World Mission Sunday is a day set aside for the Catholic Church throughout the world to publicly renew its commitment to be a missionary Church.
It is celebrated on the next to last Sunday in October every year. This year it will take place in every Catholic parish on the weekend of Oct. 19-20. Known as the feast day for Catholic mission, it is a time for Catholics to renew their own missionary spirit and to offer prayer and financial support for the young and developing mission churches in 120 countries around the world. The event is coordinated by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, a Pontifical Mission Society of the Holy Father.
This year, World Mission Sunday takes place during an Extraordinary Missionary Month, called by Pope Francis to mark the 100th anniversary of Pope Benedict XV’s apostolic letter “Maximum Illud,” which emphasizes the missionary call to proclaim the Gospel. Pope Francis invites all baptized Christians during this month to a deeper encounter with Jesus Christ, to be the Church of Christ on mission to the world.
