~ . 

To 
pI S j'f O LINESS TH E rOP E }-- EO XIII., 

MORT HOLY FATHER, . 

VICAR OF JES US CHRIST, AND SUPREME 
PO NTIFF OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH, 

\ . 
I I 
\ 

We, the Members of the Madras Oatholic Union, humbly offer to Your 

Holiness the assurance of our unchanging obedience 'to the successor of St. Peter, 

ane1 of our gratitude for the continual solicitude, which the Holy See has shewn 

for the Ohurch in India. 

2. The Oatholic Union of Great Britain was established in the year 1871 by 

the counsel and express wish of His Holiness the Pope Pius IX., and its object 

was declared by that illustrious Pontiff Himself to be "the defence of Oatholic 

interests." Guided by the counsel?f the august predecessor of Your Holiness 

,and the similar counsels, so ofteJ?- given by Your Holiness, following the example 

of t'u.e Oatholics of Great Britain and of the Bombay Presidency, and encouraged 

by the approbation of their Bishops, the Oatholics of the South of India have 

founded for the defence of Oatholic interests tLn association under the name of 

the" Madras Oatholic Union." 

3. 'In humbly imploring the blessing of YonI' Holiness upon our nsmg 

society, we desire first of all to unite ourselves with the Bishops of India, and to 

join with them in the sentiments expressed in their letter written on the_8th August 

1887, when they thanked Your Hr...'iness fo.' the establisbment of the new Indian 

Hierarchy. N ever have the Roman Pontiffs relaxed in their zeal to extend the . 
Kingdom of Ohrist in these regions, never have they ceased to care for the dis~nt 

Ohurches of the East Indies, but in our own ti~es how numerous have been the 
instances of their solicitude! Not to speak of the " preliminary measures taken by 

\ H. H . the Pope Gregory XVI., we , recall to mind that on the 24th April 1838 

that illustrious Pontiff issued His Apostolic I.lctter, beginning with the words 

}\;fulta pmealaTe, thus delivering the Indian Ohurch in great part from the withering 

effects of the Portuguese "Padroado," and inaugurating the present era of 

flourishing Missions. From that date and ever since, gladly responding to the 

invitations of the Supreme Pontiffs, numerous companies of devoted Missionaries 

and Religious of both sexes have come to India to mini"Ster to neglected Ohristians, 

to reconcile heretics and schismatics to the Faith, and to evangelise the heathen. 

Almost the entire modern Ohmch of India is the creation under God of these 

devoted servants of the Holy See, who have covered the land with churches and 

. , " m!eTdlfted 

.' 

I 

---------------------------------- ~------~--~~--------------------- ~------) 



I., 
( 

• 

2 

chapels, with religious houses, and with flourishing institutes of charity aud 

of education. And though the wise ''1,SU1'es of the two predecessors of Your 

Holiness were thwarted by the schismatical opposition.of a Government, which 

once was proud to co-operate with the Holy See in the evangelisation of the East 

Indies, yet bot,h of those Pontiffs, whose memory will ever be revered by the 

people of these regions. even in this life were consoled to see the results, which 

rewar?ed tbeir solicitude. 'They saw new life infused into the decaying Church 

of the East Indies: they saw old losses repaired, and an immediate and constant 

increase in the number of the Faithful. Most Holy Father, it has been reserved 

by the Providence of God for Your Holiness to crown the grand work inaugurated 

by Gregory XV!., :::Lnd the very year of the Sacel'dotal Jubilee of Your Holiness 

was marked by the establishment of the new Indian Hierarchy. 'iVhen we 

celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the Brief Multa praeclare in 1888, the erection 

of the Hierarchy had already been accomplished amid the joyful acclamations of 

the Clergy and Faithful of India. And ever since that great event, there have been 

new instances of the unceasing solicitude of Your Holiness: the Diocese of N agpur 

was created: new mission Relds have b~en opened out by the erection of 

the Prefectures of Assam and Kafiristan: two Vicariates have been established for ., 
the Christians of the ancient Syrian Rite: and the number of Missionaries has 

been increased by the arrival of those to whom Your Holiness has entrusted the 
" . 

Dew enterprises of the Hol'y See. We are un worthy of so many marks of favour ~ 

we are dependent entirely upon the paternal care of Your Holiness, upon our 

Father, who knows how to enlist on our behalf the apostolic zeal of Missionaries 

of all nations, and to obtain for us the sympath.Y and alms of the Faithful 'of othel~ 

countries: we shall never cease to be grateful to Your Holiness and to our bene-

factors, and we promise to shew our gratitu e by unwavering obedience to the 
wishes of Your Holiness, and by co-operating in our humble way with the Bishops 

and' Missionaries, who have made so many sacrifices on our behalf. 

4. Though we, the Catholics of India, regard the erection of the Hierarchy 

as a proof of the confidence, which You,r Holiness reposes in us, yet we feel that tt 

we have earned no right to speak for ourselves; for we owe our Clergy, our 

Churches, our Schools, to the kindness of Your Holiness and to the generosity of 

the Faithful of other lands. Still, as obedient and loving sons, we have confidence 

in laying our hopes and fears before Your Holiness, and if we venture to address 

Your Holiness regarding the Concordat concluded on the 23rd June 1886 between 

Your Holiness and t,he ~ortuguese King, it is because we grieve to see the wishes 
of Your Holiness thwarted by the interference of misguided laymen in Portugal,. 

who seem to wish to sacrifice the peace and prosperity of the, Church in India and 

its future development to the exigencies of political parties in their own country. 



3 ' 

Weare well aware of the paternal patience of the Holy See: we know how long 

and how earnestly it has struggled to secure the fl'eedom of the Ohurch in ludia : 

we know how intimately it is acquainted with the peculiar needs of the Indian 

Missions: we recall to mind the numel'OUS documents, in which its sentiments 

have been unmistakably expressed, such as the Apostolic Letter lJ1ulta pmeCl(~1'e 
above mentioned, the Brief Probe nostis of 9th May 1853, the letter written by 

H. H. the Pope Pius IX. on the 3rd August 1864 to the King of Portugal, the 

Brief Studio et vigilantia of the 26th August 1884, not to mention the letter which 

H. E. the Oardinal J3icobini, Secretary of State, addr'essed to the Portuguese 

Ambassador on the 10th April 1884. We are aware also of the unanimous s8nti-

ments of the Missionary Bishops and Priests of India, of the earnest representations 

made by the Bishops of the Madras Presidency to the Holy See and to the British 

Government regarding the deplorable effects of the Portuguese" Padro ado " and 

of the Double Jurisdiction. We know also that, speaking generally, the sole 

supporters of the" Padroado " in India :1l'e made up of temporary emigrl'tnts from 

the Portuguese possession of Goa (and not really many of them), of certain 

persons, who have a material interest in its continuance, and of persons (or their 

descendants), who, mostly through ignor;:tnce, adhered to the disgraceful schism, 

which, fomented by the Portuguese Government, afflicted the Ohurch in India from 

about, 1834 till the publication ofthe Ooncordat of 1857. We know also that the 

exerClse of a Foreign Patronage in British territol'Y is opposed to the policy 

of the Government of the Queen Empress of India, who tolerates it only 

because it has the sanction of Your Holiness. We are conscious also that it preju-

dices us, Oatholics in Beitish India, in the eyes of our own Government, and alien-

ates from us the sympathy and aid which that Government might otherwise afford. 

Finally, we know that this Foreign Patronage, unique in the vast dominions of the 

British Empire, is opposed to those legitimate sentiments of patriotism, never 

discouraged by the Holy See, which are common to British subjects throughout the 

world. 

5. At the same time, we have no desire to minimise the advantages of the 
Concordat of 1886. We do not forget that as the Concordat of 1857 emancipated 

the Missions of Ohina and the Far East almost entirely from the interference of 

Portugal, so by the Concordat of 1886 the Portuguese Government formally sur-

rendered its claim of Patronage over Ceylon and some parts of India. We rejoice 

also at the Concordat, in so far as it left Your Holiness free to establish the new 

Indian Hierarchy, and because in some places it abolished that Double Jurisdiction 

which, in the Brief Studio et vigilant'ia, Your Holiness deplored as one of the two 

principal causes of the evils, whicm in recent times have afflicted the Missions in the 

East Indies. We do not minimise these ad vantages and the · measure of lib erty 



( 

4 

which Your Holiness, in the course of a long and painful negotiation, has secured 

for a part of the Ohurch in India; nevertheless, it is impossible for us to fail to 

recognise the evils inherent in the Portuguese Patronage, which are perpetuated 

in other parts, evils which are certain to al'rest the progress of the Missions III 

this country, unless a timely remedy is applied by Apostolic authority. 

6. As Oatholic laymen, we desire to place before Your Holin ess a brief 

exposition of those evils. Faithful to our traditions, so now and for the future, 

we submit without reserve to all the decisions of the Holy See; we do not pre-

sume to at tempt to intrude upon those matters which belong to the sphere of 

ecclesiastical authority, but we have confidence that Your Holines s, assured of 

our sentiments, will graciously accept these humble representations. We have 

.not forgotten the several occasions on which the Holy See has graciously accepted 

and granted the petitions of the Catholic laity in India and Oeylon, at times, 

when owing to the negligence of the Portuguese Government, the state of the 

Church in India seemed almost desperate , and we may even venture to say that 

the petitions of the laity of Calcutta and of Madras were the salvation of the 

Church, then rapidly expiring in those two cities, and the immediate cause of the 

erection of the Vicariates Apostolic of Madras and of Bengal in 1834 and 1835. 

'rhe history of the Ohurch in India thus pleads in our favour, when we venture, 

as on the present occasion, to address Your Holiness. 

7. There are numel'OIlS political and civil objectjons to the exercise of the 

Portuguese Patronage in British India. These we have thought good to detail in 

a Memorial addressed to the Government of Her Beitannic Majesty, a copy of 

which we attach to this our humble address. In memoria1ising the Gove rnment 

of Her Majesty regarding her own subjects in her own territory, we make no 

appeal against the decisions of Your Holiness, but have intended solely to enlist 

the aid of that Government, in securing to the Ohurch in India that same liberty 

for which the Holy See has ever contended, that same liberty which the Ohurch 

enjoys elsewhere in the British Dominions. The religious objections to this same 

Patronage are known to Your Holiness, and we deplore with Your Holiness that 

the great boon conferred on us by the establishment of the Hierarchy has been 

marred by the continuance of a privilege which has been and continues to be the 

chief obstacle to the development of the Church in India. We deplore with Your 

Holiness the sacrifices which have had to be made in India for the sake of peace 

in Portugal: we deplore the necessity which compelled Your Holiness to select 

the lesser of two evils by yielding to the threatening demands of the P ortugnese 

Government, 

8. Most Holy Father, why is it that all the Missionary Bishops and priests, 

past and present and of every nationality, who have been selecten. a!ld· sent to 



5 

India by the Holy See, have prayed for the extermination of the Portuguese 

Patronage? They enjoy the confidence of the Holy See, and are fully acquainted 

with the circumstances and needs of the Indian Church. They who have abandoned 

their own countries and all that is dear to them to do the bidding of the Supreme 

Pontiff are not moved by any political consideratio;Ils or patriotic sentiments. 

Why is it that among the Catholic laity all the best, all the intelligent, all the well-

informed are one with their Pastors in desiring the abolition of the Portuguese 

Patronage? The reason is plain: they know this Patronage to be the cause of all 

.(::, the evils which have afflicted the Indian Church in the past, the cause of all its 

present embatrassments and a harbinger of future disasters. 

9. We are not ungrateful to Portugal for the services it rendered in the East 

in ancient times. We are not unmindful of the national susceptibilities of the 

Portuguese nation, to which, at the bidding of Your Holiness, we sacrifice our own. 

But can we forget tbat in modern times the Portuguese Patronage has been 

the prolific source of schisms; and what to people in India are the newly constituted 

Dioceses of Mylapore, of Cocbin and of Damaun, but monuments of a successful 

resistance to tbe mandates of the Holy See? What have we seen in our own times? 

We have seen the provisions of the Apostolic Letter Multa p1'aeclc~Te and the oft-

repeated behests of the Holy See resisted bj the faction which upholds the Patron-

age of Portugal. We have seen the Missions of India desolated by a lam entable 

schism for over twenty-five year's; we have seen in the years 1844 and] 853 Portu-

guese Bishops arl~ivein r ndia, and trampling under foot the obligations oftbeir sacred 
office, promote to holy orders bundreds of illiterate unworthy persons for the purpose 

of maintaining and extending that schism. We have seen in 1863 the schism 

externally healed by the legalisation (intended to be temporary) of "a usurped juris-

diction" (as it was stigmatised bytbe illustrious predecessor of Your Holiness) 

and by the introduction of a Double Jurisdiction, which in some parts has paralysed 

all missionary work and proved even worse than schism . The existence of two 

separate ecclesiastical jurisdictions in one and the same district, town or village 

might have proved tolerable, if the authorities of both had been animated by the 

same devotion to tbe Holy See, but the schismatic spirit seems so inherent in the 

Portuguese "Padroado", that the Double Jurisdiction, wbich has always been 

incomprehensible to Indian Catbolics, to Protestants and to Pagans, has only been 

regarded as a justification of the scbism which it was intended to heal, and has 

ever since the publication of tbe Concordat of 1857 been used to provoke innumer-

able local schisms and rebellions. There is no guarantee that this unhappy state of 

affairs will cease, for the authorities of the Patronage are untiring in their efforts 

to extend the Double Jurisdiction which Your Holiness has laboured to abolish,and to , 
give distorted and illogical interpretations to the Decrees by which Your Holiness 

2 



6 

intended to mitigate its evils. In every part of India, of Indo-China and of 

Ceylon, where the Portuguese Patronage has had a footing, there have been 

troubles, which have only ceased by its absoiute extinction in particular localities. 

There is every reason to fear that it will be true to its past history, and the spirit, 

which at this moment animates its more advanced defenders, augurs ill for the 

future prospects of the Church in India. 

10. It is a notable and suggestive fact that wherever in later times the 
I 

Clergy of Goa have had Christians under their care, there have been revolts against ,,I ~ , 

ecclesiastical authority, the forerunner of greater revolts against the supreme 

authority of the Head of the Church. Everywhere, within the ancient limits of the 

Sees of Goa, of Cochin, of Mylapore, of Cranganore and of Malacca, the sad 

history has been the same. We will not weary Your Holiness by attempting to 

recount the innumerable disorders which occurred within thA several Vicariates 

Apostolic, which were erected by the Holy See within the old limits of the 

Dioceses to which we have referred, in India, in Ceylon, in Burma and in the 

Malayan Peninsula. Revolts and schisms have occurred in Avery region, where 

the Clergy of the Patronage have exercised their ministry, and though they have 

generally subsided, the seeds of disorder remain, ready to germinate at any 

moment, so long as the Patronage continues. Some of the churches remaining to 

the Portuguese jurisdiction are, as it were, monuments of those schisms which 

have been the scandal of Pagans and heretics, and have retarded the development 

of the Catholic Church in the East Indies. We wish to recall to mind, as typical 

instances of the fruits of the Patronage, the schisms which have occurred 

on the Western coast of India. rrhe prolonged schism of the churches of the 

Patronage in Malabar (both Latin and Syrian), which followed the pUblication of 

the Apostolic Letter M1~lta p1'n,ecla1'e in 1838, had hardly been healed, w hen the 

priests of the Syrian rite, who had been permitted to remain under the Extraordi-

nary Jurisdiction of Goa, invited to India the Chaldean Bishop Roccos, commonly 

known as Mar Thomas, who, invading Malabar in 186), contrar,Y to the express 

orders of the Holy See, drew away a large number of the Syrian churches into a 

new schism. This new schism was short-lived, but the wounds inflicted by it had 

hardly healed, when the same priests of the jurisdiction of the Patronage took 

steps to obtain another schismatic Bishop from Bagdad: the arrival in 1874 of 

Mgr. John Elias Mellus, formerly Bishop of Acra, was the outcome of these efforts, 

and priests and people in a body again fell into a third schism, the evil effects of 

which still exist in the Vicariate Apostolic of Trichur even afuer the reputed 

conversion of Mgr. Mellus himself. We are grieved. to recall to memory these 

miserable events, but they serve as proofs among many others in the history of the 



7 

East Indies, that the Portuguese Patronage is a venomous parasite, which . feeds 

upo n and kills the life-giving sap of the Oatholic Ohurch. 

11. The evils of the Portuguese Patronage and the scandals (civil and reli-

gious) of the Double Jurisdiction had become so 'acute, more especially in the 

ancient mission of Madura (now the Diocese of Trichinopoly), that on the 15th 

August 1883 the Bishops of the South of India united in a joint Memorial addressed 

to the Government of Her Britannic Majesty, whose aid they invoked for the aboli-

tion of both Patronage and Double Jurisdiction. In the following year, on the 26th 

August, Your Holiness to our great joy issued the Brief Htudio et vigilantia, by 

which the Patronage and the Double Jurisdiction were abolished within the limits 

of the Vicariates Apostolic of Hyderabad, Pondicherry, Oalcutta, the Malayan Pe-

ninsula, Eastern Bengal, Oolombo and Jaffna, and we were informed that both 

would be abolished in all other parts of British territory in 1885. Oonsoled by 

the thought that the time of our deliverance was at hand, and that brighter days 

were dawning for the Indian Ohurch, remembering also the numerous Memorials 

which had been sent to the Holy See by the Catholics of the various Vicariates, 

we together with our Bishops and Missionaries awaited with confidence the exe-

cution of the orders of Your Holiness. But to our sorrow the Brief remained a 

dead letter, and in the year 1886 we heard with some amazement that a Ooncordat 

had been arranged, by which the Portugue se " Padroado" had been established 

on a more solid basis than before, and that the Double J urisdic tion had been 

perpetuated in the very Missions, namely those of Bombay and of Madura, where 

it has ever caused more harm than elsewhere. Though always ready to sacrifice 

our wishes and interests, our sentiments, both national and patriotic, at the bidding 

of the Holy See, we were grieved at the unexpected course which events had taken, 

and our hearts were filled with sympathy for the Bishops and Missionaries who 

had suffered so much, and now were only rewarded by a perpetual crown of thorns. 

12. We learnt with grief and astonishment that in addition to the permanent 

and solid establishment of tbe Patronage and Double Jurisdiction, which we had 

hoped to see abolished, not merely were many of those, who had persistently opposed 

the wishes of the Holy S~e, to be gratified by exemptions and concessions, but 

large bodies of Oatholics who had been ever faithful and obedient, were to be de-

prived of the devoted Missionaries of the Propaganda and placed under the 

obnoxious rule of the "Padroado," which has very few clergy at its dispo-

sal except the priests of Goa. Such was the effect of the Ooncordat in the 

Dioceses of Verapoly, Madras and rrrichinopoly. Not only were three Portu-

guese ~ees revived or erected in British territory, but the King of Portu-

gal was given a right (though limited) of Patronage over four other Dio-

ceses at the expense of the faithful of the French, Italian, German and other 



8 

nations, who by their alms and their missionaries maintain them. We noticed 

also that the Double Jurisdiction was only abolished in those few localities, where 

owing to particular circumstances it has been least dangerous, and that thousands of 

neglected Christians (as for instance in Salsette near Bombay), who for many years 

have been praying to be delivered from the incubus of the PortuO'uese Patronage '" , 
were definitely surrendered to it. 1'hese were the principal points which struck 

us with pain and amazement, but, conscious of the difficulties of the Holy See, we 

remained silent and prayed for better days. We regret, however, to have to mention 

that there is no doubt that in the case of many of the uneducated Catholics ofIndia, 

who are unable to comprehend the necessity of concessions to Portugal, the Con-

cordat was a rude blow to the authority of the Holy See. 

