the first mystery, then in the second mystery there is the prayer of the scourging of Jesus, in the third mystery the prayer is where Jesus is crowned with thorns, already in the fourth mystery is the prayer where Jesus carries the cross on his back to Calvary and finally prays the crucifixion and death of Jesus.
Within the Glorious Mysteries the prayers are performed as follows, in the first mystery the resurrection of Jesus is performed, in the second mystery the ascension of Jesus to heaven is made, and in the third the descent of the Holy Spirit is realized about Mary and the Apostles, in the fourth mystery the assumption of the Blessed Virgin into heaven is made and for the fifth it culminates with the coronation of the Virgin as Queen of all creation.
Finally, in the Luminous Mysteries, the first mystery is prayed to the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, then the second mystery is the prayer of Jesus and Mary at the Wedding at Cana, the third mystery is the I pray where Jesus announces the Kingdom of God inviting conversion, for the fourth mystery the prayer is taken to the Transfiguration of Jesus and finally to the fifth mystery the prayer is given to the institution of the Eucharist.
What is Requested within the Joyful Mysteries?
On what the Joyful Mysteries are based, depending on each prayer of the five internal mysteries, it should be requested differently for each continent in the following way:
For the first mystery, the Blessed Virgin is asked to protect all the missionaries found on the African continent so that just as the same Word incarnated before all humanity, the same message is brought to all religious and continues to be instilled in every existing generation in African lands. The second mystery should be asked of the Virgin Mary so that she can be present in all the peoples of the American continent and thus help at every moment that is necessary, but it is also so that she can be with her son on the path, the truth and life.
For the third mystery, we pray for the European continent so that all the leading churches of the gospel may always have their vitality and thus be open to the other generations corresponding to the exchanges that exist between young people. In the fourth mystery, we pray to the Virgin Mary for herself to calm all the ills that all those elderly people in Oceania and all over the world have, taking away their inconvenience and showing them the world of God so that they can be faithful to them for their eternal peace. and salvation.
As far as the fifth mystery is concerned, a prayer is made for the great Asian peoples and for the wisdom of all humans to believe perfectly in each message that is given to them by the missionaries. Not to mention that it is also requested by the mother of the true God in which she can help everyone by giving them beautiful paths to find tranquility.
What is Requested within the Sorrowful Mysteries?
Within the painful mysteries, each internal mystery is asked for different topics, for the first mystery the Great Lord is usually asked for the African continent, since every day it suffers and there is blood shed among them for being racial victims and of little conscience possessed by every institutionalized man. With this, they are given help and contemplation towards God, giving them the freedom to pray for him and thus be able to let go of all those souls in pain who have not had rest due to the way they die.
For the second mystery, the Holy Mary of Guadalupe is asked to help reach everyone in solidarity with others, whether they are poor or not, who are in the struggle to survive within the world for justice and dignity that they possess. In the third mystery, Christ is asked for being the king within the universe to help the people of the European continent to recover their faith so that they can spread the kingdom of God throughout the world giving unique peace and love.
Upon reaching the fourth mystery, God is asked to help convert everyone into his missionaries, mainly those who work in Oceania. Finally, in the fifth mystery, God is asked to help the Asian continent to see the grace of salvation that it exists within each one, since within this continent day by day there are many victims of injustice.
What is Requested within the Glorious Mysteries?
In the part of the Glorious Mysteries you can see how each internal mystery is prayed for different circumstances, within the first mystery is prayed for the African people, since they live in very inhuman situations due to deaths day by day, not to mention that they also they are in famine and endless wars between different ethnic groups. That is why Jesus Christ is asked to help them so that they can have light in their days and thus not suffer.
For the second mystery, the Virgin Mary is asked to manage to intercept young people who are not within the religion so that they can find the right path to a world of good life and a religion faithful to the Lord, already for the third mystery is requested by the Pope, the bishops and all the European churches so that they possess the Holy Spirit with them, giving him his protection and rejuvenating the entire population.
In the fourth mystery, devotion is given to Mary, mother of Jesus, since with her maternal protection she accompanied the missionaries to heaven to protect them from all evil that they encountered along the way, for this reason she is asked to help to all the devotees and non-devotees of the different islands of Oceania and thus be able to experience what their help is in front of God with redemption. Finally, there is the fifth mystery where the Virgin Mary is prayed to, since she is the queen of earth and heaven, who helps take care of all the inhabitants of Asia, who see what the kingdom of God is like, giving them a formation of a new and perfect covenant with Christ.
