All Christians called to missionary apostolate, Pope says

October 19, 2009

At his midday public audience on World Mission Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI called upon all Christians to "commit call themselves to announcing and bearing witness to the Gospel to everyone, especially to people who do not yet know it."

"The Church exists to announce the message of hope to all mankind," the Holy Father told the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square on October 18. Each Christian is responsible for his own part in this mission, he said, and should feel "the urgent need to work so the sovereignty of Christ may be fully achieved." He made a special appeal for the faithful to provide "material and spiritual support to help the young churches in the poorest countries." Pope Benedict made a special mention of "the missionaries-- priests, religious, and lay volunteers" who sacrifice their comfort and sometimes their lives for the sake of the Gospel. He mentioned Father Ruggero Ruvoletto, the Italian priest who was killed recently in Brazil, and Father Michael Sinnott, the Irish missionary seized last week by kidnappers in the Philippines.

 

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Further information:

• World Mission Day: Solidarity with Young Churches (VIS)
• Pope Pays Tribute to Persecuted Priests (Fox News)