13. Your Holiness is aware how the news of the Concordat was received 111 

India. On the one hand the obedient servants of the Holy See, the almost entire 

body of Catholics in the East Indies, remained silent and submissive, though grieved 

and disappointed. On the other hand, a wretched faction, led by a few agitators, 

subjects of the King of Portugal, though temporarily resident in British India, im-

mediately began to assail the Holy See with the grossest insults, to stir up a spirit 

of schism, and, regardless of the enormous concessions which had been made to 

Portugal, to clamour for more. In the Portuguese Government this faction found 

a potent ally, and the Concordat had to be revised in consequence. The Diocese 

of Poona, as first marked out, was deprived of two-thirds of its Catholic population 

and the deplorable Double J usrisdiction was re-established in the City of Poona 

itself. In Madras, where the original Concordat had actually been executed by the 

Delegate of Your Holiness on the 19th January Ul87, the work was undone two 

months later under circumstances humiliating to the authority of that mOS l devoted 

servant of Your Holiness, the Most Reverend Joseph Colgan, Archbishop of Madras, 

himself a British subject, although the persons formerly subject to the Portuguese 

jurisdiction had gladly submitted to him. 

14. Amid the disputes and disorders caused by the Double Jurisdiction, we 

were somewhat consoled by the publication of the Decisions given by Your Holi-

ness on the 13th September 1887 and on the 25th September 1888, which were 

intended to mitigate its evils. Although the wishes and intentions of Your 

Holiness were perfectly well known, the orders of Your Holiness were 

ignored by the authorities of the Portuguese Patronage, and the Decisions 

themselves were the occasion of new insults being cast upon the Holy See by 

the band of agitators at Bombay, who again appealed to the Portuguese 

Government. The Decisions were, however, joyfully published by the Bishops 

depending on the Sacred Congregation of the Propaganda, and we were informed 

(through the Delegate of Your Holiness) that they were definitive and not to be 



9 

modified. 'Yi e were again consoled by the publication early in 1889 of a letter 

written on the 21st December 1888 by H. E. the Cardinal Rampolla, Secretary of 

State, to H. E. the Delegate Apostolic, in which the agitation of the Goanese faction 

at Bombay was condemned, and its resistance to the Decisions above mentioned 

was stigmatised as " insane." Meanwhile the authorities of the Patronage conti-

nued to ignore the said Decisions and were understood to have appealed, not to 

Your Holiness, but to the Portuguese Government, and finally on the 18th April 

in this year a Decree was issued by the Delegate Apostolic in the name of Your 

Holiness, by which the former Decisions were modified in accordance with the 

wishes of the Goanese faction, and the exercise of the Double Jurisdiction was made 

dependent on impossible and ever-changing catalogues of names which can never 

be compiled or kept correct, and must in themselves be the cause of new disputes 

and doubts, and also upon imaginary" Groups" of Christians, which carinot he 

defined. ' 

15. Most Holy Father, in the East Indies there are vast numbers of well-

disposed Catholics, who from want of sufficient knowledge are unable to appreciate 

the peculiar difficulties of the Holy See. rfhey look at things from their local 

stand-point, and they cannot understand why it is that the Supreme Pontiff is 

under the necessity of consulting the interests of Portugal in regulating the affairs 

of the Church in British territory. In the case of such persons the Concordat 

and the Double Jurisdiction both serve to weaken the aut,hority of the Holy See, 

while the varying decisions and orders, whieh are published from time to time, 

seem to them almost contradictory and weaken the authority of the Bishops and 

Missionaries who have to publish them. It is a sad thing that laymen should 

be continually discussing among themselves the meariing and scope of the 

mandates of the Holy See. It is still worse, when such mandates have 

one meaning for the Bishops of the Propaganda, another for the Bishops 

of the Patronage, and when in consequence of these differences, the laity 

have to interpret the decisions of the Holy See for themselves. It is a deplorable 

fact that each new decree or decision gives rise, even in one and the same family, 

to new discussions and differences, which can never cea se till the Portuguese 

Patronage is wholly abolished. There is no other country in the world where a 

layman is left in doubt as to the Bishop or priest, who is his lawful ecclesiastical 

superior: there is no other country, where Bishops and priests are continually 

obliged to dispute, not only among themselves, but also with the laity, who are 

the subject of the dispute, as to the jurisdiction, to which the latter belong. 

While these things scandalise and- bewilder the Faithful, they are quite incompre-

hensible to the non-Catholics, who surround them; and to Pagans and Protestants 

the Church appears to be made up of contending sects. It is deplorable that 
3 



10 

every fresh concession to Portugal stimulates the Goanese faction to new resistance 

and agitation. Finally the Portuguese Bishops themselves cannot but cease to 

co mmand the respect and obedience eve n of their own subjects, clergy and laity, 

who 'see them compelled by their position to look rather to Lisbon than to Rome, 

and placed in a sort of antagonism towards all that does not belong 'to th e 

Patronage. 

16. It is the effect of the most recent conceSSIOns to Portugal that has 

chieflj induced us to addt'ess Your Holiness. Judging from the spirit in which 

these concessions have been received, and the attitude assumed by the authorities 

of the Patronage, we conclude once more that the spirit of resistance to the Holy 

See is so inherent in the supporters of that institution, that there can never be 

any permanent peace in India till the Patronage is swept away. The Ohurch in 

this country instead of shewing herself to the world as a body united in herself 

and in submis sion to the Holy See, presents a spectacle of contending sects, and 

on this account effective controversy becomes impossible with non-Oatholics, who 

are repelled from the Faith by our own divisions. It is only the sight of the 

devotion and charity of the Missionaries of the Propaganda that saves the Ohurch 

in the sight of non-Oatholics. 

17.' But while we speak of the deplorable effect of these divisions upon 

Oatholics and non-Catholic s, we must not omit to observe that in themselves they 

have 110 vitality except what they receive from the interference of the Portuguese 

Government: It is certain that WEre the Patronage abolished, and that Govern-

ment were to cease to interfere in British India, within a very few years 

all divisions would cease, and the Ohurch would take its natural develop-

mell t under the benign rule of Her Britannic Majesty. It is the pro-

longed stat.e of uncertainty, th e constant changes and the opportunities now 

afforded of appealing to Portugal against the Holy See, that keep alive differences' 

and , paralyse the action of the Ohurch . Speaking generally, we may say that' 

there is really no serious party in India in favour of the Portuguese Patronage '; 

it has practically no supporters now who would not, but for the present 

interference of Portugal, very soon settle down contentedly to the jurisdic-

tion commonly known as that of the Propaganda. It is true t hat there have 

been certain noisy discussions in the press, which might lead ' persons at a 

distance to suppose that the supporters of the Patronage were a numerous 

and influential body, but such discussions mean nothing, and on the side of 

the Patronage they are manufactured by 'a small knot of interested persons, 

principally for the sake of influencing public opinion in Portugal. In India itself 

the defenders of the Patronage have a very small audience. Speaking for the 

Madras Presidency, and for the Dioceses of Madras and of Trichinopoly in parti-



11 

cular, we may say that in effect none of the faithful, even those now under 

Portuguese jurisdiction, have any real sentiments of affection for the Patronage 
. . 

or seriously desire ' its maintenance. From niere habit 01' from ignorance, a 

certain number of persons, who have become accustomed to it, speak of it with 

favou r or consideration, others are simply indifferent, but nowhere is it possibl e 

to ' find any number of Catholics who seriously and on principle desire its con-

tinuance . :Many persons have an affection for some particular church with 

which they are connected by family or other ties, but affection for the "Patro~ 

nage " as such is almost non-existent. Thus we can truly state to Your Holine ss 

t hat, if the matter is to be considered from a purely local point of view, the 

maintenance of the Patronage in India is sim ply gratuitous. We ai'e moved to 

s p~ak thus clearly, bflcause advantage has frequently been taken of their silence 

and general submission to the Holy See, to represent the people of India as 

devoted to the cause of the Patronage, and the marks of respect which the Faithful 
have paid (as was their duty) to the Portuguese Bishops have been taken by the 

Portuguese Government as proofs of an affection which does not exist. 

18. In the fourth paragraph of this address, we have made some allu-

sion to the class of persons who have constituted themselves the defenders of the 

Patronage. In Bombay (always the focus of Goanese agitation) and in the 

Born bay Presidency generally, t,hey consist of a small band of Portuguese subjects, 

i mmigrants from Goa, men or tainted principles, who appealing, as H. E. the 

Cardinal Rampolla truly said, to the passions of the" corrupt and ignorant" 

manufacture fictitious demonstrations against the Sacred Congregation of thePl~~­

paganda. To these may be added, scattered over India, a few persons who have 

a material interest in church properties, which they abuse to their own advantage, 

and a very small number of persons, who, while professing the Catholic faith, 

maintain the Patronage on J osephistic principles, because they regard it as a 

check upon the liberty of the Supreme Pontiff. Th ere is also a small body 

of persons who in their particular churches, through the laxity of discipline 

existing under the clergy of Goa, have assumed a right of interference and control 

h · h ,.fa, b . 1 bl . W 10 wo\ f( e lOto era e III any other country. And here we must not 

omit to rile~(tion ~hat Protestant ministers, guided by the instinct of heresy, 
are oft:m advocates C'f' the maintenance of the Patronage. They know it paralyses 

the action of the Ohurch: they know that its subjects fall an easy prey to the 

seductions of error, as has been the case in various parts of the ~outh of India. 

Sucb, :Most Holy Father, are the defenders of the Patronage, and many of the 

Oatholics of India, who are unable to appreciate the difficulties which encompass 

the Holy See, are sometimes tempted to exclaim :-" Why arfl so many favours 

showered upon a Foreign King, while the representations of our Bishops and 
,f' 



12 

ourselves remain without effect? Why are so many concessions to be granted, 

at the instance of the assailants of the Holy See, while we, who ask for none, are 

treated as if we had no interest in our own country?" Although we know how 

earnestly the Holy See has striven in favour of the East Indies, still we must not 

disguise from Your Holiness that such are the murmurs of those who are no t 

well informed; and while some are disheartened , a few are tempted to question 

the authority of the Holy See, and others are inclined to believe that the Bishops 
of the Propaganda have lost the confidence of the Supreme Pontiff. It is also a 

well-known fact that the schismatics of Malabar are unable to comprehend ~he 

changes made by the Holy See in Decisions, which it has declared definitive . 

They regard such changes as new arguments against the infallibility of the Holy 

See, and a new obstacle is opposed to their conversion, when the supreme autho-

rity of Rome appears to contradict itself. 

19. We would have hailed the Concordat with some satisfaction, if there 

had been any reason to believe that it would put a stop to the grave evils 

which were pointed out to the Portuguese Government by H. E. Oardinal 

Jacobini on the 10th April 1884, but we are grieved to have to say that 

the action, which has been taken by the Portuguese Government since the 

Ooncordat, leads us to believe that those evils will continue. rfhe Holy See 

has frequently pointed out to the Portuguese Government that for the pros. 

perity and progress of the Ohurch a zealous, virtnous and learned Olergy, filled 

with apostolic zeal, is absolutely necessary. Such a Clergy we possess in the 

Missionaries of the Propaganda and in the indigenons priests formed by them. 

We have no desire to disparage the Clergy of the Patronage, for whose defici-

encies the Portuguese Government is entirely to blame, but no one will main-

tain that they are capable of doing the work of those Missionaries an d priests 

wlio serve under the jurisdiction of the Propaganda. A real vocation to the 

priesthood is a rare thing in the East Indies, and H. E. the Oardinal J acobini on 

the 10th April 1884, in his letter above mentioned, alluded to the absence of 

Divine vocation among many of the Goanese priests, and detailed the sad conse-

quences of the facility with which candidates have been admitted to )~: )ly Orders 

'by the allthorities of the Patronage. Nevertheless in spite of w~t' we cannot 
but regard as the gravest objection to that institution, the me~e 'numerical strength 
of the Goanese clergy has constantly been paraded by the Portuguese Government 

as a proof of its ability to satisfy the requirements of the Dioceses of the Patron-

age, as may be' seen from the various documents it addressed to the Holy See 

during the negotiations which preceded the Ooncordat. Not long . before 

his death, the late Archbishop of Goa, in a "letter written on the 1st September 

1879, deplored the deficiencies of his Clergy, and the impossibility in which h e 



13 

found himself of testing the vocation of aspirants to Holy Orders. And indeed 

how is it possible for the seminarists to be formed to the sacerdotal virtues, if, 

as the Archbishop mentioned in speaking of his own Seminary at Goa, 

they live in scattered lodgings often several miles distant from the Seminary 

i tself? And if we look to the other Dioceses of the Patronage, what hope is there 

of suitable candidates being found in any number, when, as the A.rchbishop stated 

in the same letter, " only the lowest and most ignorant classes" remained to the 

Patronage? A.nd supposing even that true vocations are found, where are the 

Clergy of the Patronage who are capable of educating and forming the candidates? 

If the Bishops of the Propaganda, in spite of all their zeal to increase the number 

of the indigenous Clergy, find very few vocations, what hope is there for the 

Bishops of the Patronage? The necessity for a large number of Mi ssionaries from 

Europe is therefore as urgent in the Dioceses of the Patronage as it is in the 

Dioceses of the Propaganda, bnt the Portuguese Government has such an imperfect 

idea of the obligations it has assumed, that it has sent to India only ten or twelve 

Missionaries from Portugal to provide for the needs of the seminaries, colleges, 

schools, orphanages and other institutions, which it has promised to found, to 

minister to the Faithful, among whom a knowledge of six or seven languages is 

required, and finally to evangelise the heathen. We did not anticipate that it 

wonld do even as much as this, seeing that the one Missionary College which it 

possesses in Portngal is not able to su pply the needs of the Portuguese possessions 

in Africa, and that the Religious Orders continue suppressed, but it is this very 

deficiency of a competent clergy and the impossibility of its being supplied by the 

Patronage th at make us fear,that, except perhaps in the large towns, the Goanese 

Missions, as they are called, will con tinue in their present neglected state of disorder 

or abandonment. Already in the caRe of Christians, who were transferred from 

the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Madras to that of the Patronage on the exe-

cution of the Concordat, there have been complaints. Most Holy Father, this is 

one meaning of the Concordat: it means that many Catholics in India are to be 

handed over to the care of an insufficient and incompetent clergy; it means that in 

several parts of India the progress of the Church is to be arrested; it means that 

the ministers of heresy are to have a new opportunity for seducing the poor and 

abandoned from the Faith. When we see that even now some vilJages are depriverl 

of the sacraments owing to Goanese neglect, and that many have fallen into Pro-

testantism, while the Missionaries, who have the power to help them, are not allowed 

to do so, we feel some bitterness against the Portuguese Government. W 0 have not 

forgotten the events which occurred during the famine which raged in Southern 

India in 1876-7, when many poor Catholics subject to the negligent rule of the 

Patronage were seduced into Protestantism, while the Missionaries of the Propaganda 

were debarred by the Double Jurisdiction from rescuing these abandoned souls, 
4 



14 

although at the same time and in the same places numerous conversions were being 

made by those Missionaries among the heathen. And yet with such facts before 

them the Bishops of the Patronage will never willingly surrender one particle of 

their useless jurisdiction, but rather urge upon the'u' Government to press th~ 

Holy See to extend it, although it has been the constant desire of the Suprem e 

Pontiffs to limit and reduce it. And it is a painful fact that while the clergy 

of the Patronage cannot attend to the needs of the Christians of their own juris-

diction, some of them should even now be stirring up revolts among the 

Christians subject to the Propaganda, as is reported to be the case in the Diocese 

of Trichinopoly, and also at Bandora near Bombay. From time to time there have 

been troubles among the Christians subject to the Propaganda, but aU may be 

traced to the seeds of disorder, which have been sown in India by the Patronage. 

20. rrhe Concordat so far, we regret to say, has brought vel'y little peace with 

it, and the reason of this is that the Portuguese Government and its defenders are 

not animated by the same sentiments as Your Holiness. Your Holiness was 

grieved to hear of the petty schisms, which followed the execution of the Concordat 

in Ceylon, and in the Diocese of Mangalore, when certain Christians, formerly 

under the Extraordinary Jurisdiction of Goa, were placed under the jurisdiction 

of the Bishops of the Propaganda. These schisms, which happily are not likely to 

last long, are due to the spirit of disobedience inherent in the Patronage, and 

in the beginning they were encouraged by its defenders at Bombay. How different 

was the spirit everywhere shewn by those Catholics, who, under the terms of the 

Concordat, were transferred to the Patronage: they all at once obeyed the orders 

of the Holy See, though the change was a sore trial to them. The Christians of 

Tanjore, Ma.nnargudi and Negapatam, who also, as soon as the Concordat is put 

into execution in those parts, will be transferred to the Diocese of Mylapore, are 

animated by the same sentiments of obedience, but they are in grief at the prospect 

of losing their Missionaries, and falling under the negligent rule of the Patronage. 

21. Most Holy Father, before concluding this humble address, we mny be 

pardoned if we dwell a little more fully on two capital points, namely, the evils of 

the Double Jurisdiction and the pres~nt state of doubt and uncertainty in every-

thing connected with it. Nothing can be settled promptly on the spot, either 

amicably between the Bishops themselves or by the decisions of the Delegate of 

Your Holiness, but everything has to be referred to Lisbon . It is with the 

greatest reluctance that w,e complain, hut we, who are here in India, cannot 

ignore the evils arising from the Double Jurisdiction. These were sufficiently 

intolerable before the Concordat of 188.6, as shewn for insta.nce in the letter of 

H. E. the Cardinal Secretary of State, which we have mentioned above, and in 

the Brief St~tdio et vigilantia which Your Holiness lss11ed on the 26th August 1884. 

