Vatican City – “One in Christ: A Spiritual and missionary journey” is the theme of the second session of the online missionary formation series for the English-speaking world, taking place today, Tuesday, July 14.
The four-part program is dedicated to Pope Leo XIV’s Message for World Mission Day 2026.
The initiative is promoted by the International Secretariat of the Pontifical Missionary Union , together with several National Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies .
The formation program began on June 9 with an introductory presentation by the PMU’s Secretary General, Father Dinh Anh Nhue Nguyen, OFMConv., who placed Pope Leo XIV’s message within the broader context of mission today.
“To understand the missionary spirit of the 2026 Message, it is essential to begin with Pope Leo XIV’s personal journey. Unlike other Pontiffs, whose experience was primarily academic or centered on service within the Roman Curia, Leo XIV was profoundly shaped by many years of mission ad gentes. This was not a secondary aspect of his life, but a defining dimension of his ecclesial identity,” Father Nguyen said.
During the opening session, Father Nguyen was joined by Father Bonaventure Luchidio, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Kenya. Reflecting on the Pope’s message, Father Luchidio stressed that “Pope Leo XIV’s address to the National Directors, together with his Message for World Mission Day, is fundamentally a call to missionary renewal. The Holy Father invites the Pontifical Mission Societies to rediscover their original vocation: to form a missionary Church.”
“For Africa,” he continued, “this means fostering a culture in which every baptized person understands that he or she is sent by Christ. It means moving beyond occasional missionary celebrations toward ongoing missionary formation. It means forming priests, religious, catechists, families, young people and children who are one in Christ and united in mission.”
Joining Father Dinh Anh Nhue Nguyen in today’s session is Father Lawrence Iwuamadi, a priest of the Diocese of Owerri, Nigeria, and Dean and Professor of Ecumenical Biblical Hermeneutics at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute in Switzerland.
The online meeting is open to all and will run from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. . The same schedule will apply to the third session, set for August 11, on the theme “United in Mission: How can we live and promote the Pope’s Teaching?”
The fourth and final session of the English-language series will take place on September 22, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. , in order to facilitate participation from the American continent. It will include the participation of Archbishop Samuele Sangalli, Adjunct Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization , who will deliver a lecture on the missionary spirituality of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.
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