World Mission Sunday is Oct. 21-23
On World Mission Sunday, Oct. 21-22, a second collection will be taken up at Mass in support of Mission Dioceses in countries where Christianity is not fully rooted, or where Jesus has been denied, persecuted, or ignored.
About 1,100 Mission dioceses and territories receive a modest annual subsidy from the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. That funding is necessary for many of them to survive, to grow, and to serve the Lord and His people. The Pontifical Mission Societies are all under the Dicastery for the Evangelization of Peoples, which oversees the disbursement of subsidies and special Mission projects.
According to Msgr. Robert J. Fuhrman Archdiocesan Director Pontifical Mission, the U.S. was once Mission territory, until the early 1900s. Today the Mission Church includes virtually the entire African continent, the 10,000 islands of Oceania, much of Southeast Asia, certain parts of Latin America and Eastern Europe, and more.
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Pope Francis, in his message for World Mission Sunday 2023, reflects on the theme “Hearts on fire, feet on the move,” based on the story of the disciples who encounter Jesus on their way to Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35). He invites all of us to “set out once more, illumined by our encounter with the risen Lord and prompted by his Spirit. Let us set out again with burning hearts, with our eyes open and our feet in motion. Let us set out to make other hearts burn with the word of God, to open the eyes of others to Jesus in the Eucharist, and to invite everyone to walk together on the path of peace and salvation that God, in Christ, has bestowed upon all humanity.”
On World Mission Sunday, we can all join Pope Francis in supporting his missions.
Msgr. Fuhrman called it an honor for all to be able to help our Catholic Family in remote places to know the joy of the Gospel and Sacraments.
“In a world where so much divides us, World Mission Sunday rejoices in our unity as missionaries by our Baptism, as it offers each one of us an opportunity to support the life-giving presence of the Church among the poor and marginalized in more than 1,111 mission dioceses,” according to an announcement on World Mission Sunday 2023 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “As we pray and respond here at home, we share in those celebrations taking place in every parish and school throughout the world. Together, through our prayers and financial support, we bring the Lord’s mercy and concrete help to the most vulnerable communities in the Pope’s missions.”
