VATICAN - "The entire Church, all the Churches for the whole world": towards the Extraordinary Missionary Month

Thursday, 17 January 2019 evangelization mission missionary animation pontifical mission societies extraordinary missionary month

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Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - "The entire Church, all the Churches for the whole world": this sentence of blessed Paolo Manna, Pime, whose liturgical memorial is celebrated on January 16, inspired the Day of spirituality of the Pontifical Mission Societies, organized at the "International Center for Missionary Animation" (CIAM), founded by Pope Paul VI and entitled to Blessed Manna. The day was organized in view and in preparation for the Extraordinary Missionary Month of October 2019, proclaimed on the occasion of the centenary of the Apostolic Letter "Maximum Illud" of Pope Benedict XV, on the theme "Baptized and sent: the Church of Christ on mission in the world". The Day saw the participation of the President of the Pontifical Mission Societies, Archbishop Giampietro Dal Toso, and the four General Secretaries of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS).
"There is not only one Church that is missionary, all are missionary and must be animated by missionary awareness", observed Fr. Fabrizio Meroni, PIME, General Secretary of the Pontifical Missionary Union. Fr. Meroni stressed that "for the mission we must focus on the question of the relationship of faith with the world: the root of the mission is faith, the gift of faith for the salvation of the world".
Given this premise, the tools presented for the animation of the communities of the baptized, in view of the Extraordinary Missionary Month of October 2019 "are tools of synodality", he said: this is essentially the Internet site http://www.october2019.va/ where there is material, news and insights on the month announced by the Pope.
Here you can download the "Guide for the Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019", which will also be published in paper format. It is a Guide made on the initiative of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and of the Pontifical Mission Societies, which collects contributions from Christians all over the world and is aimed at Christians all over the world.
Archbishop Dal Toso reiterated that the PMS must "keep alive the missionary spirit in the Church through animation and missionary formation". They are, he recalled, "a worldwide network at the service of the Pope to support the mission and the young Churches with prayer and charity".
The purpose of the Guide is to serve the individual dioceses in their needs for missionary formation and animation, preparing the faithful to live the Extraordinary Missionary Month. The Guide will serve to inspire the creativity of local Churches and their Christians in addressing the challenges inherent to evangelization starting from the missio ad gentes and its context.
The parts of which the Guide is composed correspond to the spiritual dimensions indicated by the Pope: a personal encounter with Jesus Christ alive in the Church; the testimony of saints and martyrs of the mission; missionary formation: biblical, catechetical, spiritual and theological and missionary charity. The Guide is published in English, Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 17/1/2019)