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[German Version] I. History – II. Practical Theology – III. Latin America, Asia, Africa I. History 1. Early Church. The verb κατήχειν/ katḗchein originally denoted the oral transmission of a message in the sense of “tell, inform.” In Paul and early Christian literature it usually means “teach, instruct” (Gal 6:6; Lat. catechizare); in contrast to glossolalia, it refers to intelligible speech (1 Cor 14:19; Luke 1:4) such as instruction in the law (Rom 2:18) or in the teaching (“the way”) of the Lord (Acts 18:25). In t…

[German Version] (Aug 30, 1626, Tours, France – Oct 29, 1684, Moyang, China). After his episcopal ordination in Rome on Nov 17, 1658, Pallu became vicar apostolic of Tonkin (the northern region of Vietnam). Back in Paris, two years later he founded the Société des Missions Étrangères de Paris to support missionary work. In 1664 Pallu left for Siam (Thailand) where he met Pierre Lambert de la Motte (1624–1679), vicar apostolic of Cochinchina (the southern region of Vietnam). The two bishops prepare…

[German Version] Christianity first came to Vietnam in the mid-16th century, but did not put down firm roots until 1615 with the arrival of the Jesuits. The first Vietnamese Christian to be killed for the faith was a certain Francis, who was in the service of an official in Tonkin and who used to perform the work of mercy of burying the dead, especially the poor. The second martyr, beatified by Pope John Paul II on Mar 5, 2000, was Andrew of Phu Yen. A year later, two more catechists, Ignatius and…

[German Version] (Mar 15, 1593, Avignon – Nov 5, 1660, Isfahan, Persia), French missionary in Vietnam and representative of accommodation in approaching the cultures of Asia. Rhodes joined the Jesuit order in 1612 in Rome, in order to pursue a mis-¶ sionary vocation in China or Japan. He left Lisbon on Jul 20, 1619 and arrived at Macao on May 29, 1623; from there he was sent to Vietnam in December, 1624. In 1627 he was recalled to Macao, and was then sent to North Vietnam to found a new mission station. Initially successful as a missio…

[German Version] I. History, Process, Results 1. History. The Ecumenical Council Vatican II (Oct 1, 1962 – Dec 8 1965; St. Peter’s in Rome) was announced by John XXIII on Jan 25, 1959, at the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity; from the second session on, it was headed by his successor ¶ Paul VI. It adopted 16 documents (list at the end of section V of the abbreviations): four constitutions (LG, on the church; GS, on the church in the modern world; SC, on the liturgy; DV, on revelation), nine decrees (IM, on…