But the concessions re.centIy made to the Portuguese Government and emb0died 



in the Decree of the Delegate of Your Holiness, dated the 18th April 1890, have 

rendered the exercise of the sacr~d ' ministry well-nigh impossible. We confine our-

selves to the state of affairs now inaugurated in the City of Madras, where within 

the Archdiocese of Madras are five exempted churches belonging to the Patronage, 

the five, which are specified in the Brief Post in'itam (7th June 1887). By a 

Decree dated the 20th March 1887, H. E. Monsignor Agliardi ruled that only such 

persons as then actually belonged to those churches were to be the subjects of 

the Patronage, and this ruling was reiterated in the Decisions given at Rome on 

the 13th September 1887 and 25th September 1888, with the exception that the 

number might be increased by conversions and by subjects of the Patronage 

from other places who went to reside within the actual enclosures or" compounds" 

of the exempted churches. Now all is thrown into confusion by the Decree of 

the 18th April 1890, by the exemption being extended to persons coming into the 

Diocese of Madras from the Diocese of Mylapore, and by other concessions. Thus, 

for instance, if a Regiment of British troops is moved from St. Thomas' Mount with. 

in the Diocese of Mylapore into Fort St. George within the Diocese of Madras, the 

Catholic soldiers are claimed by the Patronage, although there is no exempted 

church near the Fort and no priest of the Patronage to minister to their wants, 

and though other British soldiers in the SI11n e barracks are subject to another 

jurisdiction. It is needless to point out to Y onr Holiness how unfavorably sncb a 

scandalous state of affairs (unknown previous to the Concordat) is likely to impress 

the militl;),ry autborities. Let us, for the sake of example, su ppose that jurisdiction 

were given to tbe Cardinal Archbishop of Frascati over all persons, who leaving 

his Diocese established their domicile in the Cit.y of Rome. How could in such 

case the Parish Priests of Rome distinguisb the FmscaU Catholics from the 

Roman Catholics? This is tbe position of the priests M the Propaganda in 

Madras, ana the result is that very often sacmments are illegally and sometimes 

invalidly administered for want of jurisdiction. But this comparison is a very 

imperfect one, and to make it more complete we must assume that the Frascati 

Catholics are retained under their former jurisdiction against their will. 1.'he 

difficulties are increased by circumstances peculiar to India, such as the absence 

of family names in the case of Indian Catholics and the use of the same baptismal 

name by hundreds of persons. How, for instance, is it possible to distinguish 

between the hundreds of persons who bear the name of Antony or ever to prepare 

and maintain correct catalogues of names? Is it just to torment sick and dying 

Catholios with questions of jurisdiction? 

22. These are a few of the simple practical difficulties of the. Double 

Jurisdiction, inevitable even when the authorities of both are animated by mutual · 

goodwill and the same intentions, but owing to the peculiar sentiments which 

govern the authorities of the Patronage and the objectionable temperament of 



16 

many of the Goanese Priests, there will remain the still more serious dangers which 

are detailed in the letter of n. E. Cardinal Jacobini. But as heretofore all the 
laborious and pajnfu] part of the ministry will necessarily fall to the share of the 

priests of the Propaganda, and claims of jurisdiction will be made by the Patron age 

chiefly, as heretofore, at marriages and burials, when there is a question of some 

pecuniary ad vantage. 

23. vVe have alluded to the fact that in India generally and III the 

Madras Presidency in particular, the defenders and supporters of the Patronage are 

very few in number, and seldom actuated by worthy motives, and that the vast 

majority of those who are actually sub ject to its jurisd iction would rejoice at its 

abolition. Thus it happens that all these concessions and exemptions, which are 

made nominn,lly in favour of the subjects of the Patronage, are in reality not in 

their favour at all: they are not desired by the subjects of the Patronage, and 

are very often oetestable to these very persons who long to escape from their 

bondage, but' the Royal Patron, like a new Pharoah, will not let them go, and even 

fo llows them and imposes bis fetters, wben they depart for the Dioceses of the 

Propaganda. There are many instances of these unhappy persons now in the Arch-

diocese of Madras, and the last concessions have made the Patronage more odions 

than ever. And in this and in other instances a painful impression is created in 

the minds of British Catholics, for it seems to them tbat matters are arranged as 

if they, the persons really interested , were quite unwortby of consideration, a 

quantity to be neglected. 1'here is a constant interchange of Catholics between 

the Archdiocese of Madras and the Diocese of Mylapore, between which the great 

City of Madras is divided, but while absolutely no concession of any kind is made, 

under hny cirrJumstances, in favour of the Archdiocese, its subjects not only 

fall under the Patronage when they remove into the Diocese of Mylapore, 

but, when they again remove into the Diocese of Madras, they must against 

their wishes remain under the jurisdiction of the Patronage, and not merely 

lose all the advantages of the enlightened and beneficent jurisdiction of the 

Propaganda, to which they were proud to belong, but actually be separated in 

jurisdiction f1"Om th eir nearest 1'elations and fr'iends, who a1"e dwelling in the same 

house or st1"eet or locality. If the recent Decisions are to be interpreted as at 

present, the Archdiocese of Madras will be gradually stripped of the Catholic 

population it possesses in the Cathedral City, and this will happen in spite of the 

earnest wishes of the people affected, and with grave detriment to religion. It is 

painful to contemplate the endless series of disputes and disorders which the 

Church in Madras is destined to see as long as the Decree of 18th April, 1890, 

remains in force, and to know that the Concordat, which was intended to bring 

peace, has, as now applied, actually created new difficulties of a character worse 

than before, in that they promise to be permanent. We speak of Madras only, for 



17 

it is under our eyes: we say nothing here of Bombay, of Poona, and of the 

Diocese of Trichinopoly, where the disorder and confusion are such that, our troubles 

in the City of Madras seem comparatively trifling. 

24. Already in this City of Madras the recent conceSSIOns made to the 

Patronage, and especially the Decree of the 18th April: 1890, and the confusion, 

uncertainty, and constant changes in connexion with the Double Jurisdiction, have 

begun to produce results very detrimental to religion, and many good Catholics, 

who desire the peace and prosperity of the Church, are thrown into a sort of des-

paIr. Missionary work is paralysed here as at Bombay, and even non-Catholics 

are scandalised. The development of works of education and religion is arrested, 

and disheal'tened Catholics are already refusing to contribute towards works of 

piety and towards charitable institutions, for the future seems so uncertain, that 

they fear their alms may hereafter fall under the control of the Patronage. The 

longstanding troubles at .st. Peter's Church at Royapuram in Madras, which are 

due solely to the Double Jurisdiction, have received a new impetus. In the Diocese 

of rrrichinopoly there have been new troubles caused by the Goanese Priests still 

subject to the Extraordinary Jurisdiction of Goa, just as at Bandora near Bomba.y 

revolts have been provoked against the jurisdiction of the Propaganda. rrhere are 

numbers of good but not well-informed Catholics, who simply decline to helieve 

that under the present order of things, they are the subjects of the Patronage, and 

the Priests of the Propaganda are placed in a very painful position, when they have 

to refuse their ministry to such persons or have doubts ~out their jurisdiction. 

25. This is a suitable place for very earnestly representing to Your 

Holiness that the existence of the Patronage not merely is likely to prejudice British 

Catholics in the eyes of their own Government, but also to prejudice that Govern-

ment against all Catholic Bishops and Missionaries, who are not British subjects. 

The objection on the part of the British Government to the employment as Chaplains 

to British rrroops of the priests of the Patronage is well known. The matter was 

seriously discussed by the British authorities after the publication of the Con-

cordat of 1857, and again quite recently in consequence of the Ooncordat of 1886, 

and it seems probable that the difficulty, in which the Government of Her 

Majesty is placed by the claim of the Bishops of the Patronage to appoint Chap-

lains, may be solved by the Government declining to recognise or pay any Chaplains 
5 



18 

who are not British subjects. As at present but few of the Chaplain s in India are 

British subjects, and as Catholics in India are and must be dependent upon th e 

services' of the Missionari~s of Foreign nations, it will be a grave disaster if th e . 

Government carries into effect the measure which it has more than once contem-

plated. Were it not for the existence of the Portuguese Patronage in certain parts, 

the British Government would probably have no thought of depriving the Mission-

aries of the French, German, Belgian, Italian and other nations of the Chaplaincies 

which they now hold to the perfect satisfaction of the Civil and Military authori-

ties and of the Catholics of India. 

26. Such, Most Holy Father, is a brief exposition of some of the evils 

which flow from the Patrona,ge and the difficulties and dangers which beset us in 

India. Others we have developed in our memorial to the Government of He~ 

Britannic Majesty. In the eyes of Catholics, Protestants and Pagans, the Holy See 

and the Episcopal office are degraded by the Patronage of Portugal. vVe have 

represented to our Government the outrage committed upon British ~ubjects by the 

application of the Royal Placet of Portugal to documents emanating from the Holy 

See, and we have demonstrated the injurious effect produced by the Patronage upon 

Missionary enterprise, Catholic education, and institutes of charity. It only remains 

for us to add that, among other ill-effects, some of the English Catholics occupying 

positions of influence · in India are somewhat estranged from the Church of the 
• • 

country in which they pass the best part of their lives, and this solely because the 

Church, which ought to be united, is divided and degraded by PortJugal, and thus 

it happens that the Missions do not always receive that effective aid and sympathy 

which thos e persons would otherwise be in a position to afford. ...8. nother ill-effect 

is the injury done to these same Missions, which, being prejudiced and hampered 

in their progress by the Patronage, do not receive the alms which the Faithful in 

Europe are more inclined to afford to Missions, which are entirely free from 

Portuguese interference. 

27. In concluding this humble Address, the Madras Catholic Union 

repeats its sentiments of obedience and devotion to the Holy See; and praying 

for the day when the Portuguese Patronage may be abolished, and the Catholics 



19 

of India may be able to say, "Laqueus conlrt'itus est, et nos libe1'ati sumus," and 

finally. imploring the blessing of Your Holiness. 
I . 

We remain, 

Most. Holy Father, 

The most devoted and obedient children 

of Your Holiness in our LORD JESUS CHRIST, 

( 

Joint H on01'a1'Y 

Secretm'ies 

Madras, 16th Decernbm', ] 890. 

\ t, • 





21 

COUNCIL OF THE MADRAS CATHOLIC UNION. 

1Pre~ibent. 

G. ~'. Mackenzie, Esq., C.S., District Judge, Masulipatam. 

lJict-1Presibents. 

B. Lovery, Esq., Fellow of the Madras University. 

John G. Kernan, Esq., M.A., LL.B., Barrister-at-Iaw. 

Members. 

G. H. Cammiade, Esq. , B.Se. 

H. deClosets, Esq. 

V. M. Fernandez, Esq., Chairman of the Municipality, Mangalore. 

L. Gavaghan, Esq., Acting Deputy Traffic Manager, Madras Railway. 

Major P. Gough, Military Secretary to H. H. the Nizam, Hyderabad. 

T. W. Laing, Esq., Solicitor. 

Jules LeFauchenr, Esq., Consular Agent for France, Cocanada. 

E. A. S. Nicholas, Esq. 

H. W. Olleff, Esq. , Bangalore. 

C. W. Parr, Esq., Municipal Commissioner, Madras. 

M. T. Quinn, Esq., M.A. 

Albert E. Rencontre, Esq., Solicitor.. 

J. Wade, Esq., Extra Assistant Resident, Hyderabad. 

E. C. vVoods Sea wen, Esq. 

monorart! !ecretarie~ anb m;reasurers. 

A. T. Ambrose, Esq., B.A., B.L. 

W. R. Philipps, Esq. , Officiating Superintendent of Telegraphs. 

\ 





23 

APPENDICES. 

Reprint of some of the Documents referred to in the above Address. 

APPENDIX 1. 

Translation of the Apostolic Letter, "Latissimi terrarum tractus," constituting the 
Vicariate Apostolic of Bengal (l8th April, 1834). 

To OU?' beloved Son, Robed St. Lege1', of the Society of J esus, Presbyte1'. 

GREGOlW p, P. XVI. 

Beloved Son, Health and the Apo stolical Benediction, The very widely spread tracts of 

territory in the Eastern world, subject to the British Empire, and to the powerful and 

magnificent East India Company, often excited Our earnest solicitude, even so far back as the 

period in which We presided over our Venerable Brethren, the Cardinals of the Holy Roman 

Church, deputed to transact the affairs of the Congregation de P1'opcLganda Fide, and to 

compose the same Congregation. But when, by the Providence of God, We were afterwards 

elevated to the highest point of Apostolical power, it became a duty, by reason of the 

momentous importance of Our office, to turn Our thoughts with a greater sedulousness ancl 

attention to the means of spreading more widely in those countries the Catholic religion, As, 

however, among the three political Presidencies established there, that attached to Calcutta 

takes the first place, inasmuch as it is the residence of the Supreme Gov.ernor, and 

comprehends within it so many great cities, and such a numerous and varied population, vVe 

were persuaded, that to this Presidency it ought to be Our special care to send well-suited 

and duly qualified heralds of the GospeL 

Whilst debating these matters in Our mind, letters addressed by the Catholic and truly 

pious inhabitants of Calcutta arrived more than once in Rome, in which they implored Our 

aid and the favour of the above mentioned Congregation de P1'opagc£nda Fide, and espe-

cially and by name entreated, that We should send to Calcutta Priests of the Society of 

Jesus, persons, they said, whose high reputation still lived among them. Willingly acquiescing 

in this wish of the Catholics, and desirous of executing to the utmost the duties imposed on 

Us by Our Apostolical office, with the advice of our Ven. Brethren the Cardinals of 

the Holy Roman Church, We commanded the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, 

to present to Us a certain number of his R eligious, among whom, you, Beloved Son, 

eminent for your piety and learning, were offered to Us. Wherefore absolving you from any 

excommunication, suspension and interdict, and from other ecclesiastical censures, sentences and 

penalties, however incurred and for whatever cause inflicted, if you have ever incurred any, 

and absolving you, as a qualification for this grace only, and considering you fully absolved, 

it is Our pleasure to decorate you with t h e appellation and office of Vicar Apostolic, conferrin 

on you for the more successful execution of this office (which We have decreed to be subject 

to the Apostolical See only) an ample sufficiency of Faculties, flowing from the plenitude of 

Our power, that you may uphold and extend more widely the Catholic religion in the populous 

city of Calcutta and the political Presidency annexed to it, those places excepted, which 

a 



24 

Our Veneral;lle Brother Anthony Pezzoni, Bishop of Esbona, Our Vicar Apostolic in the 

Missioll of Thibet, has, by himself or by ' his missionaries of the Capuchin Order, for a long 

time ad,ministered, and likewise the places subject to Our Venerable Brother Frederick Cao, 

Bishop of Zama, Our Vicar Apostolic in the Kingdoms of Ava and Pegu, to which districts of 

the said Vicars it is Our will that you should not extend your care, unless with their 

consent. 

Go forward, therefore, Beloved Son, confiding in the assistance of the Almighty, and 

holding before your eyes the bright example of your own Society, and emulating particularly 

the labours of St. Francis Xaviei>, commencing the harvest offered to you with your associates, 

to whom We, further to assist you, have added from Our Urban College de Propaganda Fide, two 

youths of good promise, and formed to the practice of virtue, whom We have commanded to 

submit in all spiritual matters to your authority. 

Given at St. Peter's in Rome, under the ring of the Fisherman, the 18th day of April 

1834, of Our Pontificate the fourth year. 

For D. CARD. ALBANO, 

A. PICCHIONI, SUBSTIT. 



25 

APPENDIX II. 

Translation of the Apostolic Letter" Multa praeclare," abolishing the Portuguese Patron-
age outside Portuguese possessions (24th April, 1838). 

GREGORY XVI. POPE. 

Fm' pe?'Pet~l.al rnernm'Y he1·eoj. 

The Roman Pontiffs, Our Predecessors, in accordance with the obligations of the 

Pastoral Office, have determined many things very expressly, that, in the most extensive 

regions of the East Indies, they might provide for the increase of the Catholic religion. ' 

For whereas, on account of the very great distance of those countries from the Apostolic 

See, on account of the length of journeys, and the difficulties of places, the cultivation of 

that extensive portion of the vineyard of the Lord would be very arduous, the Roman 

Pontiffs have earnestly demonstrated Their solicitnde, to sanction by Their authority, and 

order to be accurately observed., whatever, according to the different changes of the times, 

might seem likely to be useful to religion among those nations . 

We omit to make mention of the care, never neglected by the Apostolic See, that priests 

should be encouraged everywhere to perform the duties of the sacred ministry in those 

places. We say nothing of the singular favour and benignity exhibited by Our Predecessors, 

that, in order not t o retard the progress of the Catholic religion in those places, They made 

~lmost innumerable concessions, by wh'ich They suffered those nations to be treated more 

gently, than the institutes of the canons, and of a more severe discipline required. We 

will only mention herein that indication of gratitude, which, in accordance with Their dignity, 

the Roman Pontiffs shewed to those, who, it apppeared, were useful to religion throughout 

those places. 

The privilege of Patronage, granted by the Apostolic See to the Most Faithful Kings 

of Portugal, that the Bishops of some Dioceses in those regions might be elected upon 

their nomination, contains an evident proof of this matter. For, whereas the piety and 

munificence of those Princes had contributed much to the founding of some Bishoprics in 

those most extensive regions, Our Predecessors, desiring to reward their merits by a 

testimony of Their gratitude, have granted, that the Apostolic See would choose, as Bishops 

of those Dioceses, the persons, whom, being worthy, they had nominated. Moreover, by 

the concession of this privilege, the Apostolic See expected, that the vacancy of those 

Episcopal Sees would not be of long duration, that those places would have suitable 

Bishops more easily, and that due assistance would be at hand for the Bishops themselves, 

which would a.ccord with their dignity. But it has come to pass, from the vicissitude of 

the times, that this, which was for a long time a benefit to religion in those countries, could 

not remain in that state, which the Decrees of Our Predecessors, published under circum-

stances entirely different, had commanded to be observed. 

Often times, whilst as yet We presided over the Council for propagating the Christian 

Name, We felt it to be Our duty to weigh the importance of the reasons, which demonstrated, 

that those countries so widely extending, which constitute a very great part of the vast 

peninsula on this side of the Ganges, necessarily require, that the Apostolic See should succour 



26 

religion in danger therein, and should modify the form of ecclesiastical government in such 

manner, as would be consistent with the safety of religion. It was known to Us, that those 

regions are comprehended within the limits of the Dioceses of Cranganore, Cochin, and 

Mylapore or S. Thome. It was also manifest to Us, that Our Predecessors had granted to 

the Most Faithful Kings of Portugal, Patronage with r espect to tho se Dioceses, and the 

privilege of nominating the Bishops. F or this is contained in the Apo stolic Letters of P aul 

IV., of happy memory, of the 4th day of February in the year 1557, which begins P?'o 

exce llenti, by which He found ed the Diocese of Cochin; likewise, in those of Clement VIII., of 

. t h e 4 th day of Aug ust 1 600,~beginning In s1~premo, and of Paul V., of the 6th day of F ebruary 

1616, beginning Alias postquum, concerning the er ection of the Archbishopric of Cranganore; 

and finally, in the Apostolic Decree of Paul V ., of the 9th day of J anuary 1606, by which 

the Bishopric of Myla.pore or S. Thome was established. We have not omitted, ·even from 

that time, to make every endeavour for promoting the welfare of religion, which the 

circumstances of the tim es allowed. 

