October is the Church’s annual month of Mission, which opened on the feast of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux on 1 October, and builds up to World Mission Sunday, which will take place on 18 October. This year’s theme is, ‘Together we can do more – Blessed are the peacemakers’ (Mt 5:9). World Mission Sunday was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1926, to reflect the central role of mission in the life of the Church.
World Mission Sunday is the annual appeal to support the life-giving work of missionaries. Mass will be broadcast for Mission Sunday at 11.00am on 18 October from RTÉ studios, Dublin, on LW 252 and RTÉ Radio One Extra. The celebrant will be His Excellency Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo, Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland.
In Ireland, World Mission Sunday is coordinated by World Missions Ireland, the Irish Church’s official charity for overseas missions which supports the 40% of the Universal Church that is too new, young or poor to support itself. WMI is part of a network of 120 offices under the coordination of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Rome.
This year WMI has launched a special appeal as the Covid-19 pandemic has been devastating for those in the developing world. The pandemic is also threatening the work of missionaries worldwide, as Mass attendance has declined and the number of donations to charities such as WMI has dropped significantly. For more see www.wmi.ie.
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