World Mission Sunday

“In this year marked by the suffering and challenges created by 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 am I, send me’ (6:8).” — Pope Francis
Photo: Agrobusiness training, St. Louis Secondary School, Kumasi, Ghana
Please pray and give generously during the second collection in your parish on World Mission Sunday, October 17-18, 2020. Your offering of these spiritual and temporal resources will ensure that our brothers and sisters around the world will experience the joy and hope of the encounter with Christ through the missions.
A message from Pope Francis….
“ The celebration of World Mission Day is an occasion for reaffirming how prayer, reflection and the material help of your offerings are so many opportunities to participate actively in the mission of Jesus in his Church. The charity expressed in the collections that take place during the liturgical celebrations of the third Sunday of October is aimed at supporting the missionary work carried out in my name by the Pontifical Mission Societies, in order to meet the spiritual and material needs of peoples and Churches throughout the world, for the salvation of all.”
— Pope Francis, Message for World Mission Sunday 2020

YOU can be a Missionary!
Ancilla School Wa was founded as an early childhood educational center for 35 small children in 2010 by the Sisters of Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus. Today, the school serves over 2000 children, from newborns to junior high school students. “Since March 15, schools in Ghana were asked to lockdown because of the pandemic,” report the Sisters, and “our children who were safe and nourished are suffering hunger and deprivation. The sisters have lost their source of livelihood and can no longer support them. We want to provide at least one nutritious meal for them. We need your assistance to support our ministry to vulnerable children during this pandemic.” Can you help?
To Help the Missions TODAY You Can:
Invite Sister to your parish!
Sr. Annai D’Souza is the mission coordinator for young people for the Archdiocese of Washington’s Missions Office. Sister welcomes the opportunity to visit with young people in schools, youth groups, Confirmation preparation, and CCD classes to share her witness about the essential missionary vocation of even the youngest Catholics. She is inspired by the words of St. John Paul II: “Missionary work has but one purpose: to serve man by revealing to him the love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ.” To arrange a visit with Sister, contact the ADW Missions Office, 301-853-4528.
On this World Mission Sunday…
Connect with the Americas…where CATECHISTS travel to remote areas to bring the Good News of God’s great love to FAMILIES.
Connect with Europe…where NEW CHURCHES are being built to WELCOME faith communities, renewed after years of persecution.
Connect with Asia…where six million CHILDREN receive an education from Religious Sisters in some 16,000 Church-run elementary SCHOOLS.
Connect with Oceania…(Pacific Islands) where 1,000 young men are preparing for the PRIESTHOOD, to bring the Lord’s healing HOPE and peace to those in need. Connect with Africa…where those who are SICK are provided with loving care at 6,400 Catholic HOSPITALS and small CLINICS.
Photos Left to Right: Forming seminarians in Vietnam, Teaching children in El Salvador, Comforting blast victims in Lebanon
Photo Above: Caring for the elderly in India
The men and women who serve as disciples of Jesus in mission lands have experienced an even more radical call this year to say, “here am I”, to the people and places in need of his redeeming Love. “The mission, the ‘Church on the move’, is not a program, an enterprise to be carried out by sheer force of will,” reminds Pope Francis in his World Mission Day message. “It is Christ who makes the Church go out of herself.” Will you answer Christ’s personal call to “go out” yourself during the pandemic, and help our brothers and sisters all over the world through your prayers, support and resources? Your ongoing support of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith is vital to the missionaries serving in 1,111 dioceses throughout Asia, Africa, parts of Latin America and Europe, and on the Islands of the Pacific. Your generosity helps local priests, religious, and catechists bring Christ’s saving life and love to communities, families and children in desperate need of the fullness of their humanity. Your World Mission Sunday gift may be used to provide Bibles for catechists in Pakistan, or build a new church in Mongolia. Your offering may be used to support a rural health clinic in Bolivia, or it may obtain a dairy cow for a children’s home in Cameroon. Most importantly, wherever your offering is sent, it brings your “yes” to the personal call of Christ, and therefore, your part in bringing His peace, hope and salvation through the ministry of the Church.
Photo Right: Nourishing people in Eritrea, Africa
Below is a list of some missionaries from Washington, DC who are either serving here at home in the United States or in a foreign mission.
FOREIGN MISSIONS
Brazil
Ms. Joanne Blaney
Sr. June Ann Kirby, CSC
Ecuador
Sr. Virginia Patrick, CDP
Mr. Raul Yepez
Haiti
Bro. Michael McCarthy, CFX
Hong Kong
Rev. Michael Lynch, SJ
India
Sr. Joann Havelka, CSC
Rev. George Hess, SJ
Rev. Thomas Tobin, SJ
Italy
Sr. Maria Panagia Miola, SSVM
Sr. Mary Joy of Martyrs Kimble, SSVM
Sr. Mary of the Sacred Heart Gaes, SSVM
Sr. Maria del Fiat Miola, SSVM
Iceland
Sr. Maria Porta Coeli Harper, SSVM
Japan
Rev. F. Scott Howell, SJ
Lithuania
Sr. Mary Rock of Constancy Powell, SSVM
Mexico
Sr. Eleanor Snyder, CSC
Nicaragua
Ms. Christine Ruppert
Papua New Guinea
Rev. William Talentino, OFM Cap
Tanzania
Ms. Suzette Kelly
The Netherlands
Sr. Mary Our Lady of Ostrabrama Ludka, SSVM
Togo
Rev. William Ryan
Tunis
Sr. Marie Norte Dame du Victoire Sogong, SSVM
Uganda
Sr. Mary Wahler, CSC
Vietnam
Rev. Hank Slevin
HOME MISSIONS
District of Columbia
Sr. Maryam Subdiloo Ki Malka D’Souza, SSVM
Sr. Mary Jo Byrne, LSJ
Sr. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Ambrogio, SSVM
Sr. Mariam Annai Vailankanni D’Souza, SSVM
Sr. Maria Hagia Sophia Clemens, SSVM
Sr. Mary of the Angelus Crowell, SSVM
Sr. Mary of the Crucified Metcalfe, SSVM
Indiana
Sr. Cathleen Campbell, SP
Maryland
Ms. Joanne Ruddy
New York
Sr. Jean Cook, ICM
Ms. Esther James
Mr. Joseph Regotti
Ms. Jean Walsh
Pennsylvania
Sr. Maria Bernadette, MC
Mr. Noé Granados
Sr. Maria Homung, MMS
South Dakota
Rev. Tim Manatt, SJ
Tennessee
Rev. Anthony
Contact Sr. Annai D’Souza to learn more.
Sr. Annai D’Souza, SSVM
Mission Cooperative Plan Coordinator
[email protected]
Send your gift to:
Society for the Propagation of the Faith
Archdiocese of Washington
Pontifical Mission Societies
P.O. Box 29260
Washington, DC 20017