World Mission Sunday to be observed on October 18

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PROVIDENCE — World Mission Sunday, celebrating Catholic missions and missionaries of the world, will be observed on October 18. It is a unique, global effort for the entire Church to provide for the building up of over one thousand churches in Asia and Africa, the Pacific Islands, and parts of Latin America and Europe.
In a recent letter, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin shared that this annual, world-wide celebration emphasizes a shared baptismal call to mission.
“During the Month of October, always dedicated to the missions, Pope Francis thus reminds us that, as baptized Christians, we too are called personally to mission — especially at this time — to bring Christ’s love to those most forgotten and abandoned around the world. He asks us to respond to the Lord’s call and to ‘step out of ourselves for the love of God and neighbor.’ We do so through sincere prayer, by participation in the Holy Eucharist, and by generously supporting the collection for the Society for the Propagation of the Faith.”
A gift on World Mission Sunday sustain priests, religious and lay pastoral leaders in more than 1,100 mission dioceses around the world, as they help to build the Church and serve the poor.
“Through your support of the Church’s missionary society, you will be present to the ends of the earth,” said Bishop Tobin. “In these times which are so challenging, especially in poor, mission countries, I invite all the members of the Diocese of Providence to support the collection for the missions as generously as possible. I offer my personal gratitude for your witness to the faith — here in our local church, and in missions around the globe. Thank you for your generosity!”
Pope Francis, in his message for World Mission Sunday, encourages faithful with these words, “In this year marked by the suffering and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the missionary journey of the whole Church continues in light of the words found in the account of the calling of the Prophet Isaiah: ‘Here I am, send me,’ Isaiah responds (6:8). This is the perennial response to the Lord’s question: “Whom shall I send?”
In 1926, Pope Pius XI instituted Mission Sunday for the whole Church with the first worldwide Mission Sunday collection taking place in October 1927. That day is celebrated in all the local churches as the feast of Catholicity and universal solidarity so Christians the world over will recognize their common responsibility with regard to the evangelization of the world.


To contribute to the Collection, send your tax-deductible donation to: Society of the Propagation of the Faith, One Cathedral Square, Providence, R.I. 02903. For more information, call 401-278-4520 or visit dioceseofprovidence.org/society-for-the-propagation-of-the-faith.