Bible Circulation in Rome and Britain
There has been organized in Rome “The Religious Society of St. Jerome for the Diffusion of the Holy Gospels,” with its headquarters in the Vatican. Its work, which is the circulation of the Bible, is conducted with the sanction of the pope. The first edition of the Bible prepared for sale and distribution numbered one hundred thousand copies. It contains helps, maps, etc., very much like the ordinary teachers’ Bible. It is printed in the language of the common people. Before his death, Pope Leo XIII granted an indulgence to those who would spend fifteen minutes daily in the reading of this work. Such a move as this is truly not without significance.17 The British and Foreign Bible Society has completed its first century of existence. In that time it has issued 180,000,000 copies of the Bible in many different languages. The daily output is 16,000 copies.