Verghese V Joseph –
With COVID-19 pandemic almost behind us, the Catholic community across India is gearing up to actively celebrate in this year’s World Mission Sunday on October 23.
The World Mission Sunday is celebrated in every Catholic community not only in India but also across the world. It’s a moment of grace to express solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are living in situations of poverty, violence and oppression. Every parish, school and community is invited to join this special event. And every rupee, penny, pound and prayer one gives to Pontifical Mission Organizations (also known as Missio Organizations the world over) helps missionaries everywhere continue their work.
The Pontifical Mission Organizations is a set of four distinct Pontifical Mission Societies with one principal aim, that of the promotion of the universal missionary enthusiasm within the hearts of the faithful. This is made possible through:
(a) the dissemination of information, making others aware of the significance of the missions,
(b) the promotion of missionary vocations and
(c) the gathering and distribution of material help for the missions for its systematic structural works and for young Churches who seek to build communion with other Churches for the sharing of goods and mutual assistance.
For this year’s World Mission Day the Holy Father has reflected on three key phrases in his message for the theme ‘You Shall Be My Witnesses (Acts 1:8).’
- ‘You shall be my witnesses,’ – The call of every Christian to bear witness to Christ,
- ‘To the ends of the earth,’ – The perennial relevance of a mission of universal evangelization,
- ‘You will receive power’ from the Holy Spirit – Let us always be strengthened and guided by the Spirit.
Pope Francis highlighted on the importance of theme, “The words ‘You Shall Be My Witnesses (Acts 1:8).’ were spoken by the Risen Jesus to his disciples just before his Ascension into heaven, as we learn from the Acts of the Apostles: ‘You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth’ (1:8). This reminds us that the Church is missionary by nature. This year World Mission Day offers us the opportunity to commemorate several important events in the Church’s life and mission: the fourth centenary of the founding of the Congregation de Propaganda Fide, now the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and the second centenary of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith. A hundred years ago, the latter, together with the Society of the Holy Childhood and the Society of Saint Peter the Apostle, was granted the title ‘Pontifical’.”
“In light of this action of the Holy Spirit, we also want to consider the missionary anniversaries to be celebrated in 2022. The establishment of the Sacred Congregation De Propaganda Fide in 1622 was motivated by the desire to promote the missionary mandate in new territories. A providential insight! The Congregation proved to be crucial for setting the Church’s evangelizing mission truly free from interference by worldly powers, in order to establish those local Churches which today display such great vigour. It is our hope that, as in its past four centuries, the Congregation, with the light and strength of the Spirit, will continue and intensify its work of coordinating, organizing and promoting the Church’s missionary activities” the Holy Father exhorted.
It was a young French woman, Pauline Jaricot, founded the Society for the Propagation of the Faith exactly 200 years ago. Her beatification will be celebrated in this jubilee year. Albeit in poor health, she accepted God’s inspiration to establish a network of prayer and collection for missionaries, so that the faithful could actively participate in the mission ‘to the ends of the earth’.
This brilliant idea gave rise to the annual celebration of World Mission Day, in which the funds collected in local communities are applied to the universal fund with which the Pope supports missionary activity.
Pope Francis went on to add that in this regard, “I think too of the French Bishop Charles de Forbin-Janson, who established the Association of the Holy Childhood to promote the mission among children, with the motto ‘Children evangelize children, children pray for children, children help children the world over’.
The Holy Father also highlighted the work of Jeanne Bigard, who inaugurated the Society of Saint Peter the Apostle for the support of seminarians and priests in mission lands. Those three Mission Societies were recognized as ‘Pontifical’ exactly a hundred years ago. It was also under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit that Blessed Paolo Manna, born 150 years ago, founded the present-day Pontifical Missionary Union, to raise awareness and encourage missionary spirit among priests, men and women religious and the whole people of God. Saint Paul VI himself was part of this latter Society, and gave it papal recognition.
“I mention these four Pontifical Mission Societies (Missio) for their great historical merits, but also to encourage you to rejoice with them, in this special year, for the activities they carry out in support of the mission of evangelization in the Church, both universal and local. It is my hope that the local Churches will find in these Societies (in Missio) a sure means for fostering the missionary spirit among the People of God,” Pope Francis added.
According to Pontifical Mission Organizations’ (India) national director Rev. Dr. Ambrose Pitchaimuthu, “We will have a more meaningful and creative celebration of this world event in our parishes and institutions, to ignite the spirit of mission in all of us. Let us not forget our baptismal commitment towards Missionary Charity through our prayers and generous contribution to the Universal Solidarity Fund, as is needed for our Mission and the World Mission.”