a Roman Catholic society of men founded in 1703 at Paris by Claude-François Poullart des Places. Originally intended only for the training of seminarians, the congregation gradually took an active part in missionary work. Suppressed by the French Revolution, it was restored under Napoleon, but persecution kept it weak until 1848, when the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary merged with it, and Francis Libermann, a convert from Judaism, became its superior general. The congregation pioneered in the resumption of African missions in the 1800s. Besides its missionary efforts, it carries on educational and social works.