The Faith Propagation
Missions at the beginning of XIXth century
Between 1815 and 1820, missionary spirit reappears, but going far away in mission is more and more expansive. On her brother’s request to collect money for missions, Pauline manages, with a group of workwomen living not far from her house, a weekly collect: every woman will collect what they called the Pauline’s penny with a prayer intention.
Pauline’s creative idea
One night, in December 1819, happened an imprevisible event. As her friends were playing cards, Pauline was sitting apart, having in mind what was her main preoccupation, to find an efficient way of collecting money for the missions, She had suddenly the idea « to make groups of ten people, everyone promising to recite a daily prayer, to pay a penny every week and to create a new group of ten people.
Organization
Each group of ten people called a « dizenaire » chooses a leader which will receive the money. The « dizenaires » leaders choose a leader, that they call « centenaire » and so on…The work organizes very fast, in and outside Lyons, in the whole France and even developed in other countries. Propagation of the Faith is officially created in Lyons on the 3th of May 1822.
Propagation of the Faith today
Pope Pie XI declared « Pontifical » the Work of Faith Propagation and also the St Peter Apostle’s Work, which became in may 1822, The Pontifical Missionary Works, in French « les Oeuvres Pontificales Missionnaires (OPM). He helped them also to take roots all over the world.
The OPM are now composed of:
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. Propagation of the Faith (Pauline Jaricot)
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St Peters, the Apostle (Jeanne Bigard)
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. Missionary Childhood (Monseigneur de Forbin-Janson)
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. The Pontifical Missionary Union (Father Paolo Manna)
See the OPM site www.mission.catholique.fr to know more about it.