The Evolution of Communication Strategies in Missionary Activities of the Roman Catholic Church (The Case of Africa)

An examination of key documents of the Roman Catholic Church devoted to missionary practices makes it possible to trace the evolution of its communicative strategies during the spread of the Catholic faith into territories colonized by Europeans, including those on the African continent. The development of such ideological constructs can already be observed during the earliest colonial conquests of lands geographically distant from Europe. From this perspective, an analysis of program documents (primarily papal bulls associated with the formation of the “doctrine of discovery,” among others) allows us to conclude that the high efficiency of Catholic missionary activity in “new” lands was largely determined by a systematic approach and competent administration. Their work combined adherence to detailed instructions with a certain flexibility that allowed rapid responses to changing circumstances. It has been noted that after the First World War, when European administrations in the African “localities” weakened to some extent, the content and tone of the relevant documents changed noticeably. During this period, the Roman Catholic Church decided to recruit more candidates from the local population for training in Catholic seminaries and subsequent service as priests. This strategy was directly linked to the level of communicative competence of Catholic mission personnel and helped maintain a high degree of trust in the Church among the local population.