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October 15, 2026
My dear friends in Christ,
One hundred years ago, Pope Pius XI established World Mission Sunday, a celebration that is dear to the Church. For this anniversary year, Pope Leo XIV has chosen the theme “One in Christ, united in mission.” In his homily on the Jubilee of the Missionary World and of Migrants in 2025, the Holy Father said, “As we reflect on being one in Christ and united in mission, let us allow ourselves to be guided and inspired by divine grace, ‘to renew in ourselves the fire of our missionary vocation’ and advance together in the commitment to evangelization, in this ‘new missionary age’ in the history of the Church.”
This year World Mission Sunday is celebrated around the world on the weekend of October 18. Our diocese joins with the worldwide church is supporting the work of the Holy Father through the various missionary societies.
Your donation on the weekend of October 18 is critical. The Pontifical Mission Societies serve the Church’s universality as a global network of support for Pope Leo XIV in his missionary commitment by prayer, the soul of mission, and charitable offerings from Christians throughout the world. These donations assist the Pope in the evangelization efforts of particular Churches (the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith), in the formation of local clergy (the Pontifical Society of Saint Peter the Apostle), and in raising missionary awareness in children (Pontifical Society of Missionary Childhood).
In a world where so much divides us, World Mission Sunday rejoices in our unity as missionaries by our Baptism. It also provides an opportunity to support the life-giving presence of the Church among the poor and marginalized in nearly 1,200 mission dioceses. Thank you for prayerfully reflecting on what Pope Leo XIV asked: “to renew in ourselves the fire of our missionary vocation," by supporting World Mission Sunday in your parish.
With every prayerful best wish, I remain
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Robert J. McManus
Bishop of Worcester