MESSAGE OF POPE PAUL VI
FOR WORLD MISSIONARY DAY

Saturday, October 19, 1963

Venerable Brothers and beloved sons!

From the very first hours in which, with humble and trusting obedience to God’s adorable designs, we assumed the honor and weight of the Supreme Apostolic Ministry, the impulse of the soul was spontaneous to declare in the sight of the whole world Our essential and most urgent duty, which is to promote with all solicitude and care the expansion of the Kingdom of God. And it pleased Us to greet, in Our first message, as “the apple of Our eye” (Message, here ago us to die, “L’Osservatore Romano” of June 23, 1963), the Missionaries, who represent the continued eloquent and sure testimony that the will of the Divine Founder to spread the light and benefits of the Gospel to all peoples (cf. Matt. 28, 19-20; Marc. 16, 15-16) is always present and efficient in his Church.

As soon as possible fill the earth with the Name and graces of Christ, so that every tongue confesses that He is the only Lord and Savior of all, to the glory of the Father (cf. Phil. 2, 11); bring to peace and salvation the whole human race which God brought out of one to populate the whole earth (Acts 17, 26); Isn’t this perhaps the proper mission and constant action of the Church? This “mission”, which defines and limits the immense field in which the doctrine ranges and the activity of the Church takes place, is the continuation of Christ’s redemptive work among men.

The Lord reserves for some of his favorites the grace of a particular vocation to launch them on the most difficult or impervious paths in the world and with His rescuer assistance makes them capable of facing the most arduous undertakings (cf. Phil. 4, 13). But, behind these ranks that are on the outposts of the Church, all those who have received the privileged gift of faith from God must gather in a compact phalanx. The task of this orderly phalanx is, above all, to pray to the Lord of the harvest (Matt. 9, 38) so that he deigns to send more and more willing workers to work in his field; and, moreover, that of offering the chosen evangelical workers the necessary assistance, which will allow them to engage calmly and expeditiously in their difficult work. How many their needs are and how gratefully they welcome the help they receive, We Ourselves had the good fortune to observe in person. We intend to refer, with vivid remembrance, to the journey We made last year, in which We visited many missionary stations in southern Africa and many in central-western Africa, noting their immense needs and at the same time reporting an excellent impression of their flourishing vitality.

The entire Catholic world knows and loves the Pontifical Mission Societies, which aim to organize and enhance the generosity of the faithful in favor of the heralds of the Gospel: first and foremost, among all the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, which is flanked as precious auxiliaries by the Society of the Holy Childhood and the Society of St. Peter the Apostle for the native clergy of the countries that are open to the Gospel. Their soul is the Pontifical Missionary Union of the Clergy, which, through the priests, nourishes the missionary spirit in all the faithful.

They are called Pontifical Societies, because they belong to the Apostolic See (Pius XI, Motu Proprio « Romanorum Pontificum », of 3 May 1922, AAS XIV (1922) pp. 321-330; Encyclical Letter « Rerum Ecclesiae » of 28 February 1926, AAS XVIII (1926) pp. 65-83) which, while not excluding other relief initiatives for the Missions and for. particular purposes, all obviously surpass them as a direct expression of the solicitude of the Supreme Shepherd of the flock of God for all the Churches (cf. 2 Cor. 11, 28). In fact, in Our name, they provide on a universal level and with a total vision of the most varied needs, spiritual and material aid to be allocated to all the Missions.

It is rightly said that, in our time, the boundaries that bind one or other people are becoming increasingly blurred, because every important problem almost spontaneously assumes the dimensions of the world. But the Christian had already learned from his Divine Master the precept of charity which has universal scope and intimately brings together every man under heaven. Educated in the yearning and impetus of a universal missionary charity, which extends to everything and embraces everyone, the faithful will know how to be even more ready and able to respond to more particular appeals and to contribute to more circumscribed initiatives.

We therefore desire, following the example of Our Predecessors (Pius XII, Encyclical Letter ” Evangelii Praecones ” of June 2, 1951, AAS XLIII (1951) p. 497-528; John XXIII, Encyclical Letter ” Princeps Pastorum ” of November 28, 1959, AAS LI (1959) p, 833-864; Letter a His Eminence Cardinal Agagianian, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Propagandu Fide of 3 May 1962, AAS LIV (1962) pp. 429-434; Letter to His Eminence Card. Gerlier for the International Missionary Congress of 20 March 1962, AASLIV (1962) p. 382-385), to recommend with paternal concern and affectionate insistence our missionary works to our Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate, to the most beloved diocesan and regular clergy, to those who in various ways consecrate themselves to the highest interests of the Kingdom of God, to all the faithful whom the Lord has wished to entrust to our care. Each one, according to his own responsibility and task, with a spirit of faith and enlightened charity, should contribute to the largest extent possible to the growth of the Pontifical Mission Societies which, by the will of the Apostolic See, must be established in every diocese of every nation, where the worthy national and diocesan directors of these Societies – collaborating with the Sacred Hierarchy – lavish their energies and their enthusiasm.

From every corner of the earth may a choir of assiduous prayers rise up in harmony with Our voice, so that the mystery of God’s will may be visibly fulfilled, which wants to lead men back to their only head Christ (Eph. 1, 10), and those who are still far from him may become “close by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2 , 12-13 ) ; and wherever that ardent and active charity flourishes in concrete expressions which makes all the faithful capable of understanding the dimensions of Christ’s love, “ut impleamini in omnem plenitudinem Dei” ( Eph . 3, 17-19).

May the Angels of Heaven gather the universal chorus of prayers, the meditated resolutions, the diligent efforts for the expansion of the Kingdom of Christ – to which the celebration of World Mission Day is renewed invitation – and present them to God. From there will descend the abundant gifts of heavenly rewards and consolations, of which Our Apostolic Blessing wants to be a pledge and reflection.   

 

PAUL VI

 

 

Credit: Liberia Editrice Vaticana, publisher of the official documents of the Holy See