On Sunday 19 October, the Church celebrated World Mission Sunday. We were encouraged to pray for the missionary work of the Church and share what we could to support faith communities overseas.
Pope Francis in his message for World Mission Sunday declared: ‘All the members of the Church are called to participate in this mission, for the Church is missionary by her very nature: she was born “to go forth”. World Mission Sunday is a special moment when the faithful of various continents unite in prayer and concrete gestures of solidarity in support of the young Churches in mission lands.’
This World Mission Sunday Missio, as the Pope’s official charity for overseas mission, encouraged the worldwide Catholic community to follow Pope Francis’ call to us all to ‘be missionaries of God’s love.’
Myanmar is the focus of the World Mission Sunday 2014 collection, and money raised in parishes across England and Wales will go to support the work of missionaries in northern Myanmar, and around the world.
Throughout the week, a series of events have been taking place to highlight and celebrate the work of Missio and missionaries throughout the world.
On Tuesday 14 October, Bishop John Arnold was the principal celebrant at the Mass for Missio. He was joined by Bishop Declan Lang and Mgr James Cronin, along with Fr Paul Lum Dau, a Catholic priest serving the Church in war-torn Kachin State in northen Myanmar.
The Mass was followed by a reception, with guests including Patricia Baroness Scotland, who is patron of Missio.
On 15 October, Missio, together with the Catholic Missionary Union and the Mill Hill Missionaries, hosted the World Mission Conference at Heythrop College. Keynote speaker, Rev Dr Stephen Bevans SVD, spoke about the call of the entire Church to be missionary.
Fr Paul Lum Dau will celebrate all Sunday Masses at Westminster Cathedral this weekend, beginning with the Vigil Mass on Sunday. All are welcome to attend.
To make a donation to the World Mission Sunday collection, or to find out more, please visit: www.missio.org.uk/WorldMissionSunday2014