But since that We, though unworthy, have been raised to the chair of Peter, We have 

been excited much more frequently, and by r ecords of the utmost importance, to aid religion 

labouring under very great difficulty in those nations. W eighing t h ose things deliberately, 

and bearing in mind the obligations of Apo stolic solicitude, W e have been therefore induced, 

to constitute by Apostolic Letters of the 18th day of April 1835, beginning L utissimi 

te?TU?'Um tmctus, a Vicar Apostolic depending upon the Apostolic See alone, who would have, 

subj ect to him, the populo\ls city of Calcutta, and its political province. Whereas, h owever, 

some per sons were found to resist the jurisdiction of the Vicar Apostolic instituted by Us, 

and to contend, that obedience ought not to be paid to Our Apostolic Letter~, because in 

them, by an express mention, We had not rep ealed those things, which Paul V., on the 

9th day of January 1606, had d ecreed, concerning the boundaries of the jurisdiction of the 

Bish op of Mylapor e or S. Thome, We, by another Apostolic Brief, of t h e 4th day of August 

1835, the beginning of which is Oommissi Nobis, have rejected all this pretext of dissen sion, 

and have declared many things, which would tend to establish more firmly t h e authority of 

the Vicar Apostolic of Bengal. For the same reason it was, that We determined, t h at 

another Vicar Apostolic should be instituted at Madras, by a L etter of the 25th day of April 

1834, beginning Ex debito Pc~stO?'ulis, This was also the r eason why We published, on the 

23rd day of December 1836, anoth er Apostolic Brief, beginning Ex munl:J1'e Pustoralis, by 

which We committed the most extensive Island of Ceylon, to be governed by a Vicar 

Apostolic instituted by Us. F or this r eason, finally, it was, that, desiring to provide for the 

necessities of religion among those people, who inhabit the part of the peninsula, which lies 

towards the East of the Ghaut Mountains, and extends from the River Cauvery unto Cape 

Comorin, We h ave committed the entire tract of country, which compr eh ends the kingdoms 

of Madura, Tanjore, Marava, and Mysore, through Our Congregation de Propuganda Fide 

on the 3rd day of J une 1837, to the care and jurisdiction of Our Venerable Broth er Clement, 

Bishop of Drusipare, Vicar Apostolic on the Coromandel Coast~ in a provisional way, and 

until it may have been oth erwise decreed by the Holy See. 

We understand by these things, which have been hitherto decreed by Us concerning 



27 

t his country of the Indies, that the advantage of religion in a very large part of India has 

been provided for. But, besides those places, which have been given to be governed by 

Vicars Apostolic, several conntries yet remain, · for the spiritual good of which We are 

bound to provide, and which are situated within the boundaries of the Dioceses of Cranganore, 
J 

Cochin, and Mylapol'e or S. Thome. We know that Ecclesiastical Discipline, the morals of 

t he people, the Catholic faith in those countries, which so long have wanted a Pastor, have 

suffered great injury, and Weare well aware, that many use the pretext of defending and 

preserving the rights of those Dioceses, that they may resist the Vica,rs Apostolic, whom 

the Apostolic See has constituted, oppose their authority, and endeavoul' to excite a 

pernicious schism. We sensibly feel, that We, by reason of the office, which God has 

comm itted to Us in the succession of Peter, are wholly obliged, to have a care of the Church, 

even in every scattered portion of the world, and to decree all things whatsoever We see 

would contribute to the support of religion everywl{ere. 

Therefore, having taken advice on so important an affair with Our Venerable Brethren, 

t he Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, placed over t he affairs of the propagation of the 

Faith, the opinion of the same being approved, and a mature consideration of the entire busi-

ness having been instituted by Us, in the plenitude of Apostolic power, We judge it fit to 

decree as follows :-

Namely, in a provisional way, and as long as the Apostolic See shall have come to 

no other new determination, We decree, that all those countries} which ar e contained 

. within the limits of the Diocese of Mylapore or S: 'l'home and which have been} up to this 

time, committed to no Vicar Apostolic, are to be united to the Apostolic Vicariate of 

Madras} and that all jurisdiction and authority, ecclesiastical and spiritual, over those 

countries} belong to Our Venerable Brother Daniel} Bishop of Salditan, a~d Vicar Apostolic 

of Madras} . and to his succe ssors. But with respect to the countries, which are contained 

within the limits of the Dioceses of Cranganore and Cochin, and which, up to this time, 

have been delivered to no Vicar Apostolic, in the same way We order that t hey be united 

to the Apostolic Vicariate instituted in the country of Malabar} the seat of which is in the 

town of Verapoly; and that all jurisdiction and authority, ecclesiastical and spiritual, over 

t hose countries, belong to Our Venerable Brother Francis Xavier, Bishop of Amata, the 

Vicar Apostolic residing at Verapoly, and to his successors. And that the country of Malacca 

beyond the Ganges may also receive the benefit of Our Apostolic solicitude, and that vVe 

may provide for the safety and increase of religion therein} We, in the same provisional 

way} subject that entire country} to the jurisdiction of Our Venerable Brother Frederic 

Cao, Bishop of Zama, and Vicar Apostolic of Ava and Pegu. 

",Ve d~clare} that in the ecclesiastical and spiritu al government of those countries, the 

Vicars Apostolic above named depend immediately upon Us] and upon the Apostolic See 

alone} that they alone are to be regarded by all} as the true Ordinaries of those countries] and 

that all should obey them} and receive ecclesiastical jurisdiction and faculties from them. 

Therefore We repeal the Apostolic Letters above recited] of Our Predecessors, concerning 

t he erection and limits of the Dioceses of Cranganore} Co chin and Mylapore or S. Thome} and 

likewise that published by Paul IV" on the 4th day of February 1557} beginning P1'O 

excellent i] concernin g the erection of the Bishopric of Malacca; and moreover} vVe r epeal al so 

b 



28 

the Apostolic Letter of Our Predecessor Paul IV., of happy memory, of the 4th day of February 

1557, beginning 1iJtsi S anda, conce rning the erection of the A.rchbishopric of Goa, so that the 

Archbishop of Goa .cannot in future exercise any jurisdiction, under any title whatsoeve r, 

even worthy of special m ention, in the countries of which we speak. 

These things being thus determined, We consider, that W e hav e fully provided for th e 

proper government of r eligion throughout those places, and W e confidently hope, that it will 

come to pass, that, God Almighty blessing the design commenced by Us, those things may 

greatly tend to the increase of the Church. For We confide, that all will p ay to Our D ecrees 

that obedience, which is due to Our dignity to Whom, in P eter, the pov,r er of feedin g, 

directing, and governing the Universal Chnrch has been delivere d by God. Finally We doubt 

not, th at those who hitherto have r esisted Our will, will b e su sceptible of more whole-

some counsel, and become sincerely aver se to the mo st grievous evil of schism. 

For besides that dnty peculiar to every Catholic, by wh~ch he is bound to obey P eter 

speaking through Us, ·We are per suaded, that they have under stood, th at those r easons) 

which they h~ve all eged, in defence of their dissension, can by no means exc use their 

opposition. For it is well known to all, th a t the .Apostolic See, in conceding that Patronage 

to the Most Faithful Kings of P ortugal, never intended to place an impediment to its . . 
providing for r eligion in those countries, nor to its having the power of decr easing those 

t hings, which in consideration of the n ecessity of the times, the salvation of the Chri sti an 

people would h ereafter demand . 

W e think, that they also s~e, how greatly different, and distinct frol11 the present state 

of things, the times were, in which that pri vilege was granted and obser ved. We suppo se 

that they even feel, that those countries, to provide for the good of which, W e hav e turned 

Our attention, are no longer subj ect to th e old political government, under which it was 

easy for the Kings of Portugal to exercise the Patronage, but that they h ave come under 

the sway of a most powerful Sover eig n, whose form of government and institutions, ,Ve 

are well aware) will not allow it. 

Finally, We r emember, that the Roman Pontiffs Our Predecessor s, notwithstanding the. 

concession of the P atronage, have rig htly decreed, that from the Dioceses comprehended 

under that privilege, provinces should some times be se parated, and Aposto lic Vicariates .. 

embr acing those provinces, co nstituted fo r the ben efit of religion. Wher efore, W e confide, 

t hat those who have not h esitated to oppose U s hitherto, will easily p er ceive that they should 

take care, lest, refusing obe dience to OUI' Decree made in the prese nt state of things, they 

may openly sh ow, that they can produce no r eason for their dissension, but that of a 

disobedient spirit. 

D eclaring the present letters to be, and that they shall continue to be firm, valid .. 

and effi cacious, and that they are to lmve their full and complete effect, and to retain the 

same, an d are to avail to their widest extent, tho se for whose conc ernment they have b een 

issued, or whom th ey sh all at any future time affect, notwithstanding any enactments to 

the contrary. 

Given at Rome, at St. P eter's, under the Ring of 
the Fisherman, the 24th day of April 1838, 

of Our Pontificate the eighth year. 
E. CARD. DE GREGORIO. 



29 

APPENDIX III. 

Translation of the Apostolic Letter" Probe n03tis," (9th May, 1853). 

'1'0 O'Uj' Venej'able Bj'etkl'en, tlte Bishops Vicaj's Apostolic, and to OUj' Beloved Sons, the Faithf1tl 

in Ohist of the Missions in the East Indies. ' 

PlUS P. P. IX. 

Venemble Bj'ethj'en and Beloved Son.~, Hectlth and the Apostolic Benediction. 

Y 011 are all well aware, Venerable Brethren, and it cannot be unknown to you , Our Be-

loved Sons, what the Pontiffs Our Predecessors, conformably to the duty divinely imposed 

upon them in Blessed Peter of feeding and protecti.ng the whole flock of the Lord, and in 

virtue of the office of the Supreme A postolate, have heretofore done in order to reform and 

promote in these countries the Catholic Faith, which through the injury of times had so much 

suffered. $triking proofs of sU:ch unceasing vigilance ot this Holy See are furnished by the 

Apostolic Briefs and Decrees of our Predecessors, more particularly by those of Pope Gregory 

XV!., of happy memory, by which He, though in an extraordinary manner conformably to 

exigencies, but nevertheless sufficiently and tully, caused the Pastoral care and government 

of these countries, as also the wants of the Faithful to be provided for, by means of the 

Bishops Vicars Apostolic and evangelical labourers. You know also what We Ourselves by 

the unsearchable counsel of Divine Providence placed on this Chair of the Prince of the 

Apostles, have done -by reason of the same solicitude and burden, as in duty bound, that we 

might pursue the work until room be made for introducing or restoring the ordinary form 

and institution of Chul'ches. 

Nevertheless it unfortunately happened; what seemed impossible to suppose, VIZ_, that 

even amongst Catholics there were not wanting some, who, completely carried away by 

specious and human pretexts, dared to oppose such salutary arrangements and _resist and 

impugn the authority of the Supreme Vicar of J esus Christ on earth, and who are seen still 

to continue most miserably obstinate in their crime. 

-Y ou perceive, Venerable Brethren and Beloved Sons, that We speak of that abominable 

dissension, which stirred up some time back hy certain worthless Goanese Priests in these 
I 

countries, is gradually increasing to the greatest detriment of the eternal salvation of the 

Faithful, and which is daily more and more pushed on, in order to effectuate the foulest 

Schism; but the Apostolic See did not fail, as you are aware, to resist the growth of such an 

-evil from the very beginning, and without intermission, and in all doctrine, patience and 

charity, to bring back to their duty the erl'ing Priests, and that portion of the Catholic people 

deceived by them. In which matter, being desirous to imitate the forbearance and earnest 

study of Our predeces~or Gregory, We endeavoured to withdraw by admonitions, exhortations, 
and instl:uctions, the said dissenting Priests and their followers from the way of perdition. 

But, Venerable Brethren, you see indeed that all has proved useless, and after having 

experienced the daily growing injuries hereby inflicted upon religion, and deploring with 

Us Christ's flock so long rent asunder and torn into pieces, you fully understand that more 

energetic remedies become necessary . We therefore feel that We must now apply Our hand 

to this work, and We are, though reluctantly, compelled thereto more particularly by the deeds 



30 

recently effected by these agitators" with the assistance of the Bishop of MacfLo, in the 

territories of the Island of CeJilon, Bombay and perhaps in other parts, of which yon are not 

ignorant, and which have exceedingly increased the sorrow and pain of Our heart. ~'or We 

learnt that the aforesaid Prelate, without being furnished with either any A postolic Mandate, 

which We never gave him, or permission, passed through those countries subj ect to the , 

jurisdiction of Our Vicars and of this Apostolic See, where yielding to the pr~yers and urgent 

entreaties of the chiefs amongst the dissenting Priests, he was not afraid to administer Con-

firmation and even Holy Orders, in spite and contempt of the Canonical Decrees and general 

as well as particnlar Apostolic Constitutions, and that he not only by example, but also by 

word and unworthy preaching, did not dread to confirm the faithful people ,in their deception, 

and to alienate and summon them away more and more from the due obedience and subjection 

to their legitimate Pastors. 

No sooner had this most afflicting news reached Us than We sent letters to the Bishop 

of Macao, wherein We pointed out the grievous wrong he had done and admonished him to 

refrain from similar acts, to consult his conscience, and to be careful in repairing the scandal 

given to the Faithful. Shortly afterwards the reports from the Bombay Mission having 

reached Us, We thought proper again to warn that PrelfLte once more with fresh exhortations, 

that he should look to his soul and should make due reparation, and trusting that he would 

comply with Our paternal admonitions, We entreated him in the Lord not to compel Us to 

proceed more severely, nor to enforce against him the sacred Canons. 

Notwithstanding the existence of the many and but too painful proofs of the determined' 

obstinacy of the Priests o:l' whoUf We made mention above, nevertheless in order that W e 
may not give up all hope of their salvation, as also that by all means We may deliver the 

faithful people, as far as We are able, from their craft ·and deceit, and rescue them from the 

danger of eternal perdition in which they are whilst following their footsteps, We think it 

p rop er, that We should direct towards them also Our particular care. N ow among others of the 

aforesaid Priests, who for a long time have laboured in fomenting and propagating dissension, 

and in establishing the Schism, who it is clear are liable to ecclesiasticai penalties and 

censures, We think it very proper to notice by name those, who were the principal 

authors of what has been perpetrated by the Bis~lOp of Macao in the Vicariate of Bombay, 

viz. Mariano Antonio Soares, who boasts himself to b e the Vicar-General of the Goa Prelate 

in the Bombay territory, as also the Priests Gabriel DeSilva, Braz Fernandes, and Joseph 

DeMello. 

These in particular We admonish and We most affectionately exhort them in the Lord, 

to cease now at least from such impious doings, and to delay no longer to lo ok after their own 

souls, and the eternal salvation of others. But although they are not ignorant, that they are 

liable to canonical penalties and eccl esiastical censures, nevertheless We declare, unless they 

return within two months from the publication of this Our Brief, they shall be held to have 

incurred them, to be suspended a divinis, and to be Schismatics, and separated from the 

Catholic unity, and We will that they be branded and denounced as such by the faithful people. 

We are also fully aware, that there are other priests, who have long endeavoured to 

fomeilt and effect in other countries the most heinous Schism, such as in Madras, Ceylon, and 



31 

other Missions. vVe however for the present refrain from reproving and punishing them by 

name j for We entertain the hope, that they, as well as the above mentioned priests will give 

an easy and willing ear to Our paternal exhortations, and that they will submit themselves 

and the peo'ple deluded by them to their legitimate pastors, viz., Our Vicars and those of 

the Apostolic See, in order that We may not be compelled to proceed more severely against 

them also. 

Now though in virtue of long-since enacted and repeated Decrees and Constitutions and 

commands of this Holy See, as r egards the legitimate pastors of the East Indies, there doe s 

not r emain the smallest room for wavering or doubting, nevertheless in order to remove all 

subterfuge, W e declare again positively, and as far as it may be necessary, that in the 

es tablished Apostolic Vicariates, all authority and jurisdiction belong and are committed 

to Our Vicars. or Administrators and those of the H oly See, in such manner that no on8 

whosoever shall be allowed to exercise in the same territories sacred functions, or to 

administer the Sacraments, save with their leave and faculty. 

But nothing is more frivolous, than what is said t.o be the constant boast of tho se priests in 

order to beguile the simplicity of the Faithful, viz., that very many tp.ings are decreed, not by 

t h e A postolic See aud the Roman Pontiff, but are enacted by the Sacred Congregation de 

Pt'9paganda Pide without His knowledge or counsel: moreover that several matters are not 

to be complied with, because de stitute of the place t of the Civil Authority. Let them know 

t h erefore, that all and every of those things decreed in this matter, have been enacted by the 

Roman Pontiffs on 'fheir own determination (propt'io motu), with full knowledge and delibera-

t ion, and in the plenitude of 'fheir power, ~nd if Our predecessors of happy memory, or even 

vVe, have d'ecreed certain matters through Our said Congregation, let them know that they 

have been decreed and ordained by Our will and command, and that of the Roman Pontiffs, 

and not without '1'heir knowledge and counsel. For all men know, that Our Sacred Congrega-

tion is nothing more than an assistant in counsel of the Apostolic See, and a minister of the 

mandates and commands of the self-same Holy S:e. It is indeed a foul and impious device, 

that the Tights divinely conferred upon the Apostolic 8ee and the power of the k eys of the 

supreme government of the Church delivered by Christ the Lord can be restricted, pro scribed 

or diminished by human ' ordinances. In vain does h e glory to be in the Catholic communion, 

who is not joined to the Chair of Peter and to the Roman Pontiff: and whosoever is not w.-~th 

Him, must needs acknowledge to be against Him and out of unity, for whosoever does not 

gather with U s scattereth. Now We can never recogni se those to be joined with the Chair 

of Peter and the Roman Pontiff, who oppose and refuse to obey Our Vicars, and those of the 

Holy S ee constituted by the same See for the government of those Faithful. Nor is it to b e 

passed by in silence that the aboh mentioned Priests resist not on ly the legitimate Church 

authority and consequently the Divine ordinance, but through these t h eir d.issensions labour 

moreover, that the negociations alr eady entered into. between Us and Our most deal' 

daughter in Christ, Maria the Mo st Faithful Queen ' of Portugal and the Algarves, and her 

Government, should not be brought to a happy issue, and so they oppose the wishes of the 

Queen herself, whilst they imagine to do her a service . 

Lastly, We address also you, Ol~r Beloved Sons the Faithful, and We admonish you mo st 
c 



32 

affectionately, and exhort you to avoid carefully those who endeavour to withdraw you from 

the Pastors set over you, and therefore from ,Our communion, and that you will never suffer 

yourselves to be separated from that unity, out of which there can be no salvation. Beware 

of those who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly are ravening wolves. We 

again inform you that in the Goanese Priests and others who disturb you, there is no jurisdic-

tion or authority whatsoever, or any faculty for exercising the sac~>ed ministry in tho se 

territories, in which Our Vicars and those of the Apostolic See are established; so that you 
. . 

would only adhere to them to the ruin of your souls, as long as they themselves remam cut 

off from their legitimate Prelates. 

For the rest trusting in Him, Who is the Author of peace, and the God of all consolation, 

We entertain the firm hope, that after this Our Brief has been spread amongst yuu, the erring 

. will return to the way of justice and salvation, and that We may everywhere behold but one 

sheepfold. 

In the meantime most affectionately We impart to you, Venerable Brethren, and to those 

beloved flock s committed to your care the Apostolic Benediction. 

Given at St. Peter's in Rome the ninth day of ::May, 1853, the seventh year Ot Our 
Pontificate. 