What is requested within the Luminous Mysteries?
As for the Luminous Mysteries, it can be said that among its five internal mysteries they have somewhat similar themes but each one is destined for each continent, so that in the first mystery the inhabitants with the lowest resources in Africa are asked for, giving them thus prayers of strength so that they can listen to the voice of God and feel peace before the eminent racial fights.
Within the second mystery, it is possible to ask Jesus who cares for all the American peoples so that he can manifest himself whenever he is needed and thus be able to see what is necessary to understand that it is in good faith to be able to trust him. For the third mystery he is asked to protect all the missionaries of the European churches and to be in his presence and achieve conversion.
Upon reaching the fourth mystery, he is asked by all the men of Oceania so that they can unite towards the religion and love of God and thus be able to meet him at the time of death. Finally, the fifth mystery is prayed to be present in all Asian peoples and never lack food in each house to avoid hunger and extreme misery.
Missionary Litanies
In all the internal prayers to the mysteries of the missionary rosary, various litanies can be found that are usually recited by the person speaking or by the priest himself, waiting for a response from the listeners. The litanies found in this rosary are the following:
- Lord have mercy – have mercy Lord
- Christ have mercy – have mercy Lord
- Christ, hear us – Christ, hear us
- God, heavenly Father – have mercy on us.
- God the Son – Redeemer of the world
- God, Holy Spirit – Holy Trinity, one God
- Holy Mary – Pray for us.
- Holy Mother of God – Holy Virgin of Virgins
- Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church, of divine grace, most pure, most chaste, always virgin, immaculate, kind, admirable, of good advice, of the Creator, of the Savior and of mercy – Pray for us
- Most prudent Virgin, worthy of veneration, worthy of praise, powerful, merciful and faithful – Pray for us
- Mirror of justice – Throne of wisdom and Cause of our joy
- Spiritual vessel, worthy of honor, of distinguished devotion – Rosa mystica
- Tower of David – Tower of Ivory
- House of Gold – Ark of the Covenant
- Heaven’s Gate- Morning Star
- Health of the Sick – Refuge of Sinners
- Comforter of the afflicted – Help of Christians
- Blessed Clementina Anuarite – Pray for Africa
- Blesseds and Saints of the New World – Pray for America
- Blesseds and Saints of the Old World – Pray for Europe
- Blesseds and Saints of the innumerable Islands – Pray for Oceania
- Blesseds and Holy Martyrs of China and Japan – Pray for Asia
- Queen of the Angels, of the Patriarchs, of the Prophets, of the Apostles, of the Martyrs, of the Confessors, of the Virgins, of all the Saints, conceived without original sin, assumed into Heaven, of the Most Holy Rosary, of the family and Queen of peace – Pray for us
- Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world – Forgive us, Lord.
- Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world – Hear us, Lord.
- Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world – Have mercy on us.
- Pray for us, Holy Mother of God – Pray for us that we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.
How to Pray the Missionary Rosary for Children?
It can be said that being able to make a missionary rosary for children consists of very simple and emblematic steps, since each child who participates in the prayer will be able to remember it without any problem. The correct way to make a missionary rosary is:
Get the participation of five boys or girls so that they can represent each continent, in addition to praying the Our Father in each different mystery corresponding to their continent. Along with this, fifty boys or girls must also be presented, who are the ones who will represent each Hail Mary that is made within the rosary. Every ten children must dress in the colors of the continents, that is, ten in green, ten in yellow, ten in red, ten in white and ten in blue, with them, in addition to their way of dressing, they must also have a balloon full of helium to launch it at the end of the recitation of the rosary of the continent.
It must be taken into account that this missionary rosary is carried out in the same way at a universal level, since this is an ecclesial prayer and has a unique structure, in addition to this it is highly recommended by the Popes, so children, youth and adults usually praying it and participating in it without problems for this is considered completely missionary.
At the beginning of the prayer for children, the father begins with a brief word where he talks about God stating that the will is to try to understand that being able to pray is the most important of religion and with him the prayers must be presented. Then he may be silent before beginning with each continent so that he can receive the mantle of God for the purification of each heart within the place.
