Sunday will be World Mission Day. After praying the Angelus, the pope will send a message of gratitude and support to all missionaries. He has done this many times throughout his pontificate.
POPE FRANCIS
March 27, 2019
“Your work, beloved missionaries is great. You 'burn' life by sowing the Word of God with your testimony. In this world you do not make news. You are not news in the newspapers.”
The motto of this year's World Mission Day is precisely 'Here I am, send me.' It is a way of reminding Christians that everyone must actively participate in evangelization.
MSGR. PROTASE RUGAMBWA
Secretary, Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
'The families, for example, are they willing, to promote vocations among their members? The care for pastoral vocations begins in families.'
The Vatican has not published the number of missionaries in the world, but there are hundreds of thousands.
The only known data, is the number of lay people who work as missionaries, no less than 376,188.
The priests and nuns who work in missions include many more.
For the Vatican, the work of the missionaries is even more essential in these times of pandemic.
Javier Romero
Translation: Christian Campos
