Vatican City - This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Pope Leo XIV received in audience the participants in the General Assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies, who have gathered in Rome from 130 countries for their annual session of work and discernment.
What are the Pontifical Mission Societies?
The Pontifical Mission Societies are a worldwide network at the service of the Pope, supporting the mission and the young Churches through prayer and charity. There are four of them: the Pontifical Society of the Propagation of the Faith, the Pontifical Society of the Holy Childhood, the Pontifical Society of Saint Peter the Apostle and the Pontifical Missionary Union. The first three were founded in France in the nineteenth century - two through the initiative of women deeply committed to the missionary cause, including Pauline Jaricot, founder of the first Society in 1822 - while the fourth was established in the early twentieth century through the initiative of Blessed Paolo Manna. In 1922, Pope Pius XI granted them the title “Pontifical”, making them his own as a privileged instrument of spiritual and material support for the Church’s missio ad gentes.
The Pontifical Mission Societies are structured at several levels: a Supreme Committee with responsibility for universal coordination; a Superior Council which meets annually in Rome to examine and approve projects from the Churches in mission territories; an Executive Committee which meets every two months; International Secretariats for each of the four Societies; and National Directorates present in each country. The funds collected from the faithful on the five continents - especially on World Mission Sunday, celebrated on the penultimate Sunday of October - are redistributed to the more than 1,130 ecclesiastical circumscriptions dependent on the Dicastery for Evangelization, so that they can establish the necessary ecclesial infrastructures and support their missionary initiatives.
Leo XIV’s appeal
In his address, Leo XIV first recalled the anniversaries marking this missionary year: the centenary of World Mission Sunday, instituted in 1926 by Pius XI at the request of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith itself, and the 110th anniversary of the foundation of the Pontifical Missionary Union. The Pontiff recalled the definition given to the latter by Saint Paul VI, who described it as the “soul” of the other Pontifical Mission Societies, and invited all those present to promote its charism of missionary spirituality.
“It is also providential that this year, on 24 September, in St Louis, Missouri, one of the best-known National Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies, the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, will be beatified. Archbishop Sheen was a beacon of faith, hope and love which shone for decades through radio and television. I myself witnessed his evangelising work as I was growing up. His broadcasts reached millions of people with the hope of the Gospel, and his initiatives and efforts produced enormous spiritual and material assistance for the Churches in areas of first evangelisation. May our new Blessed be an example for all the National and Diocesan Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies throughout the world,” Leo XIV said.
The theme of this year’s World Mission Sunday - One in Christ, united in mission - was at the heart of the Pontiff’s reflection. He saw in it a reference to Jesus’ priestly prayer to the Father: a unity that is not only spiritual but also practical, capable of responding to the “tensions, conflicts and wars” marking the contemporary world. In this regard, Leo XIV underlined the distinctive role of the Pontifical Society of the Holy Childhood, which brings the light of faith to children in the regions most afflicted by hatred and violence, and of the Pontifical Society of Saint Peter the Apostle, which supports the formation of indigenous clergy and religious in territories of first evangelisation.
The Pope concluded by entrusting the participants, their collaborators and benefactors to the intercession of Mary, Queen of Missions, and of all the missionary saints, and by imparting his Apostolic Blessing.
fr.P.L.
Silere non possum