At the beginning the mysteries are usually very brief and concise, which gives children the possibility of not getting bored, first they begin with the first mystery that deals with humility where the Incarnation of the Son of God is fixed. Here the children dressed in green participate to represent the African continent and the sacred color of the Muslims, at the end of the prayer the ten corresponding Maria birds are made, one for each child and then finish with the following prayer to launch the balloons:
“With a heart full of affection for Africa, so much in need of divine help, let us raise our prayers so that this land may be filled with graces and blessings. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen”
In the second mystery, it is based on charity, which is why the Visitation is seen. In this mystery, the ten yellow children participate, which represent the rising sun and what is the entire Asian continent where the oldest civilizations are. Then the Hail Marys are prayed in order to finish with the following prayer:
“Oh, Virgin of tenderness, call these numerous children of yours to the doctrine of Jesus and may the blood of his numerous martyrs be the seed of new Christians. Amen”
For the third mystery it is related to the Birth of the Lord and poverty, with this the color red is seen showing the blood of all innocent deaths and by the first red-skinned inhabitants within the American continent. At the end of the corresponding prayer, it ends with the following prayer:
“Oh, our Mother of Guadalupe, intercede for your children in Latin America so that, through your son, they may find true liberation. Amen.”
For the fourth mystery, obedience is represented with the Presentation of Jesus to the Temple where the white color that fixes the race of the European continent, the clothing of the Pope and finally the Holy Father who guides Christians is seen. At the end, the following prayer is said:
“Oh, Most Holy Virgin, grant to all these brothers of ours in Europe the will to rekindle their faith in Jesus Christ so that they may once again be missionaries like in past centuries. Renew their family life, give them bold and wise leaders and put in their hearts the humanity necessary to go beyond their borders. Amen”
Finally, in the fifth mystery, piety is spoken of with the Child Found in the Temple, thereby revealing the blue color which reflects the continent of Oceania for all the islands it possesses, since it is the last one that is performed at ten o’clock. Hail Mary together with an Our Father and a Glory to culminate with a simple prayer that is:
“Oh, Virgin of the Seas, as a good Mother, lead all your children to meet your Divine Son so that they may have salvation. Do not allow your missionaries to lose heart or the certainty that one day living and apostolic communities will also spring up in Oceania. Amen
Lord, you want all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, send many and fervent missionaries to the whole world so that all men may know you and honor you, the only true God, and your sent Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives forever and ever. Amen.”
Information of the African Continent
Within this continent, one usually lives in a space full of much violence, since among the various existing tribes they usually face each other in completely bloody wars for space fights, in addition to the fact that racism also exists, so there are imminent deaths between whites and blacks for the fact of freeing those who are as slaves despite the fact that at present that law has already been eliminated.
Keep in mind that despite all the wars there are already different African countries which are already completely independent today, this was given thanks to European colonization within the corresponding centuries. Seeing this liberation causes a very strong oppression in the economic part and in cultural development because despite being free they are in total poverty, leading them to be from forty least developed countries they have thirty-one countries in low economic development.
The Church in Africa
With respect to the churches in this continent, it can be seen to the north of it during the first centuries how the Muslims who founded the religion of monasticism are introduced, currently in the Catholic Church it is monitored, since only fourteen per percent of the population is Catholic. Not to mention that in the nineteenth century, various missionaries from Europe arrived in Africa with the proposal of bringing religion to this continent. With respect to the churches of Africa, they are taken as the youngest but with the greatest growth despite the struggles and persecutions by other religions, many gave their lives to testify before this religion.
Within religion on the continent there are many priests, bishops, large crowds of religious, catechists and various devout people who become the main animators of religions, when this happens Africa usually always returns with more than fourteen thousand missionaries.
Information of the American Continent
As far as this continent is concerned, it is possible to see infinity of poverty without counting on the dependency and separation between people, despite this said continent is among many riches but the inhabitants do not usually have the initiative to exploit them. Within the continent, more than forty-five percent is low-income, which makes it the country in the world with a very large inequality between the rich and the poor that is growing every year.
Within the countries of Latin America, they are very dependent on what the European countries and the United States are, which leads to a debt from 1975 to the present of more than eight hundred billion dollars, not to mention that there is only the eleven percent of the indigenous people who become survivors of colonization in addition to being judged for defending themselves and maintaining themselves as a people.
The Churches in America
In this continent it is always possible to see the existence of great wealth and extreme poverty in addition to seeing advanced technologies within a life of overproduction, hunger and very primitive. For this reason, religious ideas are very different, since on the one hand people from the north are usually Protestant while the south of Latin America is almost completely Catholic.
