“In the 17th Century, the Church was getting ready to do a certain Reform,” he said. “After the Council of Trent, 16 century, the Church became more interested in inner renewal of the Church as well as expanding it.”
Johnpillai describes how many became Protestants following the Reformation in 16 century.
In addition, the Reformation came after the seperation of Churches in East, such the Orthodox Church. This made it clear that the Church needed to undergo both an inner revival and expansion. This led to the creation of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in 1622 by Pope Gregory XVI.
Johnpillai then gave more details about the current work of the congregation. He also provided insight into the modern mission’s global reach.
Johnpillai said that “[this] particular dicastery, formerly known as ‘Propaganda Fide’, is charged with looking after the new particular churches…especially in Africa, Asia, and certain territories in America and Oceania.” “All of them together, there are 1,117 dioceses (or archiechies) and vicariates or prefectures throughout the world.”
The full interview is available below.