The Society of St. Peter Apostle (POSPA) was established to support the formation of local clergy in mission territories.
From the 16th to the 19th century, the Holy See repeatedly emphasized the importance of developing an indigenous clergy. While missionaries understood that their work would be incomplete without forming local priests, they often struggled with significant challenges—most notably, a lack of resources to establish seminaries and train seminarians. Missionaries frequently turned to benefactors in Europe for help, hoping to find a way forward.
In the late 19th century, Bishop Jules-Alphonse Cousin, MEP, Vicar Apostolic of Southern Japan and later Bishop of Nagasaki, was deeply committed to fostering a local clergy. However, due to financial constraints, he was forced to turn away young men who showed clear signs of a vocation to the priesthood. Seeking a solution, he reached out to Stephanie and Jeanne Bigard, a mother and daughter in France dedicated to supporting the missions. Their response, and subsequent commitment, led to the founding of the Society of St. Peter Apostle in 1889.
The Society of St. Peter Apostle promotes awareness within Christian communities of the urgent need to develop local clergy and religious life in newly established missionary churches.
The Society works to animate and coordinate missionary collaboration in all local churches, encouraging prayer, sacrifice, and financial support to sustain the formation of future priests, religious brothers, and sisters in mission territories, as well as the training of their educators.
The Society gathers and distributes financial aid to support seminaries and novitiates in partnership with local Christian communities and under the guidance of their bishops.
The Society of St. Peter Apostle provides:
Ordinary Subsidies for the daily needs and formation of seminarians, novices, and religious sisters.
Extraordinary Subsidies for constructing new seminaries, renovating existing ones, and funding self-sustainability projects.
Mass Intentions to assist seminary formators.
Scholarships for future seminary educators.
Ultimately, like all the Pontifical Mission Societies, the Society of St. Peter Apostle exists to expand the Gospel and advance the Kingdom of God in the world's mission territories.
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