Despite this, between both the north and the south there are countless religions where missionaries are needed to give God’s message to Catholicism, which is why the American Catholic Church is marked as the largest in the world, so so that half live in America today having more than eight hundred million inhabitants and four hundred and seventy-nine Catholics.
Between the development of Christianity within the continent, what was the Spanish colony was maintained for a long time, but despite this, there was a lack of deepening and social union to give acculturation and thus achieve trust in local churches. Therefore, when religion arrived in America and saw the rejection of indigenous cultures and the impositions of the Christian faith, a way was sought to inculturate the faith in order to overcome all divisions and racial hatreds and create a miscegenation where Latin American was born.
More than five hundred years have passed since the arrival of religion on the continent, which is why the majority of Catholics at times tend to lose faith in a way of disorientation, since sects and different advances of materialism are seen leading to the need to possess a deeper evangelization. In order to be able to combat all these different phenomena, it is very necessary that believers take the vow of faith as Catholics to give construction of a faith completely God and leaving aside indigenous peoples and racism and coexist in groups between black whites and mestizos no problem.
In such a way, a great change has been seen in the continent, since faith is taken to those who are not yet in devotion and who are willing to be able to be within the mantle of God to be loyal and have faith towards him. In this continent there have been great awakenings within the ecclesiastical communities, poor, social justice and in ecumenism,
Despite this, it is also very true that missionaries and priests are still needed, but within the figures of the situation after Africa, this is the second continent that has a minimum number of priests, leading to the fact that there is only one priest for each three thousand nine hundred seventy-eight Catholics, while unlike other continents there is only one priest for every two thousand five hundred Catholics.
Information of the European Continent
In general, for many years, most of the most developed countries have been in that continent, of course there is also a minimum poverty that does not affect such great development, said continent is divided into more than thirty states that do not have equality and that They have managed to lose great importance in the world of politics, but even so, they continue to be in a symbolic way those who managed to colonize a very large part of the world.
Within the last centuries, different states have become independent, mainly in the east of the continent, which is why they have given an instability that is very difficult to overcome, since there are various violent problems between the countries of Armenia, Croatia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, among others. Not to mention that this joins the large foreign inhabitants who raise unemployment rates generating racism and xenophobia in various countries such as Sweden, France, Australia and Germany.
The Churches in Europe
Within the world of European religion, you can see completely what the world of Christianity and Catholicism is, which are from the decade of the apostle Paul, who stepped on European lands when the apostle Peter arrived in Rome. Then, over the years, said continent has been transformed into what is the great center of brilliance of the Gospel, taking into account that thanks to this the initiative was taken that the ecclesiastical church be given in Rome from the beginning said church It is better known as the Vatican City, when this decision happens, Catholicism is taken as the official religion of Europe.
Over time, countless missionaries have been sent to give the word of God to the other continents, but despite this, today in Europe only 40% of the population is seen as Catholic. Despite this decrease in devout people, this continent also has the largest number of missionaries.
Oceania Continent Information
Oceania is the most unknown of all the continents, it is also the least populated continent, it has twenty-nine million inhabitants for an area of eight and a half million square kilometers. As its name suggests, this continent is about more sea than land. It consists of millions of islands which are scattered throughout the largest ocean of all, the Pacific Ocean.
One of the most important aspects of this continent is its mosaic of cultures, religions and races, this for many centuries was populated by a large number of tribes, approximately five thousand which had their own culture, indigenous religions and dialects. This is a continent that has great differences and contrasts compared to Australia, which has nineteen million inhabitants and is constituted by a totally separate kingdom. After this, New Zealand continues with a population of five million inhabitants, in addition to the fact that it has the island groups of Micronesia, Polynesia, and Melanesia.
In Australia, as in the Pacific islands, there is a large population of Aborigines. The indigenous Maori in New Zealand consist of a large population of approximately three hundred and twenty thousand, there are also French, English, Chinese, Indian, Irish, Filipino and Vietnamese. Besides English and French many local languages are spoken of which many of them have developed in such a way that many of them have been accepted as official language.
In political aspects on the continent there are a large number of independent states, of which the Monarchical Kingdom of Tonga is among them, but also in this one there is also a French Oceania, an English Oceania and an American Oceania. The Oceanic continent must face a series of challenges which begin with:
- Increasing urbanization and highly advanced industrialization in both New Zealand and Australia.
- Secularization and dissemination of all communication media in addition to the moral relativism that is affecting the family and education.
- The impact that exists between traditional culture and modernization.
