EUROPE/SPAIN - On-line Conference of Missionaries: Strengthening the Diocese-Mission link

Thursday, 20 May 2021 pontifical mission societies   giampietro dal toso   missionary animation  

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Madrid (Agenzia Fides) - Mission representatives of the Spanish dioceses and diocesan directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies came together for a three-day conference under the motto "Pontifical Mission Societies, Paths to the Future", which ended on May 19. The participants formulated the challenges that the local churches are facing want to revive missionary initiatives in the dioceses of the country. The delegates were inspired by the deliberations of the President of the Pontifical Mission Societies, Archbishop Giampietro Dal Toso, who was involved from Rome and called for the activities of the local Church not to be separated from missionary activities. With this in mind, the participants underlined the need for a "synodality" in which the missionary representatives of the dioceses work in coordination with other departments of the diocesan administration. In addition, the work of the Pontifical Mission Societies should be made known and missionary activities better integrated into ordinary pastoral care. The delegates stressed the need to strengthen the foundations of the charism of the Pontifical Mission Societies and, with regard to missionary educational work, it was stressed that missiology, or at least missionary aspects, must be included in the curriculum for the formation of priests and laypeople. In addition, it is necessary to promote prayer - following the example of the foundress of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, Pauline Jaricot - through the creation of prayer chains and prayer groups, especially in parishes. In preparation for the activities in view of the Jubilee celebrations of the Pontifical Missionary Organization in 2022 (400th anniversary of the founding of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; 200th anniversary of the foundation of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith; 100th anniversary of the elevation of the Societies to the rank of "Papal" Societies, the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the magazine Illuminare and the beatification of the foundress of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, Pauline Jaricot), the impulse of the Extraordinary Missionary Month of 2019 will be resumed, and a working group will be created according to the proposal made by the national director of the PMS Spain, José Mª Calderón.
The three days of reflection and missionary commitment ended with the presentation of Domund 2021 (World Mission Day 2021), which this year will take place under the motto "Announce what you have seen and heard", by the delegate of the Salamanca Missions, José Miguel González. This year's Mission Day, he said, "is a new opportunity that the Lord offers us to reactivate our missionary awareness, to bring to light the great work that so many missionaries are doing in accompanying people suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic and other forgotten, but no less lethal 'pandemics' ". (CE) (Agenzia Fides, 20/5/2021)


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