In deference to the prejudices of the Brahmins a scheme was then formulated with the approval of the Pope for organising two classes of missionaries, one for the Brahmins and another for the outcasts, but the suppression of the Jesuits in the Portuguese dominions (1756) put an end to this system. The Carmelites did good service by their efforts to reconcile the Nestorian Christians with the Church. The further progress of the Catholic Church in India was impeded by the suppression of the Jesuits, the invasion of India by the Dutch, the insistence of Portugal upon its rights of patronage over all the churches of India, the downfall of the religious spirit in Europe during the eighteenth century, and finally by the destruction during the French Revolution of the colleges and religious houses that supplied workers for the mission.
St. Francis Xavier had planned to introduce the Christian faith into the Celestial Empire, but he died almost in sight of the coast. The first missionary who made any progress in that country was another Jesuit, Father Matteo Ricci[4] (1552-1610) who arrived in China in 1582. He was a man of great ability, well versed in mathematics and in the natural sciences, and well qualified to make an excellent impression on the educated classes. He was protected by the mandarins, and respected by the Emperor, who invited him to the imperial palace at Pekin (1600). Although it was his scholarly attainments that attracted the Chinese rather than his religion, Father Ricci never failed to seize every opportunity of directing the thoughts of his pupils and admirers towards Christianity. At his death in 1610 many of the mandarins had been converted, and most of the old prejudices against the new religion had disappeared. Other Jesuits equally learned and equally prudent were ready to take his place. His successor, Father Schall, was summoned by the Emperor to Pekin, and was appointed president of the mathematical society. By his influence at court he obtained permission for his fellow-workers to open Christian churches in China, and secured the publication of various Christian books in the Chinese language. The revolution that preceded the establishment of the Manchu dynasty (1644) led to some persecution, but the trouble was only of a temporary character. On the death of Father Schall in 1666, he was succeeded by Father Verbiest who was also patronised by the court on account of his scholarly attainments. Finally in 1692 an imperial rescript was issued giving the Christian missionaries full permission to preach the gospel throughout the empire. At that period the number of converts was about twenty thousand. Two bishoprics were erected, one at Pekin and one at Nankin.
In the beginning, as the Jesuits were practically speaking the only missionaries in China, it was reserved for them as their special mission-field by Gregory XIII. (1585). But later on Clement VIII.
