Missionaries who allow themselves to be evangelizedOn Wednesday, January 11, a press conference was held about Infancia Misionera, one of the initiatives of Pontifical Mission Societies (OMP). José María Calderón, national director of OMP Spain, and Jaime Palacio, coordinator of the Corazonistas Foundation and lay missionary in Peru for 12 years with his wife and five children, took part in the conference.
Missionary Childhood and the Pontifical Mission Societies
– Supernatural Missionary Childhood was born in France to encourage the youngest to join the task of evangelization that all Christians have since their baptism. The main protagonists of this work are the children, with the aim of creating "a relationship of communion" among the youngest members of the Church, as José María Calderón pointed out.
The Pontifical Mission Societies The "help from the rich to the poor" is not "help from the rich to the poor, but help among Christians". It cannot be reduced to an economic level, says Calderón, but must include spirituality and the joy of faith.
Calderón mentions that it is important for him that the children know that "the Church is not your neighborhood, your school or your parish, but that the Church is in the whole world. There are many children in the world who live their faith and they too are important".
The PMS is not limited to this task with the children. "We must make Christians and all people of good will aware that the children need our collaboration," says the national director.
One for all and all for Him
This year's motto is taken from a work by Alexandre Dumas, "The Three Musketeers". It is important to know that in this world "many do not have a family life and, if they do, it is very poor. The Church is there for them to learn.
Spain and Missionary Childhood
Calderón points out that "Spain is one of the countries that contributes the most to Infancia Misionera. This should awaken a sense of responsibility and pride to continue this work. In 2021, more than two million euros were raised from Spain for the work of OMP.
A concrete example of Infancia Misionera's work
The Church's missionary work is present in more than 1,000 countries. This year we have taken as an example a territory, Yurimaguas, in Peru, which covers an area equivalent to twice the size of Catalonia. This vicariate has been in existence for a century and is entrusted to the Passionist missionaries.
Jaime Palacio is a lay missionary who has lived for 12 years in Yurimaguas. There he has had his five children and has presented himself at the press conference to give his testimony about the missions in Peru. He describes the difficulty of transportation, which must be done through rivers or airplanes, the cultural and natural richness, "one has the feeling that one has arrived at the end of the world or, on the contrary, one has arrived at the beginning, at Paradise".
Palacio reports that the first thing the Church did when it arrived in this area of Peru was to organize a network of schools to bring education to all the regions. The most important thing right now is food, as there is a lack of breakfasts and meals to combat child malnutrition.
The other major pillar of the missions in Peru is health care, as health centers are being built to serve all the people living there. Difficulty of mobility makes the situation worse, so a strong healthcare network needs to be established.
Below is the video with the complete speech by Jaime Palacio and José María Calderón:
