Category: FAQ

All baptized Catholics have the opportunity to participate in the worldwide mission of the Church by offering their prayers, personal sacrifices or financial contributions to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Holy Childhood or the Society of St. Peter Apostle.

The Pontifical Mission Union is a spiritual apostolate for Priests, religious men and women, catechists and lay people.  Each year, the celebration of the World Mission Sunday provides an opportunity, within the context of the Eucharist, for Catholics to express their prayerful and financial support of the Church’s worldwide missionary work.

Offerings from Catholics in Canada are combined with offerings to the Pontifical Mission Societies from Catholics worldwide.  Mission Dioceses receive regular annual assistance from the funds collected.  In addition, these Mission Dioceses submit requests to the Pontifical Mission Societies for assistance for catechetical programs, seminaries, the work of Religious Communities, communication and transportation needs, and the building of chapels and churches.

These needs are then matched with the funds gathered in each year.  The world’s national directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies vote on these requests, matching the funds available with the greatest of needs for help.  These funds are then distributed to mission dioceses throughout the world, directly from the country in which that help was raised.  All of the money collected is distributed in its entirely each year.

All recipients are required to acknowledge receipt and to provide reports/photographs about the projects that are receiving funding.

Forms of direct co-operation between churches, also called ‘twinning’ can be of great benefit to a parish in the developing world and provide parishioners of the ‘sister’ church in Canada with great spiritual fulfilment.  This one-on-one relationship works to the degree that it broadens the vision of Catholics here to see the universal needs of the mission Church.

It is important that ‘twinning’ does not become an obstacle to giving to the Pontifical Mission Societies as they help to guarantee that those who need it most are helped, especially the very poorest who do have the means to seek ‘extra’ funding and support.

Quite often priests and Religious men and women visit Canada to seek prayer and financial support of the world for their dioceses or Religious Communities in the Missions.  The money collected in your parish in response to such an appeal is given directly to the missionary for use in his/her Religious Congregation.  This help would be in addition to any help offered by the Pontifical Mission Societies themselves.

World Mission Sunday is a day set aside for Catholics worldwide to recommit themselves to the Church’s missionary activity through prayers and sacrifices.  Annually, World Mission Sunday is celebrated on the next-to-last Sunday in October.  Offerings from Catholics in Canada, on World Mission Sunday and throughout the year, are combined with offerings from Catholics around the world and distributed to mission and dioceses.

The Pontifical Mission Societies consists of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Holy Childhood Association, the Society of St. Peter the Apostle and the Pontifical Missionary Union.

The Pontifical Mission Societies have, as their primary purpose, the promotion of a universal missionary spirit – a spirit of prayer and sacrifice – among all baptized Catholics. The first three Societies, in carrying out that goal, invite baptized Catholics to express their missionary commitment by offering their prayers, personal sacrifices and financial support for the work of the Church in Mission Dioceses. The Missionary Union works to deepen mission awareness among the priests, men and women, religious, catechists, and educators so that they are fully prepared to take on the mission formation of the faithful.

There are national offices in over 120 countries in the world with central administrative office located in Rome under the direction of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Office for the Pontifical Mission Societies in English Canada is located in Toronto and in Montreal for French Canada.

According to the teaching of Vatican Council II, the Pontifical Mission Societies are institutions of the Universal Church and of each local church.  Therefore, unlike any other mission organization, the Pontifical Mission Societies are both Pontifical and Episcopal in nature.  As such, the Pontifical Mission Societies are the primary mission organization of the Universal Church that encourages the work of mission, prayer and financial support for evangelization of the Church throughout the world.

Each of the societies has an annual direct mail appeal. For St. Peter the Apostle, the appeal is in Spring.  The appeal for Society for the Propagation of the Faith is in Fall and the Holy Childhood Association’s appeal is in Winter.  Each of these societies also receives general donations, pre-authorized monthly donations, securities donations, bequests and legacy gifts.