EUROPE/SPAIN - Diocesan Missionary Day of Madrid: “The Lord continues to call”

Madrid (Fides News Agency) – “Heartfelt thanks” is the motto chosen for the celebration of Diocesan Missionary Day in the Archdiocese of Madrid, which was just celebrated on Sunday, May 17, the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. The central moment of the day was the Eucharistic liturgy celebrated in the Cathedral of the Almudena by the Vicar for Pastoral Affairs of the diocese, Fr. José Luis Segovia Bernabé.

The annual celebration, organized by the Delegation for Missions and the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS), is a moment of thanksgiving for the life and witness of the missionaries linked to the diocesan Church, as well as an occasion for sending forth those who will depart in the coming year for the mission 'ad gentes', and for renewing the blessing of those already serving in mission territories.

The Episcopal Delegation for Missions notes that the Church of Madrid currently has 533 missionaries in 84 countries: 138 nuns, 4 cloistered nuns, 94 religious brothers, 223 lay people—including 71 families on mission—and 74 diocesan priests spread across the five continents. According to the Delegation, they all constitute the concrete face of a Church “that goes forth,” called to extend evangelization beyond diocesan borders.

The Episcopal Delegate for Missions and Diocesan Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies of Madrid, Manuel Cuervo Godoy, emphasized to Fides that the missionary vocation “is not born as an isolated event, but as a process that develops in the daily life of faith,” through pastoral service, catechesis, social commitment, and personal discernment within the ecclesial community.

Along these lines, the fundamental role of parishes, Christian communities, and missionary animation groups in accompanying vocations is highlighted, as well as the importance of formation, discernment, and sending forth in communion with the universal Church, called to live in a “permanent state of mission.” “The Lord continues to call; the Church is missionary, a Church that goes forth,” he reminded us. Emphasizing the importance of communion, he added, “When missionaries visit us, they ask us above all for prayers for their work.”

The Episcopal Delegation for Missions points out that missionary pastoral care in Madrid is supported by a broad ecclesial network that allows not only for the accompaniment of missionaries already sent, but also for the promotion of new vocations, especially among lay people and young people. In this regard, they emphasize that missionary life “is built on the daily experience of faith and service, and not just on individual decisions.”

As part of the day's events, Fides also gathered the testimony of María Ángeles, a lay missionary from Madrid, affiliated with the OCASA Missionary Lay Association, whose vocation matured gradually. “My vocation as a missionary began in childhood,” María Ángeles recounts, recalling how her contact with missionary nuns during her early years awakened in her the desire to share life with the people to whom they had been sent. “My life, without major events, has been marked by gratitude to God for the gifts received, especially generosity and service to others,” she affirms.

Throughout her life, María Ángeles has developed a deep commitment to social and pastoral action in her local community, collaborating in reception centers for people with HIV, homeless shelters, Caritas projects, and parish catechesis. “I have always been connected to the nearby parishes where I have lived,” she notes.

“The call to mission has been a process that has always accompanied me,” she affirms, emphasizing that her vocation is not the result of a single experience, but rather of a gradual discernment. Along this path, she participated in various missionary experiences in Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Burkina Faso, and Mali, which have strengthened her faith and her commitment.

The missionary also explains that time was a key element in her vocation: “God has His timing, which is not mine,” she remarks, referring to a process in which patience and discernment were fundamental in maturing her response to the call.

Currently, María Ángeles is preparing for a new assignment as a lay missionary in the Dominican Republic, in the municipality of Sabaneta, in the Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana, where she will collaborate in pastoral life and community outreach.

This year's motto, "Heartfelt Thanks," expresses gratitude toward those who have dedicated their lives to the mission and invites the entire diocesan community to renew its commitment to evangelization. "Only through the generous offering of one's life can one be a missionary," the Episcopal Delegation for Missions reminds us.

Cardinal José Cobo, in his greeting to the missionaries in a letter for the occasion, also expressed his gratitude: “Thank you for making the Church present across five continents in 84 countries. A living presence of the Father’s love for all humanity, a sign that we are a Church that goes forth, that we are called to be this loving presence, to embody and make visible to others this offering that Christ makes to all humanity. Thanks to the sick missionaries of our diocese, those who do not set foot on mission land and yet sustain it with the offering of their illness, an offering and prayer that cares for and watches over the missionaries. Thank you, priests, men and women religious, consecrated persons, consecrated lay people, families, sick missionaries, ‘heartfelt thanks’.”

Furthermore, the Archdiocese of Madrid is preparing to welcome the upcoming visit of Pope Leo XIV on June 6, 7, and 8, as a sign of unity and renewal in faith, reaffirming its missionary vocation and its commitment to journeying as a Church “that goes forth.” (LGR) (Fides News Agency, 19/5/2006)

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