The name of St Francis Xavier is too well known to require any introduction in these pages, yet it is strange that Matteo Ricci, who took up the work interrupted by Xavier's premature death, remains comparatively unknown, even in Catholic circles. This may well be due to the cloud under which Ricci has been for so many years on account of his revolutionary approach to'the evangelization of the east; his apostolic methods among the Chinese gave great scope to his genius for adaptation, but like many other pioneers, Ricci had to pay the penalty of antagonism from those who were less farsighted. It is therefore gratifying to find the present Holy Father holding up Matteo Ricci as a model for all missionaries and thus finally vindicating his apostolic work which has been so widely misunderstood, both in Ricci's own day and also in ours.