VATICAN – Cardinal Tagle on World Mission Day: “It is our participation in the common mission of the Church”

Vatican City – “Participation and contribution during World Mission Day is an act of mission, generosity and solidarity. Through this, we proclaim and spread the good news,” says Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization , in a six-minute video produced by JESCOM made up of images, words and quotations from the Magisterium of the Church, illustrating the origin and meaning of World Mission Day in relation to which he explains the mission of the four Pontifical Mission Societies and, above all, dwells on the motivation for Catholics to participate in this day dedicated to the missions. “It is a day of prayer, reflection and support for the Church’s missionary activities in the 1124 mission territories,” says Cardinal Tagle. These local churches are still young, and many of them are struggling with poverty, conflicts and even persecution. That is why the universal Church is assisting them. One instrument of the universal Church is the solicitude for young local churches in so-called mission territories, are the Pontifical Mission Societies .”
The Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization explains that the funds collected during World Mission Day by the National Directions of the Pontifical Mission Societies around the world are transferred to the Universal Solidarity Fund, which is monitored and coordinated by the International Secretariats of the Pontifical Mission Societies. Each year, during their General Assembly, they decide which projects to support. The formation of seminarians, priests, men and women religious; access to Catholic education, the availability of healthcare and pastoral care, the formation of catechists and lay leaders; the construction of churches, schools and missionary centres are the main areas to which the funds collected on Mission Sunday are allocated.
Cardinal Tagle, quoting the rescript of the Sacred Congregation of Rites , highlights how World Mission Day is a visible sign of communion among Catholics. “It is a way for us to respond to the Lord’s mandate, because our offerings enable missionaries to proclaim the Good News far and wide to people of different cultures and religions,” says the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, who immediately afterwards, referring to Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Redemptoris Missio , explains the importance and beauty of the bond between the universal and the particular Church, between the older and the younger Church in the common mission of the Church. The conclusion of the video is entrusted to a quotation from Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Spe Salvi , which Cardinal Tagle comments on as follows: “The Gospel is not merely a communication of things to be known. Rather, it is a communication that makes things happen and changes lives. It is a communication of hope.”

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