Pope tells Pontifical Mission Societies to be united to heal the world
Leo XIV met in the Vatican with the heads of mission societies from more than a hundred countries, brought together by the Dicastery for Evangelisation for their assembly in the year of the centenary of World Mission Day. “In a world increasingly marked by division, war and conflict among nations and peoples,” let us proclaim “the Prince of Peace and the incarnate revelation of Divine Love for humanity,” Leo said.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Leo XIV today met with the secretaries and national directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies from more than a hundred countries, gathered in Rome for their annual assembly, promoted by the Section for First Evangelisation and the New Particular Churches of the Dicastery for Evangelisation.
In his address, the pontiff told them “to appreciate the urgency of embracing an ongoing missionary conversion and to look together for ways of being a missionary Church for the healing of our world, so fraught with tensions, conflicts and wars.”
The assembly is being in a particularly important year, that of the centenary of the institution by Pope Pius XI of World Mission Day, which the Church celebrates on the penultimate Sunday of October.
This initiative came from the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith, one of the four missionary societies that supports the growth of the Church in those places where the faith had only recently taken root.
Underlining the importance of this date, Leo XIV explained that, “one of the particular services of World Mission Sunday is to remind people in the older churches, if you will in the established churches, how important it is that they too join in the missionary spirit of the whole Church.”
The pontiff also mentioned two other occurrences: the 110th anniversary of the founding of the Pontifical Missionary Union (the pontifical missionary work for the clergy) by Blessed Paolo Manna, a PIME missionary; and the upcoming beatification, on 24 September, of Father Fulton J. Sheen, a great evangeliser through the media who also headed the Pontifical Missionary Works in the United States.
“In a world increasingly marked by division, war and conflict among nations and peoples, the four Pontifical Mission Societies,” said the pope, “render an invaluable service to the Church’s mission of proclaiming Christ, the Prince of Peace and the incarnate revelation of Divine Love for humanity.”
Leo XIV stressed the precious mission of the Pontifical Mission Society of the Holy Childhood, “bringing the light of faith and the consolation of Christian charity to children throughout the world, especially in regions afflicted by hatred and violence.”
Likewise, the Pontifical Mission Society of Saint Peter the Apostle promotes and supports the “necessary means for their human, spiritual and pastoral formation” in many places.
Citing the theme of this year's World Mission Day, One in Christ, United in Mission, the pontiff invited all members of the Church “to a deeper communion in Christ and to a fuller unity in his divine mission of love.”
He pointed to the horizon of "a missionary renewal in the Church in the years ahead," a task in which the work of the Pontifical Mission Societies remains essential.
To this end, “Let us therefore continue our missionary journey with joy and renewed zeal,” he said. “In all that we do for the work of evangelization, may we always place Jesus Christ at the center, embracing the beautiful Gospel principle expressed by John the Baptist: ‘He must increase, but I must decrease’ (Jn 3:30).”
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10/05/2025 11:18
