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[German Version] The origins of the “Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith” ( Congregatio de Propaganda Fide, 1622; since 1967: Congregatio pro Gentium Evangelisatione) reach back to the middle of the16th century. Pope Gregory XV established it as a permanent institution in the Inscrutabili Divinae constitution of Jun 22, 1622. It was assigned the task of spreading the faith, notably in the territories lying outside of Europe, and of preserving the unity of the church (Church unity) throughout the world. It als…

[German Version] The Society of the Divine Word (Societas Verbi Divini, ¶ SVD) was founded by A. Janssen, a secular priest, on Sep 8, 1875, in Steyl in the Netherlands. He intended the Mission House to be a missionary training center, but it soon developed into a religious congregation with simple public vows. Its statutes were confirmed by the local ordinary on Jan 23, 1889; papal approbation was granted on Jan 25, 1901, definitive approval of the constitution on Apr 5, 1910. The generalate was at the moth…

[German Version] Founded in 1962 as a comprehensive international institution to strengthen and coordinate missionary research throughout the world, it was restructured in 1998. It is now an institute run by the German-speaking ¶ provinces of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD); it continues to emphasize the international character of its members, cooperation with institutes of the SVD and other institutions, and study of the missionary situation in Europe and overseas. It sponsors regular study conferences and study weeks, especially for missionaries on leave. Karl Josef Rivin…