- The hasty spread of spiritual aspects of the new age and those sects with aggressive proselytizing tactics.
The Churches in Oceanica
The continent has a population of almost twenty-five million inhabitants, the vast majority of whom still do not know the Good News of salvation. Among its inhabitants, Catholics comprise only twenty-seven percent of the total population, in addition to which the great majority of the inhabitants are Protestant and among them there are Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim minorities. When the Spaniards arrived in these islands, the first European who touched the islands of Oceania was the Portuguese Magellan in 1529. After that, at the end of the eighteenth century, the English demanded control of several of their oceanic territories, which by taking Possession of these they transplanted into their civilization and their language.
The first missionaries who were relatively stable were the Protestants but these for many years were not allowed to enter the Catholics. They arrived in 1827. One of the biggest obstacles they encountered on this continent was that the indigenous inhabitants had made themselves of the white man as if they were an exploiter, which in some cases caused violent reactions, and many of the missionaries they irrigated with their blood the communities that they were founding, among these we could mention, San Pedro Channel, French Marist in the year 1841, the first Saint and the Patron Saint of Oceania and the Blessed Juan Mazzucconi, Italian, in the year 1855. One of the fathers who were there, Father Damien, a Belgian missionary, died of leprosy in 1889 at the age of forty-eight,
Generally, the heroism of the missionaries who have worked arduously on this continent in very difficult conditions is never given enough value, they are often condemned to loneliness due to the lack of communications that exist on the continent, and in the past, these they were rivals with the Protestant English.
Among the large number of missionaries who have worked, lived, and died on this continent was Father Damián Veuster, who had Belgian nationality, Father Damián Veuster worked in Molokai, an island that was between Honolulu and Hawaii, where they lived a very high number of lepers in both physical and moral misery. At that time, Father Damien became a leper with the lepers, in order to win them all to the Lord Jesus Christ. He dies finished by leprosy and by a life of total dedication to the missionaries.
Currently there is a good number of missionaries who work hard on this continent, but these are not enough for the great task that exists of evangelization. The main difficulties encountered by the missionaries are due to the configuration of the continent, since it is made up of a large number of islands.
- Difficulty in being able to transmit the Christian message to the different peoples all of the islands, the missionaries in order to transmit their message must learn multiple languages and dialects that are unique to each island of the continent.
- Difficulty in being able to carry out visits to the communities, they must travel from one island to another, for which they must travel thousands of kilometers over the waters of the Pacific Ocean.
- Another difficulty is the division, this prevents the missionaries from contact and communication between small Christian communities that have emerged over time, especially in Australia and on many other islands.
The Church during a period of a century and a half (one hundred and fifty years) grew very rapidly and today it has seven million seven hundred and sixty Catholics, with seventy-seven dioceses and one hundred and twelve bishops, of whom among these seventy-four they are local, and some of them are even descendants of aboriginals, it has five thousand priests, two thousand one hundred and fifty-two religious who are not priests, twelve thousand one hundred and thirty-seven brothers, two hundred and thirty-one lay missionaries and six thousand eight hundred catechists.
These statistics show us a Church that is well established and with a good structure, which allows us to look with new hope at the long road that still needs to be traveled. In this there are four Episcopal Conferences, Australia, Papua, New Guinea and New Zealand, which meet to form a Federation in order to strengthen the bonds of the mission and to organize different plans with common goals.
We can say that most, if not all, Catholics in Australia show a pure missionary spirit, and they provide very remarkable help in educational and health aspects to all their neighbors in the Pacific islands. Currently thirty Australian missionaries in New Guinea and Papua, thirty missionaries in the Fiji Islands and ninety missionaries in other mainland islands. In addition, New Zealand also sends missionaries to support those who are already there to support Christian missions.
Pope John Paul II, who follows the great example of Paul VI who in 1970 visited Australia as well as the island of Samoa, made four trips to the Churches of the oceanic continent, in 1981 he traveled to Guam where he beatified Father Diego Luis de San Vitores, a Spanish Jesuit martyred in 1672, this in the Mariana Islands, in 1984 the Pope traveled to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. In 1986 he traveled to New Zealand, to the Fiji Islands and Australia, and finally in 1995 he traveled again to New Guinea to carry out the beatification of the heroic catechist Peter To Rot who gives his life as a testimony of all his faith during their Japanese occupation in the last war.
At present there is a total of twenty-nine million inhabitants, and only seven million of said inhabitants are Catholic, which represents twenty-four percent of the total inhabitants, forty-two percent belong to the different Protestant churches, and the rest of the population is divided into different small native religions.
