by Gianni Valente
Vatican City – “For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord,” writes Paul of Tarsus in his Second Letter to the Corinthians.
On Sunday, January 25, the day on which the Church’s liturgy celebrates the Conversion of Saint Paul, the great missionary “Apostle to the Gentiles,” Leo XIV’s Message for the 100th World Mission Day, which this year will be celebrated on Sunday, October 18, is released.
“One in Christ, united in mission” is the title of the Bishop of Rome’s new message. These words echo the papal motto, “In Illo uno unum” , taken from a sermon by Saint Augustine.
“To the extent that each one clings to Christ,” wrote the Saint Bishop of Hippo in that very sermon, “the more one unites oneself with others who cling to Christ.”
In the missionary concern that has permeated and united the latest Pontificates—those of Pope Francis, the Pope of Evangelii Gaudium, and of Leo XIV, the Pope who lived many years as a religious missionary far from his homeland—the new document of the Successor of Peter also turns its gaze to the mysterious bond that in the Church’s work always intertwines mission and communion, from their very source.
Both – suggests Pope Prevost – sprout as gifts from the “mystery of union with Christ.” They blossom and grow as gestures performed by Christ himself in those who rest and abide in him, “like branches in the vine.”
2026 marks the centenary of the institution of World Mission Day, promoted in 1926 by Pope Pius XI and “very dear to the Church.” Pope Leo takes advantage of this special anniversary to suggest what we should do to ensure the blossoming of a “new missionary age” in the history of the Church, which he himself evoked on October 5, during the Jubilee of the Missionary World .
Mission and ecclesial communion, gifts of Christ
Being Christian – the Pontiff recalls in the first section of his Message – “is a life in union with Christ, in which we share in his filial relationship with the Father in the Holy Spirit.”. Only from this union can “mutual communion among believers” flow as a gift and can “all missionary fruitfulness” also be born.
Pope Prevost cites the teaching of St. John Paul II, according to which “communion represents both the source and the fruit of mission.” He also repeats the words of St. Paul VI, those of the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi aimed at recalling that ” There is no true evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God are not proclaimed.” It mentions the urgency to “intensify ecumenical efforts with all Christian Churches, building upon the opportunities arising from the joint celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.”
And he emphasizes that even the unity of the disciples “is not an end in itself; it is directed towards mission.” It is the unity implored in prayer by Christ himself, when in the Gospel according to John he asks the Father to give and safeguard the communion among the disciples as a powerful sign to be shown “so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” “It is through the witness of a reconciled, fraternal and united community,” Leo XIV emphasizes, “that the proclamation of the Gospel acquires its full communicative power.”
Blessings to the PMS, a “thank you” to the missionaries
The mission of the disciples and of the entire Church, Pope Leo XIV recalls in his Message, “is to continue the mission of Christ in the Holy Spirit.” The Good News that Christians are called to proclaim to the world “is not an abstract ideal; it is the Gospel of God’s faithful love, which became flesh in the face and life of Jesus Christ.” For this reason, the Pontiff recalls in the concluding part of his Message, all the baptized, each according to their own vocation and state of life, can take part in “the great mission of evangelization” that Christ entrusts to his Church . Unity in mission, the Bishop of Rome warns, “should not be understood as uniformity,” but finds its sole purpose in making Christ’s love visible and inviting everyone to encounter Him. And when this dynamism, moved by grace, prevails, even the fragmentations, divisions, and controversies that tear the ecclesial community apart can be overcome.
Thus, the mission becomes the hallmark, face, and paradigm of ecclesial communion. And it also dares “to develop creative and concrete ways of cooperating with one another for and in the mission.”
In his message, Pope Leo thanks the Pontifical Mission Societies , “a living sign of unity and ecclesial missionary communion,” starting with the Pontifical Missionary Union, on the 110th anniversary of its foundation. He recalls “with gratitude” having experienced the support of the PMS for the apostolic work ” already during my ministry in Peru.” He recalls the important anniversaries celebrated this year by the PMS: the 200th anniversary of the creation of the “Living Rosary” promoted by Blessed Pauline Marie Jaricot , founder of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. “Even today it [the Living Rosary] continues to bring together many of the faithful throughout the world to pray for every spiritual and missionary need.” And above all, the 100th anniversary of the institution by Pius XI of World Mission Day, the offerings of which, collected during Masses celebrated throughout the world on the penultimate Sunday of October, are to be distributed “by the Society, on behalf of the Pope, to support the various needs of the Church’s mission.”
The papal message also expresses gratitude “to today’s ad gentes missionaries. Like Saint Francis Xavier, they have left their homeland, their families and all sense of security in order to proclaim the Gospel and bring Christ and his love to places that are often challenging, poor, conflict-ridden or culturally distant.” They do so, explains Pope Leo XIV, “because they know that Christ himself, and his Gospel, are the greatest treasures we can offer.”
The world – recognizes the successor of Peter – “still needs these courageous witnesses of Christ, and ecclesial communities still need new missionary vocations.”
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Link correlati :MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV FOR THE 100th WORLD MISSION DAY 2026
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