The Indian Evangelical Review PDF Download

Excerpt from The Indian Evangelical Review, 1879, Vol. 6: A Quarterly Journal of Missionary Thought and Effort Although Goa abounded in priests and monks, with a bishop at their head, it was not until the year 1542, when Francis Xavier arrived, that the Church made any apparent impression among the heathen. In 1540 the King of Portugal having made up his mind to establish the Church in India, Xavier was recommended to him and accepted for the accomplishment of that object. On the 6th of May, 1542, Xavier arrived at Goa, presented his credentials to the Bishop (from whom he received a promise of support), and shut himself up in one of the churches to spend his first night in prayer. By devoting his first efforts to the Portuguese he effected a general improvement in their conduct. Then he took hold of a seminary which had recently been established for the education of native heathen youths, and in which were gathered from all the adjacent countries students speaking nine or ten different languages. This institution he placed on a better basis, named it the College of St. Paul and had it transferred to the Society of Jesus, thus making It more efficient for the conversion of the heathen. A third object Of his care were the orphans and des titute converts. It seems that the King of Portugal had been dissatisfied with the slow progress of Christianity, and had sent out an ecclesiastic to investigate the cause. It was found that the monks cared little for their scholars and converts, did nothing for the temporal wants of those who were thrust out by their friends at conversion, and neglected the orphan children of the deceased poor among the Christians. Xavier immediately se cured from the Christians in Goa the means of establishing a seminary for such children this was afterwards endowed and enlarged. He also organized relief for the poor. Having thus established a good basis for future operations, and also having prepared himself by seeking information from the many natives who flocked to Goa from all parts of India concerning the various languages, customs, and forms of religion of the country, Xavier in October, 1542, set out for the interior by way of the southern coast. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.