Yearbook of Bibliology and Press Studies

Summary

In this article the author considers the problem of the missionary periodical literature little known to the general reader. He has confined his attention to the period between the two world wars and to periodicals either dedicated completely to the missions or possessing regular columns dealing with missionary problems. The author has divided their publishers into several groups. The most numerous group were the religious, as it was religious orders that carried the main weight of the missionary work carried out by the Church in Poland. Other groups considered were publications of the Pontifical Mission Work, as well as those of individual dioceses, of various university circles, and of Catholic organizations. The author provides a short historical sketch of the activities of each publishing venture considered; a discussion of objectives established, and a description of the way in which those objectives were achieved. Among objectives found most commonly the following should be noted: information about missions, propaganda of the work of evangelization among the Polish people, and finally material and spiritual aid for missionaries. Achievement of these objectives is presented by means of concrete examples. The author also describes a phenomenon characteristic to publisher of the Polish missionary press in the period under discussion, namely, with the help of their periodicals they established various types of formal or informal structures, useful in accomplishing tasks proposed by the publisher. Publishers of individual journals addressed them to different social groups. Among such groups one should mention: adults, children and young people; intelligentsia and readership with lesser intellectual and literary expectations; students, women; clergy and laity; occasional readers and those belonging to missionary organization.