PIUS P.P. IX. 



33 

APPENDIX IV. 
Letter of the Supreme Pontiff Pius IX. 

To His Most Faithful Majesty Don Luis, Kiul3' of Portugal,; 3rd August 1864. 

SIRE, 

With the frankness becoming Our Apostolic Ministry and with the confidence inspired 

by the noble character of your Majesty, We call your sovereign attention to a question of 

the gravest nature, which for a long time has caused to Our heart serious uneasiness, and, 

while it concerns the most vital interests of the Catholic religion, it is at the same time inti-

mately bound up with both the conscience and the interests of your Majesty . We intend to 

speak about the Convention entered -into by Us in the year 1857 with your Majesty's august 

brotl~er of glorious memory, with the object of putting an end to the great calamities which 

afflict the Catholic Church in India, and of providing for the true welfare and spiritual advan-

tage of an immense population in need, above all, ·of spiritual help and special assistance. 

We do not desire here to place before the eyes of your Majesty the whole series of 

the events which happened before, during, and after the stipulation of that solemn document, 

or the grave consider&tions which urged Our august predecessors to send to India their 

Vicars Apostolic in order to support the Church in its extreme danger, or the contradictions 

and injuries those venerable Prelates had to suffer even at the hands of those who ought to 

have assisted them in their mission, or the repeated schismatical invasions of churches 

and missions subject to the authority of Our Vicars, or lastly, the '1uite extraordinary 
indulgence We have shewn by legitimating, although only for a time, a usurpedjurisdic-

tion, and by reviving a most singular privilege which, in regar~, to the places under foreign 
dominion' in which it is to be exercised, and to the other surrouS~ding circumstances, has no 
parallel in the history of the Church. Nothing more is requirE 1 at present, than to establish 

before your Majesty two undeniable facts; the true and real purpose which the two supreme 

authorities had in view when concluding the ab.ove-mentioned Convention, and the loyalty 

with which the Holy See, in face of the difficulties and embarrassments subsequently raised, 

put its hand to the execution of the stipulated contract. Sire, in order to induce Us to 

conclude the Concordat for India, We, Who are placed by Almighty God at the head of the 

government of His flock, had not, and could not have, any other object in view than the 

. cessation of the evqs which beset those vast countries, the glory of the Lord, the pacification 

of His Church, the true and positive interest of religion and of souls . Nor could any other 

have been the purpose of your august predecessor, who, animated as he was by noble and 

generou~ Catholic senti?1ents, understood well enough how absolutely impossible it was for 

Us to permit that the intended change in the form of Church government in India should 

cause the least harm or danger to the eternal salvation of the souls confided to Our care . 

This being stated, your Majesty will fully understand, that all Our common solicitude 

and interest must be placed in providing for the execution of the Treaty in such a way that, 

whilst We use the supreme power given to Us by God for edification and not for destruction, 

and your Majesty shews yourself a dutiflll and devout son 'Of the Church, both of Us may be 

able to co-operate towards safeguarding the interests of Our holy religion, and thus to avoid 

the heavy responsibility which otherwise would press upon Us in the £ace of the terrible 

judgment of Almighty God. 
J. , 



34 

Having this object in view, We overlooked the new grounds for just complaint 

given to Us, after the stipulation of the Treaty, by the bestowal of honours on ecclesiastics 

who had r ebelled against Our authority (I), by the omission of the publication of certain 

documents ordered by Us (2), and by continued usurpations and repeated insults offered to 

the authority of Our Vicars and of Our Oongregation of the Propaganda (3), and, notwith-

standing these grievances, We sent Our Commissary to India. The in~trLlctions which under 

such circumstances We gave to him, whilst in conformity with the stipulated articles of Our 

Oonvention, were all calculated to secure the. perfect pacification of the Ohurch, to gua-

rantee the true spiritnal advantage of the faithful, and to promote the propagation of Our 

holy religion. And had it not pleased Almighty God to call to Himself that worthy Prelate, 

the labours preparatory to the execution of the Ooncordat would perhaps at this moment be 

in a more advanced state. 

In accordance with the reports received from members of that commission, We 

have, howev.er, to point out some circumstances of the utmost gravity, which absolutely must 

be submitted to a most serious consideration, before any further step can be taken. They 

refer in the first place to the territorial extension of the Archbishopric of Goa, and of the new 

Bishopric to be established within the territory of the same Archdiocese . Owing to the want 

of accurate local information,' it must be confessed, both the Government of your Majesty an!l 

the Holy See found no difficulty in agreeing that, whilst the old territory of the Archbishop 

of Goa was to be preserved as fixed by Pontifical Bulls, a di sti!1ct Bishopric was to be erected 

within the limits of the sanie Archdiocese . But when Our Oommissary had arrived at the 

very place marked out for i:";connection and for the circumscription of the new Diocese, and 

examined in detail the enormous and unwieldy extension of the territories which would have 

to be assigned to the Archbishopric of Goa as well as to the new Bishopric, he felt so gl'eat a 

surprise and repugnance that he could not help proposing to the Oommissary of your :Majesty 

to appeal to the good sense of your Government, in order to obtain fresh instructions with the 

view of a more equitable and reasonable division. And the same Archbish,op of Oarthage 

was witness to the just impression made even on the Royal Oommissary, who, although a 

warm supporter of the Portuguese Patronage, was yet reasonable eno ugh to refrain from 

insisting on a literal execution of the Ooncordat, and shewed himself disposed to ask for new 

and more precise instructions. 

And indeed, how would it have been possible that while in all parts of the Oatholic 

world, in order to provide for the ever growing spiritual wants and to facilitate th~ propa-

gation of the Oatholic Faith, the centres of Episcopal authority are day by day multiplied, 

new Hierarchies erected, and new Apostolic Vicariates and Prefectures established, We should 

have been capable of bringing Ourselves to assign to one or two Prelates the whole tel:ritory 

actually governed, not without grave difficulty and hard exertion, by no less than seven 

Vicars Apostolic animated by incomparable zeal and assisted by sufficient means, well 'organ-

i sed institutions, and zealous missionaries? Moreover, let Us appeal to the sincerity of your 

Majesty's Government and invite the same to declare whether during the protracted and 

painful negotiations f01' the conclusion of the Ooncordat, We had any other intention and any 

other common consideration but to restrict and to circumscribe the new Dioceses so as to 



35 

render the exercise of the pastoral ministry both easy and expeditious. This being the 

case, We declare openly to your Majesty that, according to the information received, We be-

lieve We should fail in Our most sacred duties, were We to leave to the Archdiocese of Goa all 

that territory assigned to it by Pontifical Bull in bygone times, when there was none of the 

Bpiritual help now provided by the care of the Holy See, and to put Our hand to the erection 

of one single other Bishopric within the limits of that same vast territory. 

Let Us rather request that for the glory of God and for the welfare of souls your 

Majesty to issue orders to prepare a new Convention, be it for the circumscription of the Goa 

Archdiocese within equitable and reasonable limits, be it for the erection within that immense 

tract of land of as many Dioceses as are necessary and indispensable for obtaining the desired 

object, the eternal salvation of the Faithful, and the propagation of the Catholic religion in 

the midst of peoples still living in the darkness of error .. 

But besides the difficulties arising from the excessive territorial extension of the new 

Bishoprics, others and still graver ones have been pointed out with regard to their future 

organization. Your Majesty knows full well how arduous and difficult is the task of the Catholic 

clergy in the vast dominions . of the East Indies. An innumerable people buried in the 

darkness of paganism, a considerable remnant of schismatics of an oriental rite obstinately 

holding to their errors, a number of dissident sects established and protected by a Protestant 

Government and helped by rich institutions for the instruction and education of youth, hand-

some private resources, and numerous ministers; all these are circumstances which abso-

lutely demand in the Catholic clergy of India quite special and extraordinary qualities an 

uncommon spirit of self-denial and disinterestedness, refined science, an exemplary purity 
of life, and an active zeal which renders the ministers of the Lord fearless in dangers and 
ready even, if required, to shed their blood for the propagation of the Faith. 

Well then, it paius Our heart to declare it to your Majesty, but the information 

received about the so-called Goa clergy, as a body, has been very unfavorable and 

very discouraging. Far from being a clergy endowed with those extraordinary qualities, 

t hey are described, barring some exceptions, as little or not at all instructed, by no means 

ardent in the fulfilment of their duties; but rather given to a pleasant and inactive life, and 

some times even O"uilty of scandal and grave delinquencies. This information cannot be at all 
to • ~ 

new to your Majesty and to your Royal Government, since in several official reports rendered 

by persons altogether unsuspected, among whom also the Portuguese Commiss::try Senhor 

Rivara is to be reckoned, the condition of the said clel'gy is not described in more favour-

able terms, as there they are said to live for the greater part in a state of deplorable 

ignorance . 

May it then please your Ml!-jesty to judge for yourself, whether a clergy of this descrip-

tion can worthily replace that select band of zealous missionaries who nowadays labour and 

toil with so mp.ch fruit in the vineyard of the Lord, a.nd whether the Head of the Church can 

in good faith confide to priests of that stamp so great and important a part of the fold of Christ 

and the conversion of so many peoples, without rendering Himself guilty before Almighty 

God of the incalculable damage that would be its consequence. If therefore the Concor-

dat has to realize its object, the true and real interests of the Church, it is necessary first to 

d 



36 

prepare a clergy who would consecrate themselves to the hard work of the missions, renounce 

the comforts of this life and the desire of gain, and be filled with the spirit, knowledge, and 

charity of the Lord, in one word a clergy who could without prejudice to souls be sub-

stituted for the clergy actually under the obedience of the Vicars Apostolic. Portugal had al-

ready at the tiule of the first foundation of the Indo-Portuguese Bishoprics a learned and 

zealous clergy, to the joy of the Church and the true glory of that flourishing Kingdom ; 

there were well organized Sen:tinaries, Pontifical Universities, Religious Orders, pious insti-

tutions, and many other establishments for the instruction and education of the young clergy . 

But since unfortunately nowadays the Religious Orders are suppressed in Portugal, their 

educational establishments abolished, the Statutes of the University arbitrarily changed, and 

the Seminaries reduced to a lamentable condition, it will be evidently impossible to find on 

the continent a sufficient number of clergymen endowed with the requisite qualities, and 

ready to abandon the land of their birth in order to face the dangers and to undergo the 

hardships of distant missions. The history of these last times teaches us clearly that it is 

principally to these circumstanc.es that the ·nearly total abandonment · of the Indian Church.es 

must be attributed, which imperiously called for the above-mentioned provisions on the part 

of the Sovereign Pontiffs. 

In order to revive the spirit in the clergy it is altogether indispensable to reorga-

nize in proper form the Seminaries of Goa as well as of the Kingdom, for educating a clergy 

able to satisfy the requirements of the Indian Churches . Expe l'ience moreover attests that it 

is principally in the Religions Orders that the necessary elements are to be found for the 

good and prosperous management of the Church in distant and poor countries. Hence the 

preparation of a zealous and virtuous clergy for India requires moreover of absolute necessity 

that your Majesty, on account of the total absence of Religious Communities, should provide, 

at least for the present, for the establishment of Mission Colleges either in your own country, 

or here in Rome, or elsewhere j and, besides, in order to obtain the very first subjects for the 

new Bishoprics, those institutions should without detriment and prejudice to the souls be 

allowed to furnish other Missionaries. 

We invite therefore your Majesty, on your part to apply yourself to founding the 

said Institutions and Colleges, and to hand over their direction to the respective ecclesiasti-

cal authorities j and We assure you on Our part, that as soon as We shall see issuing from 

them fresh and zealous Ministers, We will with quiet mind and secure conscience confide to 

them in proportion to their number the care of the souls and the future of the Church in 

the East Indies. 

The material means, too, which the Portuguese Government proposes to apply for 

the organization of the new Bishoprics are, according to what Our Commissary had to report, 

altogether insufficient to meet the purpose. But there is still something more. The said means, 

besides being unequal to the burden explicitly taken upon itself by the Portuguese Govern-

ment in virtue of the Concordat, are totally wanting for the establishment and conservancy of 

that long list of educational Institutions, Colleges, Asylums, Hospitals and so many other 

works of beneficence, which are, especially in the present time, so much required for the pros-

perity of a Diocese, and are in fact already suitably established and maintained in many Aposto-



37 

lic Vicariates. Your Majesty understands sufficiently that in a co~ntry, where the Oatholics 

are in possession of such 'Institutions, it would indeed be impossible to let them all at once 

disappear without thereby causing misery, discontent and disaffection among the faithful, not 

to mention the danger of seeing many abandon the true relig'ion for anothe r one which in the 

same place offers with regard to temporal requirements better assistance and greater advan-

tages . And it is precisely on account of the failure, under which the Portuguese Government 

labours, of the above-mentioned means, and in consideration of the consequences pointed out, 

that some of those Oatholic Oommunities have forwarded to Us addresses and petitions in 

favour of the continuance in their respective countries of the Vicars Apo stolic, addresses and 

petitions which not only place Us in a painful situation, but also furnish Us with a well-

founded Inotive for calling the attention of your Majesty and of your Royal Government to 

this question of the utmost importance. 

But in addition to all these' serious difficulties, which W e invite your Majesty to 

remove so as to secure by the execution of the Ooncordat the true interests of the Ohurch, 

there are others of still greater impor~ance. The Ooncordat was to inaugurate an era of 

peace and tranquillit.y for the Oatholic Ohurch in India. This was in fact the scope which 

We and the august predecessor of your Majesty had in view when We concluded and rati-

fied the same. No'w, as long as t he false notions, which upset Our authority and that of. Our 

Oongregations, are not withdrawn, but are allowed to continue to rule with impunity in India, 

as long as the force aud authority of Our Decrees and Our Briefs are not publicly recog-

nised by all, and in particular by the Agents of the Government, as long as the publication 

of books and Pamphlets of subversive tendencies and anti-O atholic principles is left un-

punished, as long as the ecclesiastics who foment division, calumniate Our Vicars, and live 

improper and scandalous lives, are not recalled to their duty, as long as the iniquitous law, 

which confiscates the property of the Goanese priests, who submit to the ob edience of the 

Vicars Apostolic, and inflicts on them the pain of imprisonment should they put their 

foot on Portuguese soil, is not expressly abrogated, and lastly as long as those parish priests 

who gave the sad example of open rebellion against this Apostolic See, are not deposed 

from their office, it will be not only utterly impossible to consolidate the peace, but also new 

and more dangerous germs of an interminable and disastrous struggle must shoot forth. 

This is why We pray Your Majesty to crown that work of peace by giving the strictest 

orders calculated to remove the evils We deplore. Your Majesty may believe that your 

influence in India will never be better secured and guaranteed, than when your directions 

and decrees keep in perfect harmony :with the sound maxims and with the directions and 

decrees of the Apostolic See. 

Finally, a last and very important declaration IS here necessary in order to secure 

more and more the object of the Ooncordat. Your Majesty cannot ignore that Our P~'edeces­
SOl'S, and on different occasions We Ourselves, have had the displeasure to be obliged to 

reprove and condemn not a few enactments and laws published there to the prejudice of 

the Ohurch and in violation of h er most sacred rights. Above an have been reproved 

and condemned the laws on the "Royal Placet" which put obstacles to the free intercom-

mUllion between the Faithful and the Head of the Church, and prevent the free execution 



38 

of Pontifical decrees; a protest has been entered against the suppression of religious corpo-

rations, against the alienation of ecclesiastical property, against the reduction and alteration 

of pious bequests, against t'he abolition of the parochial benefices, and against several other 

measures of the same kind j lastly, many abuses and arbitrarily introduced cHstoms have 

been reproved and condemned, among which the most noteworthy and most fraught with 

sinister consequences was this, that the nominees of the King to Cathedral churches began 

the exercise of Episcopal jurisdiction before they had received from the. Holy See the Bulls of 

their canonical institution. 

Now, if this state of things, so lamentable and so disastrous for the Church, h as 

been reproved and condemned in the case of Dioceses already erected and established in 

Portugal, within the terr~tory subject to its own political dominion, it would be entirely im-

possible for Us to tolerate the same in any way in the new Churches which according to the 

Concordat have to be erected in the territory of India, over which the political power of 
Portugal does not extend its authority. Your Majesty may judge in your impartiality and 
religious sentiment, whether the Head of the Church, on whom the duty is imposed of defend-

ing and protecting the liberty and the sacred rights of the Spouse of Christ, can, without 

rendering Himself culpable before Almighty God, substitute for an ecclesiastical government 

free from all bondage and unrestrained by any shackles, an administration subject to laws 

and ordinations restricting the ecclesiastical power; substitute for the free communication 

of the Faithful with the Holy See, an arbitrary system full of obstacles, and impediments; 

for the full free power of the sacred shepherds over their clergy and their flocks, a restricted 

and limited rule dependent in every respect on the arbitrary judgment of a government. 

Majesty, let Us repeat it in all freedom, ready to confirm it, if necessary, b efore the whole 

world, We cannot give Our concurrence to the establishment of a state of thing§> so prejudicial 

to the Church, in substitution for the other one so flourishing and so fruitful of all possible 

good, without feeling a remorse of which We absolutely want to free Our conscience. Let 

therefore Our action and Our authority in all the new Churches be declared free; let the full 
and absolute independence of the pastoral ministry be guaranteed; let the free communi-

cation of the Faithful with their Bishops and with the Holy See be established; let no 

impediment be put to the execution of Our acts and of those of the ecclesiastical authority; 
let the inviolability of the Church patrimony be respected j let the Bishops enjoy the right to 

establish in their Dioceses Religious Orders and Congregations j let the latter be at liberty to 

fo und every kind of pious institutions, whether for charitable, benevolent or educational 

purposes j let no abuses and usages otherwise censured by Us be introduced there, and 

particularly no undue interference in the administration of the Dioceses j and then your 

Majesty may, with the blessing of God, call for Our co-operation, which We shall then yield 
to you without anxiety and without remorse, nay with true satisfaction of Our heart. 

May it please your Majesty to weigh with a tranquil and benevolent mind the 

declarations which We were bound in conscience to make to you aft~r having received from 

India the Reports of those whom We sent there for the execution of the Concordat. Your 

Majesty must not believe, that all We have pointed out to you is the result of a foregone 

resolve to withdraw the privileges granted, or to create embarrassments to your Government. 



39 

No God is OU1' witness that We have no other intention but that of securing the well-being 

of souls and the interests of Our holy religion. W e are )'ather persuaded that, by 

inviting your Majesty to smooth down t he difficulti es that st::md in the way ot so noble and 

grand an undertaking, W e act ually submit to you t h e means for obtaining the advantages 

which your august broth er had in view for the good of both Church and State . May it then 

please you to give Us t h e consolation to see OLl!' wishes and desires fu lfilled j and b e assured 

that, by securing the execution of the Concordat in the way W e have pointed out, your 

Majesty will call down the blessings of H eaven upon youl'self, upon your whole august family, 

and upon t he Por tug nese nation j and the peace of the Church, restored by that act, and the 

~aIvf1tion of so many SOL1Is guaranteed by yO Ul' efficacious co-operation, will form the most 

splendid and imp el'i sha,ble g lory of your reign. 

