Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples

Latin: Congregatio pro Gentium Evangelizatione
Coat of arms of the Holy See
Palazzo di Propaganda Fide, seat of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Dicastery overview
Formed	June 22, 1622; 401 years ago (1622-06-22)
Preceding Dicastery	Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith
Dissolved	June 5, 2022 (2022-06-05)
Superseding agency	Dicastery for Evangelization
Headquarters	Palazzo di Propaganda Fide, Rome

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The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (Latin: Congregatio pro Gentium Evangelizatione) was a congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is also known by its former title, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (Latin: Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide), or simply the Propaganda Fide. On 5 June 2022, it was merged with the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization into the Dicastery for Evangelization.

It was responsible for Latin Church pre-diocesan missionary jurisdictions: missions sui iuris, apostolic prefectures (neither entitled to a titular bishop) and apostolic vicariates. Eastern Catholic equivalents like apostolic exarchate are the responsibility of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. However many former missionary jurisdictions - mainly in the Third World - remain, after promotion to diocese of (Metropolitan) Archdiocese, under the Propaganda Fide instead of the normally competent Congregation for Bishops, notably in countries/regions where the Catholic church is too poor/small (as in most African countries) to aspire self-sufficiency and/or local authorities hostile to Catholic/Christian/any (organized) faith.

It was founded by Pope Gregory XV in 1622 to arrange missionary work on behalf of the various religious institutions, and in 1627 Pope Urban VIII established within it a training college for missionaries, the Pontificio Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide. When Pope Paul VI reorganized and adjusted the tasks of the Roman Curia with the publication of Regimini Ecclesiae Universae 15 August 1967, the name of the congregation was changed to the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.^[1]

The early congregation was established in the Palazzo Ferratini, donated by Spanish cleric Juan Bautista Vives, to the south of the Piazza di Spagna. Two of the foremost artistic figures of Baroque Rome were involved in the development of the architectural complex; the sculptor and architect Gianlorenzo Bernini and the architect Francesco Borromini.

The last Prefect of the Congregation was Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle from December 2019 until June 2022. The secretary was Archbishop Protase Rugambwa.^[2] The adjunct secretary and President of the Pontifical Mission Societies^[3] was Archbishop Giampietro Del Toso^[4] The under-secretary was Father Ryszard Szmydki, O.M.I.^[5]