CHARLOTTE — Catholics in the Diocese of Charlotte can show their support for the Church’s worldwide missionary movement on World Mission Sunday, which falls on the weekend of Oct. 21-22 this year.
The special second collection will support the Pontifical Mission Societies, aiding their mission efforts and evangelization around the world, especially in areas where people struggle with poverty and violence. Funds go to provide food, education and medical care and to build up the Church in Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands and parts of Latin America and Europe.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops released a statement about how giving on Mission Sunday helps unite the faithful around the world as they contribute to support the spread of the Gospel.
“In a world where so much divides us, World Mission Sunday rejoices in our unity as missionaries of our Baptism, as it offers each one of us an opportunity to support the life-giving presence of the Church among the poor and marginalized in more than 1,111 mission dioceses,” the statement read. “Together, through our prayers and financial support, we bring the Lord’s mercy and concrete help to the most vulnerable communities in the Pope’s missions.”
Father Patrick Cahill is mission office director for the Diocese of Charlotte as well as pastor of St. Eugene Parish in Asheville. The office oversees diocesan support for mission projects around the world, including orphanages in India and cathedrals in Buea, Cameroon.
“We continue to reach out to those in need in the missions,” Father Cahill said. “I am so grateful for the continued generosity of our diocese to the mission church.”
In January, Pope Francis chose the theme “Hearts on fire, feet on the move” (Luke 24:13-35) for this year’s World Mission Sunday. The theme is based on Luke’s story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus after Christ’s crucifixion, when they encountered the risen Christ in the form of a fellow wayfarer but initially did not recognize him. The pope stated that Catholics today should use Mission Sunday as a chance to renew their zeal for evangelization.
“The urgency of the Church’s missionary activity naturally calls for an ever-closer missionary cooperation on the part of all her members and at every level,” he said. “Let us set out to make other hearts burn with the word of God, to open the eyes of others to Jesus in the Eucharist, and to invite everyone to walk together on the path of peace and salvation that God, in Christ, has bestowed upon all humanity.”
Pope Francis said increasingly difficult conditions around the world today make World Mission Sunday all the more important.
“Today more than ever, our human family, wounded by so many situations of injustice, so many divisions and wars, is in need of the Good News of peace and salvation in Christ,” he said. “All of us can contribute to this missionary movement: with our prayers and activities, with material offerings and the offering of our sufferings, and with our personal witness.”
— Christina Lee Knauss
More online
At www.onefamilyinmission.org: Learn more about World Mission Sunday and the work of the Pontifical Mission Societies