Receive in the meant ime the Apostolic blessing which, from the inmost of Our h eart, We 

bestow upon your Maj~sty and npon the whole royal fami ly. 

Given at Castle Gandolfo, the 3rd Augu. t 1864. 

PIUS PP. IX. 

(1) Allusion to a notice by Govemmellt in serted at th e t ime of t h e publication of the Concordat, in the official 
Boletim (Ie Goa, in which the f oll owing passage occurs: " On thi s occasion H is Majesty orders that to all the ecclesias · 

tics of the Orient, who hare taken such grea,t pains to uphold t h e rightR of the Portugllese Crown, be sig nified His just 
appreciation of t h eir pfl,tri otic efforts, and hopes t h at all will g ive one proof more of their devotedness. __ by givin g 

their temperate and prudellt assistan ce towards puttin g an end to the misunderstalld ing . " An allnsioll also to the 
dignity to which the c hi ef of the fOllr priests named in the Brief P,'o/Je nost·is was elevated in the Cn,thedral of Goa . 

(2) Allnsion to the omitted publi cation of the second act of Archbishop Amorim Pessoa, dated 4th October 

1862, ord ered by the Popc to be issued and pnblished by thc Archbishop ill order to rectify 11is first act of the 18th 

June, in w hi ch grn,ve and mis leadiug errors were contai ned regardin g his ordina ry n,n d extraordinary jurisdi ctions. 

'l'hough signe d by the Archbis h op, it has n ever been publish ed in Goa, either by the Government in th e Boleti", (le Goa, 
or by the Vicar General of Goa. Likewise au allusion to the omitted publication of the act of i'etr actation, snbmission, 

'tnd r epentance, signed on the 23rd December 1862 by t h e four priests of t he Goa jurisdiction wh o h ad h een nominally 
cen sured in tlle Brief P,'obe nostis, dated 9th May 1853. 

(3) Allusion to the insults in thc Lisbon Chamb ers an d jOllrnah; again st the Holy See, and esp eci all y against 

the SaCl'ed Con gregation of t h e Propaganda, which was oftcn falsely represented as ft society independent of the 

Supreme Pontiff, whilst it is nothing bnt the Council and the mOllthpiece of the Supreme Ponti.ff, Who is responsibl e 
for its Resolutions (" S. Cong, ·egat·io1lem ?lOsh'am 'WI1I1,isi pel' GOI/,ili,.m odj"t?'ire?1l Nob;., et "wndMo?"1'''' (Ie ju,ssio""".. 
minish'am esse omnes nOI·nn! ." Pius IX . in t he Brief P,'obe no .• t'i.,) 

e 





• 

41 

APPENDIX V. 

Letter from H. E. Cardinal L. Jacobini, Secretary of State, to the Marquis of 
Thomar, Portuguese Ambassador to the Holy See. 

VATICAN PALACE, Ion Ap?'il 1884. 
In the very beginning' of His Pontificate, on the occasion of the prorogation of the 

extrao.rdinary faculties of the Archbishop of Goa, demanded by the Royal Portuguese 

Government in 1878, our Holy Father directed His attE)ntion to the state of the Catholic 

Church in the East Indies, and the increasing development of those new Christianities was 

the . object of His Apostolic solicitude. And while He fonnd reason for joy and consolation 

in the fl~)Urishing condition and the progressive increase of the Churches directed by the 

Vic-31'S Apostolic, which induced Him to increase the number of Vicariates, He could not fail 

to deplore the state of decay and the grave disorders, which take place among the Faithful 

confided to the care of the Goanese clergy. 

Extensive and anthentic reports addressed to the Holy See, from various points of the 

East Indies, agree in attesting, in a precise and incontestflble way, enormous abuses in the 

exercise of the sacred ministry, ignorance and religious abandon~ent of the people, reprehen-

sible traffic, scandalous intrusion.s, violent conflicts. In many places the children are only 

. baptised at the age of thl-ee, of four, and sometimes of twelve years. Marriages are blessed in 

the closest degrees of consanguinity, without canonical dispensat,ion, and without proof of the 

bee state, and also very often the nuptials of sllpposedwidows are authorised, while the first 

husband is still alive. The sacrament of penance is o1{ly administered once a year, and with-

out any proof of repentance, public sinners, persons notoriously living in concubinage, and 

men given to sorcery and necromancy are admitted to the sacraments. 

In pa~'ochial churches there is only a sermou once 01' twice a year on the occasion of 

some solemnity. '('he religious festivals and the most celebrated sanctuariE)s are profaned by 

obscene dances, scandalous scenes and pagan snperstitions, authorised by the presence of the 

priest. The Holy Eucharist is on ly reserved in the churches during Lent. No care is taken 

of the sick, who, abandoned afte l' confession, "careely ever receive the last sacraments and 

often die without the assistance 'of the pl'iest, who, having all his care in receiving the fees 

which pertain to him, is not accustomed to be absent at the funeral or the interment. 

The schools are far from corresponding to the necessi bies and to the extent of the parishes, 

and often Jews and Muhammadans of wealthy families (1,1'e preferred to poor Christian boys. 

The teaching . of the catechism is completely neglected, nor do the people know the funda-

mental mysteries of the Faith and the obligation by which they are bound to use the sacra-

ments: in various villages the value of the Mass above that of other pnblic prayers is not 

distinguished, and in some it happens even that the nalle of the Divine Author of the Church 

is unknown. 

From these facts it i~ easy to undel'stand what is the culture and the conduct of the 
Goanese priests. Generally not possessing the most elementary theological knowledge, of an 

undisciplined te~nper and independent even of their own Archbishop, rather than promote 



42 

the good of the faithful, they fix their minds on augmenting their OIVil incomes in the exer-

cise of the holy ministry. It is not the)'efore surprising that, without any authority and con-

trary to fl,ll right, they intrud e themselves in administering ba.ptism, in blessing' marl'iages 

radically null for want of jurisdiction, and in burying the Faithful, who belong to the obe-

dience of the Vicars Apostolic. Similf1,J' usurpations have continued fOl' a long time, nor are 

there wanting cases of injurious publications, of calumnious perseclltions organised fl.gainst the 

same Vicars, of abominabl e artifices to throw back into paganism villages conve rt ed by them, 

of violent occupation of their chm'clles and of public tumults, as is attested by the infinite 

series of lawsllits and appeals, which al'e preserved in the r ecords of the English Conrts and 

of the Government of India" 

In the midst of a pagan people, in the presence of schismatical oriental sects 

obstinately attach ed to their errOl'S, it is easy to und er stand how such conflicts become pre-

jndicial to the increase and to the honour of the Catholic name. The people, ill-instructed 

:md abandoned to themselves, who, seldom visited by the priest, see him more intent on his 

own gain than on their spiritl1al good, naturally are reduced to live a pagan lifo, or, as hap-

pens in various villages, miserably return to paganism . The continual and bitter disagree-

ments between t,wo dasses of ministers of the same religion, and the two-fold rule followed 

by them in moral judgments, and in the administration of the sacraments, produce scandal 

and confusiOD in the minds of men, whicb enfe eble thei)· faith and repel from t h e Church the 

pagans, who ought to be invited to it by the diviDe attractions of fl, religion of clul,l~ity, truth 

and justice, 

This deplorable situation was presented to the examination of a special congJ'ega-

tion of Ca:r din al s in ] 881, when the la~t pro r ogation of the extraordinary faculties of the 
Archbishop of Goa was under consideration. These most eminent Fathers were unanimous 

in recognising the urgent necessity for remeilying uch grave abuses, and in indicating to the 

Holy Father as the only etJicadou,~ ?'e1nccly the all01iti on of t h e jlll'isdict ion of the Archbishop 

of Goa over the stat?~ quo il; all the Vicariates A postolic of the East T ndies. In spite of this, 

His Holiness, animated with sentime 'l t~ of special predilection for his Most Faithful Majesty, 

and moved by the spirit of noble moderation, was pleased to concede the prorogation 

demanded for two years, and in this interval, ordered that in the same places should be newly 

collected more exact and certain information, and that a gene r'al and circumstallt ial report 

should be drawn up upon the religions con d it ion of those Churches. The Sovere ig n order 

was faithfully exec ll ted, and h e who writes t h e::;e pages h as before him t.he long and detailed 

report upon th e state of the delegfl,t~cl jnrisdiction, which confirms sub stantiall y the irregulari-
ties which have been above enumerated, and it concludes as follows :-" Many of these 

"Christians live like pa~'ans j some vi llages have relapsed entirely iu to heathenism, others 

(C will soon follow, if a prompt re medy is not applied to the abaudonment ill which the 

( Goane::;e pri est s have left them." 

'rhe Holy See has not failed on various occasions to make known tu the Portuguese Gov-

ernment its painful apprehensions with respect to the deplorable state of the Churches of the 

East Indies, sometimes in conceding the repeated prorogations of the delegated jurisdi.ction, 

limiting it to three to two years and even to one year, somet imes by means of t h e verbal 



43 

manifestations of it l> representatives, and princip ally in the memorable letter of 3rd August 

1864, addl'essed to his Most Faithful Majesty by His Holiness Pius IX., iu which wer e poiuted' 

out the many obstacles by which the action of the P ontiff and of th e Vicars Apo stolic was 

imp ede d, the injuries done to and the p ersecution s raise d against their holy ministry, the 

schi smatical r esistanc es, t h e r epeated invasions and ather fa.tal consequence,q of the Doubl e 

.Ju1'·isrliction, and th e two principal canses of these evils were demonstrated, to wit, the 

character of the Goanese clergy, and the enormOll s extent of t h e te rritory. 

The dispo sition of the Goanese people is notol'ious. 'rhey consider the eccle siastical 

state as a common profession or a civil career, in which they a re accustomed to pnt their 

sons in ordor that they may obtain m eans of gain and of sub sistence . In this way is easily 

explained the ,v'ant in many of them of divine vocation (which is the base of abnegation and 

of the ecclesiastical virtues ), their deficiency in instr uc tion, their negligence in the holy ministry, 

t h e fr equent tumults and their spirit of self-interel>t a nd independenc e . The present Arch-

bishop of Goa-it is right to mention it-employs all his prudent zeal to maintain disci-

p line a nd diminish disorders, but in regions so vast, the dire ction of the prelate b ecome::; 

inefficaciou s, if it be not obeye d with reverent docility, and b e not seconded by a good clergy, 

well-instructed and active. 

It is impossible to think that such evils can b e stopp ed by marking out the limits of 

t h e Dioceses suffragan to Goa, for, i~ the first place, the four or five new Dioceses would b e 

a b solutely il~ s Llfficient to promote the conv ersion of hundreds of millions of infidels, and to 

satisfy the necessities of those Ohurches, spread over a territory equal in exten~ to the whole 

of Europ e, which with difficulty a re administered by tw enty-five Vicars Apostolic, who se 

n umber goes on in cr easing ye~Lr by year. Be::;ides t hi s, to erect new Dioceses, which may be 

t rue centrol> of action and of religions progress, espe cially in t h e lo cal circumstances 

pec uliar to the Ea::;t Indie>:, it i::; not e nough to mark out t heir boundaries, like those of a 

p roperty 0 1' a state, and to nominate Bishops, but Chapters, Seminaries, Schools, Religious 

Orders, institu tes of educ ation and ch arity are also necessary, and above all, a virtuou s, learn ed 

and zealoLls clergy, conscious of its high mission, and solicitous for t he salvation of soul. '. 

Now to prepare all this, ab undant ma terial means ar e wanted, lwmerous J1fi8,~ional'Y Oolleges, 

the unlimited and vigorou s life of religious congregations, in a word, the free action of the 

Chm'ch and all those conditions of which there is a splendid synthesis in the above mention ed 

letter of .Pills IX., and which t ill now have not b eEnl eomplied with. 

N ever th eless, the Holy See has not failed to give proofs of the most ample condescension, 

lending itself to maintain the .<[(btu 1110 in the precise terms of the agreements and settlements. 

It. had only promised to delegate t h e jurisdiction over the statu 1UO for six years, and t o 

concede a prorogation after t he six years within limits more "r estricted. Nevertheless, 

t welve prorogations have ~Llready elapsed, and a nother of equal extension is demanded after 

nearly thirty years since the Ol'iginal concession, without any , sign or guarantee presentin g 

itself that this precarious state of things is to come to an end. -

The Holy Father, having carefully weighed this important matter in all its extent, is 

pers uaded that the religious situation of the East Indies presents most grave disorders, which 

expose the faith of Catholics to continual perils, and impede the conversion of the heath en 

f 



44 

and the increase of religion. He has recognised also that the Donble J~wisdiction exe1'cisecl in 

the same places by two antonomotts attth01·ities is the ]J1'incipal cCt'use of sttch disorders, and that 

t,he repeated prorogations conceded for so many long years tend to maintain and perpetuate 

them . Moved, therefore, by the sacred duties which His divine mission and Apostolic Minis-

try impose on Him, pre-occupied with the eternal sal vation of so many souls, aftel' mat'Fe 

deliberation, He has determined, that the extraordinary jurisdiction of th~ Archbish op of 

Goa upon the stuttt qtw in the twenty-five Vicariates Apostolic in the East Indies must cease 

as soon as possible. Seeking, h owever, to give a last proof of deference for his Most Faithful 

Majesty and his government, H e has ordered that the said jurisdiction, in conformity with the 

annexed Decree, be prorogued for a year in the territories of Bombay, Mangalore, Madura, 

Verapoly, Qllilon and Madras, and for six months in all the others. 

And in order that this His Sovereign determination may be'complied with peacefully and 

regularly, He desires to proceed in agreement and good intelligence with the gl.lvernment of 

his Majesty, to which will be conceded all the facilities and benevolent. aid, which may be 

necessary to r emove the obstacles to practical execution, and which are advisable on account 

of the delicacy of the circumstances. He has therefore ordered the undersigned Cardinal 

Secretary of State to invite the Government of his Majesty to take without delay thos e 

resolutions which correspond to the just needs of the crown, to the interests of its s Llbj ects 

and tIle glories of the Portuguese name, without in any form compromising the flouri shing 

state of the Vicariates Apostolic and the future progressive development of those Churches. 

And this is what the undersigned C~Lrdinal Secretary of State has to communicate to 

his Excellency in answer to his esteemed note or the 3rd or last January, asking him to kindly 

bring it to the knowledge of his government, and while he hopes the occasion opportune, in 

order that within the term established, the decrees may have their fulfilment, he avails him- . 

self, &c., &c. 

I ... CARDIN AI .. JACOBINJ. 

1-



45 

APPE N D IX VI. 

Translation of the Brief "Studio et Vigilantia," 26th August 1884, 

Fm' pm'peiual Rememb?'ance. 

Ever smce the Ohristian Religion began to illumiue the distant countrie:; of the 
I 

East Indies; the Roman Pontiffs, OUI' Predecessors, have with admirable solicitude and 

vigilance, and by all means in their power, endeavoured to promote its continuous growth and 

. prosperity, and to preserve unimpaired the integrity of the Faith. r[,he missionary expeditions 

undertaken under the auspices and pursuant to the commands of the Apostolic See, the 

creation of Dioceses and Vicariates Apostolic, the appointment of Bishops, and the enactment 

of laws for the right government of the said Vicariates, bear witness to this fact. But in the 

cO-urse of time, the crafty foe of the human race interposed j and dissensions having subse-

quently arisen between the clergy subject to the jurisdiction of Our Venerable Brothel' the 

Archbishop of Goa and the Vicars Apostolic, it was deemed proper, in order to settle those 

differences., to provide by way of a temporary and extraordinary measure for the care and 

administration of such places as were situated outside the Diocese of Goa and within the 

limits of the Suffragan Dioceses, yet were at that time sever ed from the obedience and 

authority of the Vicars Apostolic. With this view, an extraordinary and temporary 

jur~sdiction over those places was delegated to the said Archbishop of Goa, to be exercised by 

him in the name of the Holy Apostolic See, and the limited time originally appoiuted for its 

exercise has since been frequently prorogued, However, from information by us received 

and from documents entirely trustworthy, it has become evident that the religious condition 

of the East Indies for several years past has been unsatisfactory j so much so, indeed, that 

from the grave disturbances which h ave taken place, there is reason to fear lest the faith of 

Oatholics be imperilled, the conversion of infidels to the Faith impeded, and the growth of 

4 religion thwarted, Upon a close consideration of this unfortunate state of things, it has 

appeared to Us that its cause was to be traced chiefly to the double jurisdiction there 

exercis ed by two independent authorities and to the impossibility in which the Archbishop 

of Goa was placed, from the immense extent of those countries, of watching over them 

with due pastoral solicitude. Wherefore, pressed by the obligations of the Supreme Apostolate 

divinely entrusted to Us, moved at the sight of so many souls that perish, and wishing 

to apply a remedy to evils so great, W e have resolved to put an end to the exercise in 

those countries of that double jurisdiction, and in particular, to settle what regards 

the Vicariates Apostolic of Hyderabad, Pondicherry, Oalcutta, the Malayan Peninsula, 

}Jastern Bengal, Oolombo and Jaffna , Having in consequence maturely considered and 

weighed all concern{ng this affair, with the advice of Our Venerable Brothers the 

Oardinals of the Holy Roman Church belonging to the Sacred Congreg'ation of the 

Propagand~, and also of Our Venerable Brothers the Oardinals of the Holy Roman Church 

of the Congregation of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, We have, by decree of the latter 

Oongregation of the 1st April this year, ordered that the extraordinary jurisdiction which 

the Archbishop of Goa, in virtue of a delegation of this Holy See, exercises in the aforesaid 



4·6 

Vicariates o£ Hydera.bad, Pondi cherry, Cal cutta, the Malayan Penini:;ula, Eastern Bengal, 

Colombo and Jaffna, should be prorogued £01' six months only, that is, up to the thirtieth llay 

o£ September o£ this year, 1884. It is Our will that after this term, the jurisdiction of the 

Archbishop of Goa in the said Vicariates do cease altogethee, and We decree and enact that 

from that day henceforth, the said places shall be entirely S ll bjected to the jurisdiction and 

auth ority of the V icars Apo stolic; and We declare and order that the extl'aol'dinaey juris-

cliction irnparted to the Archbishop o£ Goa by Apostolic delegation ill the s""id co nntries, shall 

ceaRe in all of thenJ from the 1st day of October of the present year. 

'l'he1'e£o1'e vVe direct all the clergy and people in those countJ'ies to submit to 

the Vicars Apostolic from the 1st day o£ the said month of Octobel', to obey them, and to 

l'eceive from them only the necessary jurisdiction and facu lties, al l Apol;toli c Decree" and 

Constitutions and anything else whatsoever, however deserving of special and individual 

mention ""nd d erogation, to the contrary llOtwithstanding. 

J:"astly, vVe exhort all, clergy ~tnd laity in the I;a,id countl'ies, to c1Cknowlellge lVith 

one heart and soul their Vicars HR theil ' on ly Pastors, to receive aud pLlt ill practice tll eil' 

saliltary admonitions, 1;0 th~tt the Uhristirtll H.eligion, which is k ept soum1 by chal'ity, may 

suffe) , HO damage, and theythemse]ves 111ay, as is meet, persevere in their al legiance to and 

cOlnmuHion with tlJe Roman Pontiff. 

