Pontifical Missionary Union
While serving in Myanmar, Blessed Father Paolo Manna, a PIME missionary (The Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions), envisioned an organization that would help him to foster missionary zeal among the clergy and the faithful.
He wanted to encourage those already engaged in the work of the Church to support the work of the Missions — and perhaps to become missionaries themselves. In 1916, he formed the Missionary Union of Priests and Religious. In 1956, Pope Pius XII bestowed the title of “Pontifical”.
The Pontifical Mission Union (PMU) emphasizes that every Catholic is called to mission, starting in their own local community and extending to the world. By training clergy, religious, and lay leaders, it ensures that the Church remains in a “permanent state of mission.”
Under the motto, “The whole Church for the whole world,” PMU continues to foster missionary formation for the entire People of God, ensuring that all Catholics understand their role in spreading the Gospel by fostering a commitment to faith, prayer, witness, and charity.
Through the Pontifical Missionary Union, every believer is invited to embrace the Church’s missionary identity, contributing to the spread of the Gospel and the transformation of the world in faith and love.
Pontifical Missionary Union Around the World
In July 2025, the Floating Institute of Missiology, hosted by the Calabar Ecclesiastical Province, Nigeria, in collaboration with the Pontifical Missionary Union and the Nigerian Pontifical Mission Societies, hosted a four-day intensive mission formation program. Under the theme, “Missionaries of Hope among the Peoples”, this program aimed at deepening the understanding of missionary work among priests, religious, and lay faithful.
Participants engaged in various workshops including, “Insights from Evangelii Nuntiandi,” “Missionary Spirituality and New Evangelization: Insights from Redemptoris Missio and Evangelii Gaudium,” “Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue,” and “Mission and Communications in the Contemporary World.”
Attendees completed the 2025 Floating Institute of Missiology equipped with theological, pastoral, and practical tools for evangelization and left feeling renewed as missionaries of hope.
For more information, contact Maeve Gilheney-Gallagher, Global Solidarity Coordinator.