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By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Pro-Prefect for the Section of First Evangelization of the Vatican's Dicastery for Evangelization, and Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, are calling for a rekindling of missionary spirit to help those faithful around the world who are really in need.

During the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Indiana, on July 20th, at a special reception, the Cardinals presented the materials that will be used this year in most Dioceses of the United States to promote the 98th World Mission Sunday on October 20.

Pope Francis chose as this year's theme for the Day, "Go and Invite Everyone to the Banquet."

According to a statement issued by the Pontifical Missions Societies in the US, the Papal Envoys underscored the significance of the Sunday as more than just a collection day, and rather as an opportunity to renew the Church's commitment to evangelization and to support missions worldwide.

Nearly 50 Bishops, including board members Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, were present at the reception, along with lay board member Barry Jackson.

World Mission Sunday

Pope Pius XI instituted World Mission Sunday in 1926 as an initiative of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, one of the four Pontifical Mission Societies. The following year, the first worldwide collection took place, and ever since, it has been a day of universal solidarity.

Held globally on the next-to-last Sunday in October every year, World Mission Sunday is a unique effort for the entire Church to provide help for over 1,100 dioceses, and particularly to offer practical help to the poor through local churches and their witness to Christ.

The day of prayer and giving's roots date back to 19th-century France, when laywoman Blessed Pauline Jaricot asked her friends to pray daily for the missions and give a penny a week. That first collection was sent to the Diocese of Louisiana, which then extended from the Florida Keys to Canada, as well as to Bardstown, Kentucky.

Pontifical Mission Societies in the US distributes directly to mission territories

The Pontifical Mission Societies (TPMS) is a worldwide network at the service of the Pope to support the missions and the young Churches with prayer and charity. These include the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, the Missionary Childhood Association (MCA), and the Missionary Union of Priests and Religious.

The Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States work through local Bishops, churches, and missionary congregations to ensure that resources are distributed equitably and justly, based on the needs of individual churches.

The money goes directly from the United States to the Bishops in the mission territories, allowing for a direct link between the two local churches.

Cardinal Pierre: Must reawaken missionary aspect of Church

Cardinal Pierre, who is also ex officio member of the PMS Board, emphasized in his remarks the importance of the Societies, and shared his personal experiences serving as a nuncio in various countries, many of which benefited from PMS' support.

"The collection we are preparing for on World Mission Sunday is crucial," he noted, stressing, "We have to reawaken this dimension of the Church as a universal mission, and to support Pope Francis in these efforts, as the Pope is the first missionary."

Cardinal Tagle: Pray for Missions

Meanwhile, Cardinal Tagle, after conveying greetings from Pope Francis and the Dicastery for Evangelization, echoed these sentiments.

He reflected on the grassroots origins of the Mission Societies, founded by committed laypeople and religious who sought to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. "The Mission Societies are rooted in a deep spiritual commitment to make Jesus known," he said.

He emphasized the need to rekindle the missionary spirit within parishes, sharing information about what missionaries do in Asia, Africa, Oceania, the Amazon region, and the Apostolic Vicariates of Latin America, all of which are under the competence of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

鈥淒o we pray for the missions in our parish?" he asked. "Do we share information about the need of many peoples in the world to hear the Gospel, or have we reduced World Mission Sunday to a second collection?鈥�

More than 1,150 territories 

Cardinal Tagle also shared stories from his experiences in many of the 1,150 territories that rely on World Mission Sunday.

"Asia is the most populous continent in the world. Two-thirds of the world鈥檚 population is in Asia, but only three percent of the population in Asia is Christian," he observed, while recalling a parish in Cambodia with only one parishioner, and an encounter with a priest in Nepal following the earthquake, who had only five parishioners, scattered across a region equivalent to a third of Italy.

Those who rely on World Mission Sunday

"I get calls from Bishops from Asia and Africa, and often, during the first three minutes, I hear no words, just sobbing,鈥� Cardinal Tagle said. 鈥淭hey are the ones who rely on World Mission Sunday."

"If you shared these realities and these stories with your people," the Vatican Pro-Prefect insisted, "I am sure that their hearts would be on fire."

"I know that they too," he said, "would want to help share the Good News with so many people who desperately need it," adding that "greatest news is our Lord, Jesus Christ.鈥