Given a.t St. Pe te l" s llud er t h e Fi "hm'mau'" so~~l on the 26th (l""y of Angnst, 188·[., in 

the seve ntb yom' of Om PontificRte . 

P . CARD. UHIG-L 



47 

APPENDIX VII. 

Reprint of some of the La.y Petitions against the Portuguese Patronage. 
Nole.-The following petitions are reprinted merely to show the unanimous sentiments 

of the Catholic l aity of the South of India regarding the Portuguese Patronage and the 

Double Jurisdiction. They are selected out of an immense number, which were submitted to 

the Holy See. For instance, more than a hundred such petitions were sent to Rome in 1885 

from the different parts of the Vicariate Apostolic of Madnra, and over eighty were sent from 

the VicarIate Apostolic of Mangalore. 

(A) Petition of the Oatholics of the Viw1·iat e Apostolic oj Pondiche1'1'Y 

(tmnslated j1Y)1n the Tamil) 1885. 

To HIS HOLINESS 'l'HE POPE LEO XIII, VICAR OF JESUS CHRIST 
AND HEIR TO THE POWERS OJ!' ST. Pj;~TER. 

'W}] the Catholics of.. .... ...... in the Vicariate Apostolic of Pondicherry, prostrate at the 

sacred feet of Your Holiness, and craving the Apostolical blessing, dare to address to Your 

Holiness this our humble petition, which we have signe d with our own hands. 

Some weeks ago we were rejoiced to learn that Your Holiness had the intention to abo-

lish, within a few months, the Extraordinary Jurisdiction granted by the Holy See to the 

Archbishop of Goa. But just at the time we were most sanguine in our exp ectations, the 

joy that was filling our hearts has been marred by the strange n ews that the priests of Goa 

, were petitioning Your Holiness that all the Catholics of India and their churches should be 

subjected to their jurisdiction. 

W e, the poor children of Your Holiness, do hereby beseech You to have the kindne ss to 

hear what we h ave to say under that head. Since ou!' .Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed us 

with His Precious Blood and has placed us under the paternal sway of Your Holiness, we feel 

certain Your Holiness will take our interest into the hands of Yo ur Holiness, to help us in 

the right path and to strengthen our weakness, until Your Holiness lands us safe on the 

shore of Heaven. But, if your Holiness ever commands us, Most Holy Father, to submit to 

the Goanese jurisdiction, it is certain we will have to incur many kinds of dangers, woes 

and miseries; for what occurred in the past, shews what we have to fear for the future. 

Indeed before the Apostolic Vicars and their European Missionaries came to India, 

this vast country had only a few Goanese priests to miuister to the wants of the Faithful. 

In that time, many Catholics, without ever seeing the face of their pastors, lived witho ut 
• 

confession, scarcely ever received the Holy Communion, and generally died without receiv-

ing the last s~craments. When the Priests chanced to come to a village, once in every two 

or three years, it was indeed a boon for such as had money to give them, but those, who were 

penniless, had often to suffer for it. For it is a well known fact, that among the Goanese 

priests many would not agree to administer even the sacraments 'of Baptism, Penance or Ex-

treme U notion without asking a fee for the same. Moreover Your Holiness must know that 

under ~he administration of the Goanese priests, the villagers had usually no other churches 

and schools than those built at t h eir own expense. As for PrintiDg Presses, Orphanages, 

Hospitals, Alms-houses, Girl-schools, ' Catechumenates or other similar Institutions, we 

may indeed say that their very names were then unknown to our p'eOpl~. 

9 



• 

48 

To what can we liken the Indian Catholic Church of those days? It was like unto a wild 

and uncultivated country. As in a desert the earth, split with the heat, instead of producing 

umbrageous and fruit-bearing trees or usef ul harvests, brings forth only leafless and stu~ted 

trees, thorns and thistles, so the Christians in those days, instead of briging forth fruits of 

virtue, lived lik~ the Gentiles who know not God. And as cattle which graze in the desert, 

for want of good pasture and fresh water, become more and more emaciated until their bones 

come through their ski~s, so were the Christians under the Goanese priests. They were 

writhing under the torture of spiritual famine, and their hearts were bleeding. And this was 

not all. As sheep without a shepherd are exposed to the incursion of wolves, .which carry some 

of them away into the depths of the forest to devour them j so many Christians, bereft of 

pastors, became an easy prey to the rapacity of heathens and heretics, and turning apostates, 

they lost for ever the blessing of the true religion and the eternal happiness of heaven. 

After many long years had passed in this pitiful state, through the mercy of Almighty 

God, India was at last blesse d with the arrival of the Apostolic Vicars and the Apostolic 

Priests sent by the Holy See. U nJike their predecessors they came thirsting for nothing but 

the good of souls. What did the Goanese priests do then? Being the creatures of the 

Portuguese King, they thought it better to obey him rather than submit to the orders of the 

Vicar of Jesus Christ. And more than this, hardened with pride, they contrived to 

pervert the minds of their flock and carried many of their Christians down with themselves 

into the abuse of Schism. Oh the pity of it ! When the shepherd himself turns into a wolf, 

what is to become of the sheep? 

After thus showing Your Holiness the evils of those times and some of them which arose 

through the agency of the Goanese priests, we propose now to contrast the good work done 

in India by the Apostolic Vicars and their Missionaries. As the husbandman, who, in the 

sweat of his brow, tills the ground and waters it regardless of f!Ltigue, until he reaps a 

good hal'vest; so the Apostolic Missionaries no sooner had reached India, than putting th~ir 

hands to the plough, they spared neither time, nor pain, nor money, to carry out the good they 

had proposed themselves to do. Thanks to their efforts, nowadays, wherever we look, 

we see fine churches, charity-schools, and other nseful institutions. The number of the 

Christian congregations increases in proportion as the number of priests increases. They 

I;tre now ten times as numel·OUS as they were fifty years ago, so that it is very easy now for 

the Faithful regularly to make their confession, to receive the Eucharist and the other 

Sacraments. At the present day scarcely any body dies without receiving the last sacraments. 

Besides, many of our boys are being instructed in seminaries and other colleges, thus 

becoming qualified for many employments. Even our girls, who formerly remained plunged 

in the darkness of ignorance, are now receiving secular and religious instruction at the hands 

of devoted nuns of our own blood. We may therefore now say that, thanks to the endeavours 

of our Missionaries, all the wants of our souls are satisfied j nay, even our bodily wants are also 

attended to. And here we cannot forbear mentioning that during the dreadful famine, which 

raged in India some years ago, the Missionaries did not abandon us, but spent much money 

to save our lives. 

Most Holy Father, in the present day by the exertions of the Apostolic Priests, the 



4·9 

Catholic Church in Iudia has beco~e like a fertile garden) delightful to behold. But we beg 

permission to state) were Your Holiness to place us again under the sway of the Goanese 

priests) our congregations now full of life) of piety) of religious regularity and discipline) 

would soon again become like to the desert of foemer days. 'rhe flowers of virtue would 

fade) and the spiritual harvest raised with such labour would wither away. There IS no 

doubt of this. Moreover, how could we ever a,gain place any confidence in those priests) who 

formerly refused to submit to the Pope) Whose voice is the voice of the High Priest Jesus ? 

Does not our Redeemer Himself say in the gospel) « lie that will not hear the Church) let 

him be to thee as the heathen and the publican » ? 

Besides) for more than a century we have been under the government of the illustrious 

English nation. To that Government we are indebted for our worldly happiness. It affords 

us religious liberty and impartial protection. How could we ever be so ungrateful as to 

annoy that Government by obeying priests who are nothing but tools in the hands of a 

Foreign Sovereign? ,¥ ould we not forfeit at once the confideuce of our English masters? 
But even supposing tb.ey did not take umbrage at our so doing) yet such behaviour would be 

quite unbecoming in us. 

Such being the case) Most Holy Father) we dare to implore Your Holiness never to place 

us again under the authority of the Goanese priests; but on the contrary) we beseech Your 

Holiness to deliver India from their yoke) by abolishing altogether their Extraordinary 

Jill'isdi'ction. Inde~d, it is by no means proper to have two weights and two measures in the 

same country; to see in one place a discipline quite different from that which is in force in 

another. Lastly, Your Holiness must be aware that many souls are put in danger on account of 

the few Goanese priests living in the midst of us. The reason is easy to find. When a 

country is flooded) all serpents and other noxipus creatures take theirrefuge in such patches of 

ground as are out of reach of water. So it is nowadays in India. '1'hose among us) who 

are wicked and intractable) escape the lawful punishment of the Missionaries by going over 

to the Goanese jurisdiction to the detriment of religious discipline and morality. 

In conclusion) Most Holy Father) we confidently expect Your Holiness will make away with 

all those disorders) and consequently abolish for ever the Extraordinary Jurisdiction of the 

Goanese priests ltnd the Royal Patronage of Portugal in British India. In the hope Your 

Holiness will grant our petition) we beg to kiss Your sacred feet and we crave Your Apos-

tolical Blessing. 

We remain with the most profound respect) of Your Holiness the most humble and obedient 

sons. 

(B) Petition of the Oatholics of Mad1'(J,s) August) '1885. 

To HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIII) VICAR OF JESUS CHRIST AND 
SUPREME PONTIFF OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH. 

MAY 1'1' PLEASE YOUR HOLINESS)-We) the undersigned Catholics of the Vicariate Apostolic 

of Madras) prostrate in spirit at Your sacred feet) humbly crave Your Apostolic Benediction 

and beg to offer to Your Holiness this our humble petition in .reference to the great) and to 



50 

us all-important, question, the continuance or extinction of the Portuguese claim to the 

right of Patronage over the Oatholic Ohurch in British India. 

That this right, if ever possessed in strict accordance with the Oanon Laws of the 

Ohurch, has long since ceased to exist, there is, Most Holy Father, but little reason to doubt. 

It is well known to You, Most Holy Father, as it was to Your Venerable Predecessors, that 

for centuries Portugal was never able to fulfil the obligations of a Patron, or supply the 

spiritual wants of the Ohristians scattered throughout British India; that their pretended 

claims have been, and are still, a great drawback to the progress of religion in this portion 

of Ohrist's vineyard, and that the vast majority of Your Holiness' devout subjects most 

ardently desire to see, once and for all, the Oatholic Ohurch in India entirely freed in spiritual 

matters, as it is in temporalities, from any interference whatsoever on the part of the Orown 

of Portugal. 

When we look to the present condition of the Ohurch in India and compare it with what 

it was fifty years ago, when Vicars Apostolic were sent to save the remnant of the Faithful 

from heresy, or from an entire loss of faith, we have reason to give thanks tO IGod for His mer-

ciful interposition in sending us truly good aud zealous pastors, by whose zeall;1nd energy the 

faith of thousands was preserved and the Oatholic religion rais ed to its present honorable 

and elevated position. We are fully convinced that had the Oatholic Ohurch in India been 

left under the sole care of the Archbishop of Goa and the Goanese clerg'y for the last half 

century, little but the name of Oatholicity would be found to-day in India. rEhe vast strides 

that the Ohurch has made during these fifty years, the number of priests and religious of 

both sexes that have been brought to this country, the churches and schools that have been 

built, and the many charitable institutions that have been erected amply testify to the good 

that has been effected during this period in the different Vicariates. For twenty-five years 

the Goanese clergy of the old school, whose exaggerated ideas of the rights of a Patron are 

no longer upheld, were in open rebellion and recognized the Portuguese Government, not the 

Vicar of Ohrist, as the head of the Oatholic Ohurch. Their subsequent reconciliation to the 

Ohurch, though it saved many from schism and its evil effects, yet did not heal the wounds 

t hat had b een inflicted, or promote the general good of the Ohurch in India to that extent 

t hat might be expected. The want of uniformity in discipline, as well as in the rules of the 

Ohurch, in one and the same Vicariate, has always had an injurious effect and served as a 

barrier to the progress of our hqly religion. 

We, Most Holy Father, desire most earnestly to see the present state of things altered, 

the Double Jurisdiction withdrawn, and to have all Oatholics united under the Bishops ap-

pointed by the Holy See and no longer to continue this irnre1'inm in ?:mpm"io which has 

been disastrous to religion in the past and will be so as long as it is allowed to continue. 

We would wish to see the clergy, no matter to what nationality they belong, subject to 

the same superior, and all Oatholics subject to the same rules and regulations, which cannot 

be effected until all spiritual authority is vested in one and the same spiritual ruler in each 

Vicariate. 

There IS a wide field for all in this country, where representatives of so many nations 

are to be found, and we feel satisfied that ample work could and would be found by the · 



51 

Vicars Apostolic for every priest, no matte r what his nationality, provided h e were willing to 

work and labour fo r the salvation of souls. 

Vouchsafe, Most Holy Father, benignly to grant the prayer of our petition and bestow 

upon us, Your d evoted children, Your Apostolical Benediction. 

[Signecl by thi?·teen thouscmcl Oatholics of Mad?·its.] 

(C) Pgtitiun of the Oatholics of the Vicariate Apostulic oj Mysore 'Augttst' 18B5. 

Mo8'1' HOLY FA1'HER,-Having learned that the Government of Portugal, in concert with 

the Government of Goa, is endeavouring to obtain from Your H oliness, in virtue of an ancient 

r ight of Patronage, the power, in spite of the Apostolic Vicariates which for many years 

have been r egularly establish ed, to ext end its spiritual jurisdiction over the whole of India, 

and notably over a part of the Mysore Vicariate j and knowing that to come more s urely to 

its end, the said Government of Portugal has no t scrupled to present to Your H oliness a 

g reat numb er of p etitions £lled with signature s more or l ess spurious, we the undersig ned, 

the Christians of the Myso1'e Vicariate, protest against the unjust pretensions of His Majesty 

the King of Portugal and of the Government of Goa. We entreat Your Holiness p rincipally 

as to what regards our Vicariate, to keep us from th e jurisdiction of Goa, which has never 

done anything for us and for many years has b een causing trouble to the Church in India. 

W e also entreat Your Holiness to leave us under the care of those Missionaries who conv erted 

t he most ps,rt of our fath ers and several of ourselves, aud who have made us all that we are 

as Christian s. · 

W e may add that the Goanese priests, fa r from being able to take of the Missions under 

the jurisdiction of the Vicars Apostolic, are quite un£t to keep and maintain what they have j 

and it is a known fact that they let what their predecessors have founded go to ruin j wh ereas 

all over India, in the Missions directed by the Vicars Apostolic, there are to be seen Colleges~ 

Schools, Farms, Or phanages, and other establishments founded for the good of the Christians 

committed to their care. H oping Your Holiness will g raciously accept the protestations and 

grant the desires of Your children, we prostrate ourselves at the feet of Your Holiness and 

kissing them with effusion of heart, we are happy to subscrib e ourselves the most humble 

and submissive children of Your Holiness . 

(D) P eti tion of the high caste Oh?'istians of the Dis t?,ict of Tanjo?'e (t?'ans lated 

from the Tamil) 1885. 

T o HIS HOLINESS THE POPE LEO XIII. 

Mos'£ HOLY FATHER,-It is with the d eep est regret that we hav e learnt that once more the 

jurisdiction of the Goanese priests has b een prolonged. All the Christians had been for such 

a long time prepared to see its end, that no body had the idea of addressing a petition for or 

against it to Your Holiness , 

Now a rumour has been spread about that it is by reason of the innumerable petitions 

sent to Rome by the Goanese priests, that their jurisdiction, which was to cease for ever at 

the end of the month of May last, has been once more prolonged for four months. The 

Goanese priests try even to make us believe that "this prolongation is the sign of a £nal 

victory of the Goanese Government over the Pope and the Vicars Apostolic. 

h 



52 

Have petitions been sent to Rome? Who has got up these petitions? Who has signed 

them? No body here has any knowledge of the affair. 'rhe Christians subject to the Goanese 

priests know no more than we. They themselves are more astonished than anyone . 

Therefore we consider it our duty to protest against these false petitions) and to entreat 

Your Holiness to put an end to such a fatal jurisdiction) which unhappily has been so many 

times prolongec1) for reasons unknown to us. 

Is it because the Go~mese priests are necessary amongst us for the greater good of reli -

gion anc1 of souls? The contrary is the truth. For what gooc1 have they c10ne or are doing) 

in the district of Tanjore in particular? 

Do we see them occupiec1 in instructing anc1 reforming their Christians) who live almost all 

as pagans? Do thsy do anything for the pagans? Our Missionaries) besides having 

catechists for Christians) have others occupied with paga,ns exclusively j they have baptizing 

persons for the pagan children at the point of c1eath j they entrust great numbers of children 

to be brought up in Christian families j they have catechumenates) hospitals) asylums for 

old catechumens and ol"!;>hans) schools) convents for educating our children) &c. &c. The 

Goanese priests on the contrary are shut up the whole day in their hou ses) anc1 they 'have no 

establishments) either for Christians 01' for pagans . 

It is only a few months ago that our Missionary of 'ranjore) after the example of more 

than seventy of his c1eceased brethren in the space of some forty years) sacrificed his life in 

ministering to those who were suffering from cholera. Many of them spend their family 

fortunes helping their Christians anc1 in constructing churches. Th e Goanese priests appear 

to shew some sign of life only when an occasion presents itself for gathering money for their 

own purse. All p erceive this c1ifference between the Fathers of the Society of Jesus anc1 the 

Goanese priests. Pagans) Turks) Protestants anc1 Christians have all the same opinion about 

them. 

The departure of the Goanese priests from rranjore will be the d ay of salvation for a great 

number of Christians, who are subject to them and who are scattered in five c1ifferent 

districts) of which four) namely those of Tanjore, Vallam, Pattukottai anc1 Mannargudi are 

administered by the Jesuit Fathers, anc1 the fifth) that of Tiruveyar, c18pends upon Pondicherry. 

These poor Christians, mostly of low caste, .are plunged in gross ignorance and in all 

sorts of vices. These people) who are now beyond the reach of the Goanese priests residing 

at Tanjore, will be in the hands of the five Missionaries, who will have pity on them and save 

their souls. 

May Your Holiness) being better informed by our petitions) deliver us at length from 

the Goanese priests) who enjoy no good reputation among the public, and whom their Christians 

themselves do not respect. FrOl~ that day a new era of prosperity for our Holy Religion 

will begin. 

(E) Petition oj the Oatechists oj the No?,them Dist?'ict oj the M?:ssion oj Madu1'a 

to His Holiness the Pope Leo XIII. (1885). 

MOST HOLY FATHER,-We the undersigned catechists of the Northern District of the mis-

sion of Madura, which is entrusted to the Fathers of the Society of Jesus, prostrate ourselves. 



53 

at the feet of Your Holiness and beg to present the testimonies of our attachm ent to God, 

to the Church, and to the See of St. Petel·. 

