World Mission Sunday
“Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” - Luke 24:13
As we celebrate World Mission Sunday this year, Pope Francis has asked us to look again at the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. This passage reflects the journey of all missionary disciples, and through it we can be renewed. He says, “Let us set out to make other hearts burn with the word of God, to open the eyes of others to Jesus in the Eucharist, and to invite everyone to walk together on the path of peace and salvation.”
This worldwide celebration of our call to mission reminds us that we all contribute to the missionary movement of the Church. We offer our prayers and activities, material offerings, and our personal witness. On this day, we pray and reflect on the mission of the Church and our own personal call to mission. We are also invited to support the Pontifical Mission Societies, which foster missionary cooperation on both the spiritual and material levels for the areas of our world most in need of the Good News of God’s love.
Thank you for your participation in the World Mission Sunday celebration. Please click the button below to make a donation.
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About 75% of the collection supports over 1,100 mission dioceses through the Pontifical Mission Societies, particularly in the rapidly growing churches of Africa and Asia, as well as under resourced parts of Latin America and the Pacific Islands.
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9% of the collection supports the work of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, which works to alleviate poverty and affirm human dignity, build up the church and promote Christian unity and interreligious dialogue in the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India and Eastern Europe.
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Approximately 15% of the WMS supports the operations of the Global Mission Office, which is funded entirely through this collection and the summer Mission Co-op.
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The World Mission Sunday (WMS) Collection is held on the second-to-last weekend of October each year.
- The Global Mission Office will send to each parish:
- A letter from Cardinal Blase J. Cupich encouraging participation
- Copies of a poster to promote awareness of the collection
- Announcements and promotional materials for the bulletin
- Liturgical helps to foster missionary spirit during the weekend services
- A remittance card and return envelope for processing the collection.
- How to encourage participation:
- Share the Cardinal’s letter with your congregation, by putting it in the bulletin or sharing parts of it in announcements or liturgical reflections
- Include announcements and ads in your parish bulletin, social media and website
- Hang the posters supplied by the Global Mission Office in prominent church locations
- Include prayer intentions for our global sisters and brothers in the Prayer of the Faithful
- Offer additional opportunities to learn about and pray with the global Church by leading a world mission rosary or offering a meditation on missionary saints
- Contact the Global Mission Office to arrange a special WMS speaker.
- After the collection is taken up, it is counted and deposited into the parish account following best practices.
- The parish prepares and sends a check to the Global Mission Office. It should be made payable to The Society for the Propagation of the Faith with “WMS-(year)” in the memo line. Please use the grey remittance card and mail checks to Global Mission Office, 3525 S. Lake Park Ave. Chicago, IL 60653.
- It’s very important that the Global Mission Office receive your donation by December 31. The financial year of the Global Mission Office ends in December each year. The office must report our donations to the national office of the Pontifical Mission Societies by the end of the calendar year.
If you need additional materials, please feel free to contact the Global Mission Office.