Despite the fact that this is the continent with the smallest population in the world, this is one of those with the largest percentage of priests, currently on the continent there is one priest for every one thousand three hundred and eighty-five Catholics, unlike the rest of the world in which there is an average of one priest for every two thousand three hundred and forty-two Catholics, and not to mention that currently the church is just in its beginnings on this continent and there is still much to be done on it.
The great challenge that the Church faces in this oceanic continent, also called the blue continent, is to be able to encourage all the Churches of Oceania and also all the people who have a good will and who live in the Pacific area to rediscover all the human and Christian values, both old and new, of the entire region, so that they have a great effective influence on their lives and in their day-to-day lives.
Asian Continent Information
Asia is currently the most populated continent of the entire amount, it has a population of three billion inhabitants, while in the rest of the world or the rest of the continents they are below seven hundred million inhabitants. In this continent, eighty percent of the entire population is living below the limit of poverty and many of its inhabitants die of hunger and in turn many are exploited by that wealthy minority. One of the great problems found in this continent is that there is great discrimination against women, something that over time has become unsustainable causing its extension to all social levels.
The Churches in Asia
Once the arrival of the Portuguese began, by Vasco da Gama in India and in the Middle East in the 16th century, the beginning of a very important stage in the history of the Evangelization of Asia was marked. Unfortunately, in the first phase, the Portuguese confused the aspects of evangelization with colonization, an act that caused the Christian faith to be detested by the vast majority of the Asian population.
Later, the arrival of Francisco Javier together with the Jesuit missionaries in the middle of the sixteenth century, symbolized a great change in the evangelization in the Asian continent. These established new communities in the Moluccas Islands, in India and in Japan. Other figures that stand out in the evangelization of the Asian continent were Matteo Ricci in China and Roberto de Nobili in India, both were Jesuits. The Asian continent is also the continent that has the oldest cultures of all continents, as is the case of the countries of China, India, Japan.
The greatest creators of those religious movements on the Asian continent were born on this large continent, such as Confucius in China, Buddha in India, Mohammed in Arabia and Abraham in Mesopotamia.
Even Jesus Christ himself was born on the same Asian continent, since Palestine, birthplace of Jesus Christ, is also part of Western Asia, so it is to be expected that the peoples and cultures of this continent are very steeped in a great and deep religious sense . Also among the many missionaries who have come to announce the Gospel on this continent we can mention Saint Thomas, Saint Bartholomew, Saint Francis Xavier.
But regardless of the efforts that these missionaries have had on this continent and many other missionaries who came after them, in Asia there is only a three percent Christian population, among which more than half of this Christian population are in the Philippines. . Pope John Paul II, who is aware of the situation in the continent, states that new forces should be sent to reinforce Christian beliefs and religion on the Asian continent. This quote:
“On the Asian continent, in particular towards which the mission of peoples should be directed mainly, Christians are a small minority, even though there are sometimes significant movements of conversion and exemplary forms of Christian presence”
We know that announcing the Gospel to the Asian peoples is not easy, since they have their religious traditions and social customs, in addition to the fact that they have their own concept of divinity that does not allow them to accept so easily the Christian message, which preaches the Son of God humiliating himself by taking on his own human nature, and dying on the cross in order to rid the world of sin.
In many of the religions their missionary activities are stopped either by the various persecutions or by the different difficulties thanks to the political conditions that these could present. Additionally, many of the Asian peoples have different expectations so they do not receive an immediate response through the information of the Good News.
For example, the Chinese expect a solution to their exploding population and economic difficulties, the Buddhists and Hindus expect knowledge, the Muslims expect strong socio-religious structures and workable morality, the Japanese expect different paths for their industrial and economic progress, then the missionaries come to them preaching a poor, humble and humiliated Savior, crucified.
The Catholic Church in Asia is the smallest in the world, the population that exists in this continent is the most numerous and largest in the world, giving a total of three thousand six hundred million inhabitants, and only one hundred million inhabitants are Catholic, which represents two point nine percent of the entire Asian population. In much of the Asian continent, Catholics are persecuted by other religions, forcing them in many cases to live their faith clandestinely and hidden from others. Approximately in Asia there is one priest for every two thousand five hundred and eighty-two Catholics, while in the rest of the world there is an average of one priest for every two thousand three hundred and forty-two Catholics (two hundred and forty Catholics difference).
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