A commission of Cardinals was set up by Pope Gregory XIII (1572-85) charged with spreading Catholicism and regulating ecclesiastical affairs in heretic, schismatic or heathen lands. The president of the commission was the Cardinal Prefect of Propaganda, and the commission was later known as the College of Propaganda: it was used to educate young priests.
The word “propaganda” soon applied to any organisation set up to spread a doctrine, and was applied both to the doctrine and the methods used. As it was associated from the beginning with Catholicism, it tends to be seen as more sinister in Protestant countries.
***courtesy of The University of Edinburgh