The office of Catechist; which we discharge, is by the favour of God as if hereditary in 

our family. It is the duty of Catechists to assist Missionaries. We spend all our life-time 

by the side of priests, or in various places where our Christians are found. No body can 

certify more than ourselves the immense good done to t he Mission of Madura by the Fathers 

of the Society from the time of their arrival h ere. No one can better understapd the 

obstacles to spiritual progress than we . Such being the case, our declaration will be the r esult 

of our long experieuce, and will contain nothing of which we have not a perfect knowledge . 

'fherefore Your Holiness surely may understand from our statement what contributes to the 

progress of our religion and what diminishes its splendo ur. But as we are incapable of 

exposing everything, we dwell only upon the principal causes. 

1. We all with one mind affirm that if the Sovereign Pontiffs had not granted the 

spiritual jurisdiction of the Mission of Madura to t h e J esuit Fathers in 1838, there would 

have been a thorongh destruction of our religion in the country, for when the Goanese priests 

exercised jurisdiction in the absence of Jesuit Fathers in former times, many chiefly of the 

caste of Kallar, who had been added to the fold of Christ by the efforts of the Jesuit Fathers, 

again fell into paganism; and Protestants of various sects firmly established themselves at 

Negapatam, Tanjore, Trichinopoly and other places and perverted many Catholic families. 
, 

II. We affirl'n that it required all the zeal, courage, patience, abnegation, science and 

spirit of sacrifice of the Jesuit Fathers to reform the old Christians, plunged in utter ignorance 

of the principles of religion, in immorality and in: pagan superstitions, and to transform the 

Mission of Madura into an excellent Catholic region . 

III. Although pagans and protestants have tried all their energy to cre<"tte difficLllties, 

the numerous splendid churches, conve nts, orphanages, colleges, schools and hospitals 

erected by the constant efforts of the Jesuit Fathers are objects of admiration to all. 

IV. We affirm that no body can properly understand the painful condition under which 

the J es uit Fathers and we suffer during thirty yem·s owing to the Double Jurisdiction existing 

here. For:-

(a) -While our priests aud we, after· their example, constantly stimulate our Christians 

to observe the commandments of God and of the Church, the Goanese priests profit by every 

bad occasion to patronize indiscipline and revolt. 

(b) While onr priests str ongly prohibit pagan ceremonies in marriages, they pass over 

these ceremonies as innocent or affect not to know the order of the Sovereign Pontiffs. Thus 

while marriages take place between Christians of different jurisdictions, the souls, till then 

carefully cherished by us, are perverted. 

(c) While our Missionaries do not allow marriage under the canonical age, the Goanese 

priests, receiving money, permit clandestine marriage. Hence the spiritual ruin of the 

married and a scandal to the Catholics . 

(cl) While our Missionaries do not listen to those, who, without good reasons, ask for 

marriage with an impediment of the first degree of consanguinity, the Goanese priests, though 



they acknowledge that they have not such power, bless such a marriage, or permit it to b e 

done clandestinely. 

(8) While our priests, according to the order of the Sovereign Ponti:ffs, refuse the 

sacrament s to tho se that by contract do service s to the devil, the Goanese priests say that 

t here i s no sin in doing so f or mere livelihood, and that the" Prop agaudists " are unjust, and 

a dmit tho se people to communion. Theref ore our priests find it imp ossible to save the so uls 

of Pariahs. 

(f) While our Missionaries do not , allow second marriages, owing to the want of 

suffi cient proofs of the death of the first wife or husband, the Goanese priests have no difficulty 

to permit them. 

The above-mentioned great fault s are very well known chiefly 111 the district s of 

Trichinopoly, Tanjore and Vallam. 

(g) While the Right Rev. Dr. Canoz passed an interdict upon the church of a Pariah of 

Manganore in the district of Valla]jl , "because for love of speculation h e pracpised many pagan 

ceremonies and listened to no a,dvic e, the Goanese priests profiting by this occasion and 

getting a yearly sum of R s. 30 from that Pariah go to that church as often as he desires. 

(h) When for their many faults against the authority of our Bishop, we want to know 

the reasons either' by the l etter s of our Fathers or by our p erson al visit, they do not care 

about our t estimouies and never confess that they are in the wrong. 

(i) The general reason for such a disorderly conduct of the Goanese priests i s this, that 

t hey sp eak highly of them selves, saying that the Bishops and Missionaries sent by the Popes 

have no real authority, and that they possess all power s, since they are here from an ancieut 

time. 

V . We all affirm that the conduct of the Goanese priests has been hitherto generally 

scandalous. A s in the preceding number we have enumerated their undeniable faults, we 

suppose there are sufficient proofs of their misconduct, and therefore it appear s superfluol1S 

to sp eak of the bad conduct of the Goanese priests at Aoor, Trichinopoly, 'l'anjore, N egapatam 

and Velangany. If we were to begin, we would have to mention many of their shamef ul 

deeds, manifest to all. We will say only a few words about the want of faith, negligenc e, and 

love of money observable in the management of their Christians and celebration of feasts ;_ 

(a) Do the Goan ese priests instr uct their faithful? Do they preach? Do they expose 

t h e duties of Christians? Till now we have not remarked them doing so . 

(b) Do they make catechism to childJ'en and to persons ignorant of the principles of 

religion? They have no such custom. 

(c) Do they once at least in the year hear the confessions of children at the age of 

reason, and prepare them for first communion in due time? Generally till the time of 

marriage this point is altogether n eglected. 

(d ) Do they make efforts to excite devotion in their Christians? Rosaries, scapular.;;, 

medals, crucifixes, religious pictur es, spiritual books, 'Ways of the Cross, and congregations 

seem to be things unknown to them. 

(e) Do theylmake u se of screens when they confess women? It is their custom to hear 

the confessions of married women, girls, and others without scre e)'S( and face to fac e. 



" 

55 

(j) Do they sincerely examine the impediments of consanguinity in marriages? While 

III India there are frequently multiple impediments in marriages ; the Goanese priests pay 

a ttention to the n earest degree only, neglecting the re st as superfluous . 

(g) It is the custom in this country that anyone baptizes a child as so on as it IS born 

in villages where the priest is not found. While our Missionaries baptize conditionally such 

children according to a direction from Rome, since "ery often it is doubtful whether the 

baptism has been duly given or not, the Goanese priests never baptize them conditionally, 

being ignorant that this could be done and blame the practice of our missionaries. A certain 

priest of Tanjore named St. Anna D' Andrade, who is still here, d eclared last year to the 

:Missionary of Vallam that it is so among them. 

(h) Are the Goanese Ohristians confirmed? From the time of their arrival, except 

only a very few, the ~p'eat mass has not been confirmed in the Madura Mission. 

(i) We will mention only a particular instance about Extreme Unction . Ma ny a time 

w,h en our Mi ssionaries adminstered Extreme Unction to certain Ohristians, some Goanese 

priests of Tanjore and Trichinopoly to the great scandal of the public administered it to the 

same Ohristians and on the very same day under the pretext those Ohristians belonged 

to them. 

(j) Do the Goanese priests correct the faults and bad conduct of their people? Or do 

they at least try to do so? Far from it. It is owing to such an indulgence that many faith -

less and ignorant persons in former time s, instead of joining the Vicar Apostolic Dr. Oanoz 

re~ained on their side. It is for the very same reason that even nowaday s insubordinate 

Ohristians, to avoid the punishment of our Fat hers, take refuge under them. 

(1") I s t h ere any spiritual advantage to souls from many feasts celebrated by the 

Goanese priests of Velangany, Tanjore, Aoor, Tl'ichinopoly, Maleyadipatty, N egapata m and 

other places ? W e learn by a continual tradition with what faith, piety and spiritual fruits 

the feasts were celebrat'ed at the time of the fonnders of thes e churches and how many 

pagans were converted. But nowadays everyone knows that there is no spiritual 

a dvantage to b e derived from the feasts conducted by the Goanese priests, and that they may 

be likened to noisy markets and vain spectacles, since pagans, Ohristians, 'l'urks and Protestants 

are mingled together, laugh, talk, eat, drink, dance, carryon merchandise, and the priests 

t hem selves aim at pecuniary income. 

* * * * 
(F) Peti tion of the Oatholics of Ta71j ol'e, Manna~'gudi, and Negapatc~m (Nov. 1886.) 

To HIS HOLINE SS POPE L EO XIII. 

MOST HOLY F A'fHER,- A. pprised of Your Holiness' intention of i ssuing a Bull recalling our 

well-beloved P astor s, the Fathers of the Society of Jesus from 'l'anjore, Mannargudi, and 

Negapatam, three of the most important towns in the Madura Mi ssion under the Vicariate of 

Trichinopoly, and giving up the said towns to the jurisdiction of the Goane se Priests, who 

profess to owe allegiance to the Holy See only through the King of Portugal, we the under-

signed Oatholic residents of the towns a!oresaid, with all the deference and filial affection 

we owe to the Holy See, do h ereby most humbly beg to lay at Your Holiness' feet our griev-

a nces and sorrows in connection with the Goanese jurisdiction. 
i 



56 

2. The n ews of Your Holiness' intended decision to tran sfer t h e said t owns to b e 

a dministered by the Goanese Priests has fallen like a clap of thunder upon us, and we were 

all so taken by surprise that we did not know what to do. But seeiug t hat Your Holiness' 

Bull has uot yet b een issued, we took heart and roused ourselves from the sort of apathy 

into which the sudden news had t hrown us, to make this public appeal, confid ently h oping 

and earnestly praying that You r Holiness will, in the final disposal of the question, be 

graciously pleased to give due weight and consideration to the really pitiable situation and 

depl or able condition to which we ar e likel y to b e reduced under t h e administra t ion of the 

Goanese Priests . As dutiful and obedient children, we are bound and ar e ready, at what-

ever cost, to abide by Your Holines s' decision, howeve r repugnant it may be to u s . But at 

the same time, Holy Father, is it not also our duty to lay our sorrows at Your Holiness' feet 

praying for such relief as your paternal affection for your dutiful cbild~'en may prompt Your 

Holiness to grant. It is in this hope and under such title that we venture to a ddre ss Your 

Holiuess. 

3. W e beg, in the first place, to bring to Your Holiness ' not ice that we a re British 

s ubjects, and as s uch, we know of no loyalty or allegiance due by u s to any earthly sovereign 

except to Her Maj esty of England and Empress of India in all temporal matters and to Your 

Holiness in all spiritual concerns. While so, under what right do es the King of Portugal 

come forward to appoint or nominate Pastors over u s, here in British India ? We are 

therefore d etermined, Holy F ather, to raise thi s political question before the Parliament of 

England, and to try the question of His Ma jesty of Portugal's right to interfere with the 

internal administration of the dominion of Her Majesty of England, protected, as we are, by 

the English Government in the free exercise of our Holy Faith. If the King of Portugal 

did possess or was granted any privilege in the fa?' past, it is evident h e does not possess it 

at the existing present within British India, h aving lost the privilege by his inability t o 

conform to the conditions prescribing the privilege, or by the change of the circumstances 

and times unde?' which the privilege was granted. 

4 . Secondly, we b eg to represent to Your Holiness the great danger there is for several 

of us falling off the Catholic Church under the administration of the Goanese Priests and 

becoming either Protestants or Pagans, Your Holiness is aware of, and Your Holiness and 

predecess ors have, in the con stant Encyclicals issu ed from the Holy See, always most strongly 

incul cated the principle which ought to actuate, and the life which ought to b e led by a 

Catholic Priest. What of all thi s have we to expect from the Goanese Priest? . The life h e 

leads is no doubt one of celibacy, but t h e principle that actuates him,-at least the best 

n umber 'of them,~is money-making , What is done with the money they are at so much pain s 

to accumulate? Do es it go to fee d the poor or help the needy? D oes it go to clothe the 

naked, or adorn their altars or churches? Not one of all these is ever thought of, Month 

after month, the nioney goes to enrich th eir relations at Goa, or to lay by ther e until th e Priest 

retires to enjoy it. Unencumbered with the cares of th e married state, and caring very little 

for the dnties of their own state, they lead a very jovial and free life, the care of the salvation 

of souls entrusted to their charge b eing left to shift for itself, 'rhey even allow such latitude 

to their laity as to b e entirely controlled and led by them in their public and private functions 



57 

as Priests. Their manners are anything but pleasing. Some of us, therefore, have made 

up our minds to go any distance rather than attend thei1' Churches. How long, Holy Father, 

is this state of mind to last in us? Deprived of our faithful guides and left to our own un-

aided endeavours and surrounded by terrible temptations, we are very soon likely to fall into 

frightful indifference, if not into total defection. As to the private life of the Goanese Priest 

in Southern India, we beg to be excused from entering too deeply into it, as too great a 

scrutiny of it is likely to put us, laymen, to the shame. Let us now contemplate a little the 

character and life of the Pastors, the Fathers of the Society of Jesus, who have had charge of 

us for so many years. Ascetics and contemplatives in their interior life, their very rules for-

bid theIn from leading any but a holy life. They are perfect models of charity. Generous, .. 
affable and kind, they are ever ready to do their duty at whatever cost. rrheir foremost care 

is the salvation of souls. In almost all their parishes, they have established Convents for 

men and women, and house s for the poor and sickly. How many congregations, how many 

devotional societies for the promotion of piety, purity of life and ultimate salvation of souls 

for both sexes! Now we ask, Holy Father, whether th e best of the Goanese Priests in these 

parts-of other places we know nothing, although charitably we hope for the best-has done 

one-millionth of what the least of the Fathers of the Society of Jesus has done for us? 

5. Thirdly, Your Holiness can see the ultimate danger we become subject to for our 

ve1'y salvation under the administration of the Goanese Priests. 

6. Finally, Holy Father, under these circumstances, we earnestly pray and confidently 

hope Your Holiness will be graciously pleased to grant us our prayer by giving us our 

beloved Pastors of the Society of Jesus. Allow us, Holy Father, the consolation of breathing 

our last breath in their revered arms. And Oh! Holy Father, deprive us not of our chance 

of salvation by depriving us of their administration, of which we have felt the benefit for the 

past fifty years. 

We beg to remain, 

Most Holy Father, 

Your Holiness' most devoted Sons, 

[Here follow the signatures.] 

NOTE.-The above petition signed by 55 persons in English and by 361 in Tamil was 

submitted to His Holiness the Pope Leo XIII. about November, 1886, i.e., as soon as the provi-

sions of the Concordat of 23rd June 1886 were made known in India. 



.. 



' .. 

To 

r [ . 

59 

APPENDIX V II I. 

Petition of the Catholics of Madras against the restoration of the Double 
,ru~isdiction (1887 ). 

HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIII. 

MAY 1'1' PLEASE YOUR HOI.INESS,-

That your petitioners desire to be allowed to convey to Your Holiness their heartfelt 

gratitude and thanks that Madras has beeu raised to the important dignity of an Arch-

diocese. 

2. That your petitioners are howeve r much concerned about, aud grieved at the 

circumstance that five churches hitherto belonging to the Goanes~ Jurisdiction, and which 

churches were duly made over to the Archdiocese, in obedience to the Decree of the 19th 

January 1887 of the Delegate Apostolic, Monsigneur Agliardi, Your Holiness' esteemed and 

respected Delegate, were again restored to the jurisdiction in question. 

3. Your petitioners most humbly and respectfully desire to bring to the notice of Your 

Holiness that throughout the whole Ca; wlic Community of Madras there cannot be found a 

single Catholic who can be regarded as, or who is in reality, of true Portuguese nationality, 

but that, on the other hand, all are, without exception, strictly British subjects-='a fact fully 

evidenced by the last Census returns. 

4. Your petitioners most humbly and respectfully beg to add that the Goanese Priests, 

who had taken faculties from the Archbishop of )\1adras, and their congregations, had 

already commenced to obey and to appreciate the new order of t hings, as provided for by the 

Decree of the Papal Del egate already referred to; and that ; n the course of a few months, 

at most, there was every promise that all past differences bet;'veen t h e two Churohes would 

be entirely forgotten. Should the Goauese churches again be placed under control of the 

Goa jurisdiction, the varIOUS differences, which have been discernible in the past, must 

necessarily again arise . 

5. Your pMitioners would humbly beg to be per~itted to further point out that ex-

traneous spiritual jurisdiction being permitted in the five said churches, which are situated 

in the very heart of the Archdiocese of Madras, will be the cause of no small disquietude 

and disturbance among those whose duty it is to l1ve in concord and union. Evil-minded 

people, ingenious withal, are ever ready to incite the worst passions of Christians, by pitting 

oue jurisdiction against the other, as an experience of the past fifty years has taught us. 

Even Protestants are scandalized at the quarrElls of Catholics, to such a rlegree that they go 

so far as to think that Catholics of one jurisdiction are quite a different sect of Christians 

from those who belong to another jurisdiction. This would never be t h e case were concurrent 

jurisdiction in the same localities abolish ed, and on ly one Shepherd and one J urisdiction 

established in the district, from which there can be no temptation t o Catholi cs to alienate 

themselves on t h e slightest pretext. 
j 



• 

I 1\ 

GO 

6. Your petitioners most humbly and respectfully pray to be allowed to expresr:; to Your 

Holiness their earnest desire that the arrangements actually entered upon, in obedience to 

the Decree of Your Holiness, which arrangemeutr:; promised to result in much good for the wel-

fare of the Oatholic Ohurch in Indi~L may be contiuued, and that the jurisdiction of the 

Portuguese Bishop may be confined to tho limit originally laid 110WlJ'1n the first Decree of the 

19th January 1887. 

If arrangements are so far advanced tlmt the malll prayer of OLU' petition, the non-

curtailment of the Archdiocese of. Madras, cannot possibly be granted, we humbly pray Yoar 

Holiness to give us the optiut! of electing our own jurisdiction, and that this right of election 

might extend to a period of two or three months as may be deemed just and equitable. 

In concl asion, your petitioners most humbly pray the Almighty that Yoar Holiness may 

be long spared in health, to continue in the sacred and responsible office which Your Holiness 

has for so long held to the satisfaction of all true Oatholics throughout the entire worM. 

Imploring your Holiness' Benediction upon ourselves and our families, and with the 

greatest respect and reverence 

, ' 

We beg to remain 

YOUI' Holiness' most obedient 

Ohildren in Ohl'ist. 

• 

. . , .. 
~ 

• f" ... , 

. . ~. 

-, 


	1016396-001
	1016396-002
	1016396-003
	1016396-004
	1016396-005
	1016396-006
	1016396-007
	1016396-008
	1016396-009
	1016396-010
	1016396-011
	1016396-012
	1016396-013
	1016396-014
	1016396-015
	1016396-016
	1016396-017
	1016396-018
	1016396-019
	1016396-020
	1016396-021
	1016396-022
	1016396-023
	1016396-024
	1016396-025
	1016396-026
	1016396-027
	1016396-028
	1016396-029
	1016396-030
	1016396-031
	1016396-032
	1016396-033
	1016396-034
	1016396-035
	1016396-036
	1016396-037
	1016396-038
	1016396-039
	1016396-040
	1016396-041
	1016396-042
	1016396-043
	1016396-044
	1016396-045
	1016396-046
	1016396-047
	1016396-048
	1016396-049
	1016396-050
	1016396-051
	1016396-052
	1016396-053
	1016396-054
	1016396-055
	1016396-056
	1016396-057
	1016396-058
	1016396-059
	1016396-060