Tamara FalcóI would definitely like to go on a mission".Alfonso Tapia: "Every baptized person is called to be a missionary."This year the DOMUNDWorld Mission Sunday is celebrated on October 20. The theme for the day is "Go and invite everyone to the banquet", chosen by the Pope Francis. José María Calderón, National Director of Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Spain, explained in a press conference that the title of this 2024 reminds us that we are all missionaries, since "we are called to go out of ourselves and our communities, and to start walking to invite people to meet the reality":
As usual, all the money collected during the DOMUND will be put at the disposal of the Holy See, which will then distribute the money according to the needs of the local Churches around the world. This day, of universal character, is a symbol that "the work of the missions is not the work of a few, but that evangelization is the task of all Christians", as the national director of OMP affirmed.
In addition, José María Calderón pointed out the "beautiful coincidence" of the month of the missions and the month of the Rosary, thus inviting Catholics to place in the hands of the Virgin Mary the work of those who leave everything to go to the mission territories.
Calderon also wanted to point out that, although the majority of missionaries are religious, "lay people are beginning to take up more and more" of this call. This was demonstrated by the testimony of Gonzalo Echanove, a young man from Hakuna who has spent a year on mission in South Korea.
The joy of the missionary
Gonzalo was born in 1997 and comes from a large family. A telecommunications engineer, in 2022 he was already involved in Hakuna's activities when he had a much deeper encounter with Christ. At that moment, he received the grace of "an overflowing joy" and felt the desire to love the people close to him much more deeply.
Aware of his limitations, he was pondering within himself what he could do to share the love of Jesus that he felt, when the Hakuna group in Spain received a call. Some Christians had begun to live according to "the method", with their Holy Hours and their formation, but they needed someone to explain better how to start Hakuna activities in the country.
Thirty young people, together with José Pedro Manglano, founder of the association, went to South Korea. Gonzalo went with them and, after two weeks in the Asian nation, he realized that there was the opportunity he was asking God for to share his life of faith with others, giving generously of the joy he felt.
Echanove explained that he stayed in South Korea to "make friends, to love the people, not to do anything concrete. Impressed by the country's Catholic community, with a young Church that is less than 300 years old and which received the Gospel from the hands of its own people, Gonzalo discovered that the mission in the Church is not so much "to do" as "to be".
The Church in Sudan
"The missionary," said the young man, "is the one who lets himself be loved by Christ and allows Christ to bring light to the world through him. This affirmation was corroborated by Jorge Naranjo, a Comboni missionary priest in Sudan who is also rector of the country's Catholic university. Naranjo has been 16 years in a territory that, since April 15, 2023, is at war, causing the largest crisis of displaced people in the world.
In spite of the conflict, the Comboni Missionary assured that the Church is present in all the zones, developing activities in the educational, health and humanitarian fields. Even the Catholic university continues to provide its service, at the request of 68 % of the students, who, after being surveyed, showed interest in continuing their studies in spite of everything.
Alongside the university, Jorge Naranjo also coordinates the "missionaries of mercy", a group of Christian and Muslim volunteers who care for people in palliative care in Sudan.
The Comboni Missionary explained during his speech that the fact that the Church stays in war zones shows "the 'spousal' part of the mission. When you are sent, it is as if you were marrying a territory, and you stay with its people through thick and thin".
The importance of the mission
The testimonies of Jorge Naranjo and Gonzalo Echanove show the importance of the mission and the relevance of a day like the DOMUND. For this reason, José María Calderón invited those attending the press conference to participate in the day and to follow, even if it is on tape delay, the DOMUND's proclamation that will take place on October 15 at 19:30 in the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba.
On the other hand, in order to recognize the work of missionaries and the institutions that support them, Pontifical Mission Societies will present the "Blessed Pauline Jaricot" and "Blessed Paolo Manna" Missionary Awards on Friday, October 18 at 9:30 a.m. in the "All in One" space of CaixaBank (Madrid, Spain).
