Rome – “The Pontifical Mission Societies are effectively the “primary means” of awakening missionary responsibility among all the baptized and supporting ecclesial communities in areas where the Church is young,” said Pope Leo XIV on May 22, 2025, regarding the significance of the Pontifical Mission Societies, when he received the national directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies at the Vatican in Rome for their annual General Assembly.Almost a year later, more than 100 national directors of the worldwide network of Pontifical Mission Societies are meeting again in the Eternal City. They are traveling from all five continents for their annual Assembly, which they see as a valuable opportunity to reaffirm together the vocation and contribution of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the “new missionary age,” which Pope Leo XIV also emphasized.Global Network at the service of missionLast year, in his address to the participants of the Assembly of Pontifical Mission Societies, the Successor of Peter expressed his gratitude for the work of the Pontifical Mission Societies “for your dedicated service, which is indispensable to the Church’s mission of evangelization, as I can personally attest from my own pastoral experience in the years of my ministry serving in Peru.” Pope Leo also highlighted the specific tasks undertaken by each of the four Mission Societies, born from the missionary creativity and sensus fidei of the People of God and which, over time, have become an integral part of the Missionary Dicastery: the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith , which—as the Pope recalled—“provides aid for pastoral and catechetical programmes, the building of new churches, healthcare, and educational needs in mission territories”; The Society of the Holy Childhood , which “too provides support for Christian formation programmes for children, in addition to caring for their basic needs and protection also supports Christian”; the Society of Saint Peter the Apostle , which “helps to cultivate missionary vocations, priestly and religious”; and the Pontifical Missionary Union , which—as the Bishop of Rome recalled—“is committed to forming priests, religious men and women, and all the people of God for the Church’s missionary activity.”Intensive ProgramThe working sessions of the Assembly are being held at the “Collegio Internazionale San Lorenzo di Brindisi” of the Capuchin Friars.The opening day of the Assembly begins today with a Eucharistic celebration presided over by Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization . Following the liturgy, Cardinal Tagle will deliver the opening address.The Assembly's intensive program continues until Wednesday, June 3. Among the highlights for the participants this year is the audience with Pope Leo XIV on Monday morning, June 1.On Sunday, May 31, the participants will make a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Saint Philomena and then visit Naples and its cathedral, where they will venerate the relics of Saint Januarius.During the working sessions, the four General Secretaries will present the work and budgets of the individual Societies. New projects to be supported will also be presented and approved. A separate session will be dedicated to communication and fundraising. On Tuesday afternoon, June 2, Archbishop Samuele Sangalli, Adjunct Secretary for Administration of the Dicastery for Evangelization, will speak.The Assembly's program concludes on Wednesday, June 3, with the celebration of the Eucharist presided over by Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization.One hundred years of World Mission DayIn 2026, the centenary of the establishment of World Mission Day will be commemorated. Pope Pius XI instituted it to encourage and bear witness to the participation of all the faithful in apostolic work through prayer and material support.World Mission Day is celebrated worldwide on the penultimate Sunday of October, the missionary month par excellence.Last year, Pope Leo XIV addressed all Catholic parishes worldwide in a video message, reminding them that “every year on World Mission Day, the whole Church prays for missionaries and the success of their apostolic work.”The Pope recalled his personal experiences as a priest and then as a missionary bishop, he said, “I saw with my own eyes how faith, prayer, and generosity can transform entire communities on this Day.”This year, World Mission Day falls on October 18. All donations collected worldwide on this Sunday will be entrusted to the Pontifical Mission Societies to support projects and initiatives for proclaiming the Gospel, particularly in countries in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. A network of dedication and missionary passion makes the Pontifical Mission Societies a dynamic organization that is not solely focused on fundraising.“The Pontifical Mission Societies,” Pope Francis reminded them in his message to the Pontifical Mission Societies on May 21, 2020, “are an instrument of service for the mission of the particular Churches, against the backdrop of the mission of the universal Church. This is the ever-precious contribution that the Societies make to the spread of the Gospel. All of us are called to nurture by means of love and gratitude, as well as by our works, the seeds of divine life that the Spirit of Christ causes to blossom and grow where he wills, even in the deserts. Please, in your prayer ask above all that the Lord make everyone better prepared to recognize the signs of his activity, in order then to reveal them to the whole world.”
