Pontifical Mission Societies

The Pontifical Mission Societies, known in some countries as Missio, is the name of a group of Catholic missionary societies that are under the jurisdiction of the Pope. These organizations include the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, the Holy Childhood Association and the Missionary Union of Priests and Religious.

Missio building, Aachen

Since 1922, Missio has been the Catholic Church's official support organisation for overseas missions.

The Pope specifically asks the Pontifical Mission Societies to help bring the messages of Christ to the world, especially in countries where Christianity is new, young or poor. The societies care for and support the younger churches until they are able to be self-sufficient.

Missio raises awareness and fosters prayer and cooperation in the whole Catholic Church, with 120 offices worldwide. It is the only organisation which supports every one of the 1,200 mission dioceses of the world. Missio exists through the generosity of Catholics and plays a crucial role in combating poverty, disease, injustice and exploitation.[1][2][3][4]

In March 2011, Reverend Andrew Small, OMI, was appointed the National Director for the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States.[5] In August 2013, Father Small travelled to Lisieux to collect the writing desk (the écritoire) of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, on which she wrote the spiritual classic Story of a Soul. The Pontifical Mission Societies sponsored a tour of the desk in the United States from August to October 2013.[6]

On 26 June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Protase Rugambwa, who until then had been serving as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kigoma, Tanzania, as the Deputy Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and as President of the Pontifical Mission Societies, naming him an archbishop. He succeeded Archbishop Piergiuseppe Vacchelli.[7] Rugambwa ceased to be president after being Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples on 9 November 2017,[8] with Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso replacing him.[9]

Since Acp. Charles Asa Schleck's concurrent appointment as Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and President of the Pontifical Mission Societies, the two appointments have been concurrent (though with the title Adjunct Secretary):

See also

References
  1. "Pontifical Mission Societies, Canada". Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  2. "Missio, U.K." Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  3. "Pontifical Mission Societies, India". Archived from the original on 22 April 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  4. B. Lucas, The history of the Pontifical Missions in Australia – what the past can teach the future, Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 37 (1) (2016) Archived 2 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine, 82-90.
  5. "CNS Nnews Briefs 23 June 2011". Catholicnews.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  6. "About the tour - Saint Therese of Lisieux". Thereseoflisieux.org. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  7. "Disclaimers and APPOINTMENTS, 26.06.2012". Microsofttranslator.com. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  8. "Tanzanian appointed secretary of Congregation for Evangelization of Peoples". Catholic News Agency. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)


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