The World

Pontifical Mission Societies' annual assembly begins

The annual assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies begins this afternoon in Rome and will be held from May 31 to June 6, 2023.

Loreto Rios-May 31, 2023-Reading time: 2 minutes

Visit to India with the Pontifical Mission Societies ©OSV News photo/Barb Fraze

The PMS assembly is an annual event that brings together the president, the national directors of each country (the Pontifical Mission Societies have 120 national directorates) and the international secretaries. It will take place at the Istituto Madonna del Carmine, on the outskirts of Rome.

The assembly will begin with the welcome of the new president, Monsignor Emilio Nappa, and the presentation of the new directors.

This will be followed by an address by Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokin Tagle, proprefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

On Saturday, June 3, the members of the Assembly will be received in audience by Pope Francis.

The missionary Church

As indicated OMPThe Pontifical Mission Societies have, as one of their main objectives, along with the principal one, the missionary animation of the people of God throughout the world, the search for material and personal means to support the missionary Church. The universal character of this search for means on the part of the Pontifical Mission Societies will be clearly seen in this Assembly. All the countries contribute according to their possibilities, creating a Universal Solidarity Fund that gathers, from the small but very meritorious contributions of countries such as Benin or Angola, to the larger contributions of European countries or the United States. It is this Universal Solidarity Fund that finances the mission territories - with a fixed aid to each of the 1,119 - and the hundreds of "extraordinary" projects that these territories present".

This Universal Solidarity Fund collects contributions from all countries and finances the needs of the missions.

Just prior to the Assembly, on May 29 and 30, a training seminar for new directors was held at the Centro Internazionale di Animazione Missionaria (CIAM).

The challenges of evangelization

The assembly is a moment to share the challenges of evangelization and "expresses the charism and communion that characterize the PMS. It is "an opportunity to share and listen to enriching reflections on evangelization activities and on the methods of cooperation proper to the PMS, always in the context of the universal mission of the Church," the Pontifical Mission Societies said in a communiqué.

According to Fides AgencyOn Thursday, June 1, Bishop Marco Mellino will give a conference entitled "Praedicate evangelium and the PMO". After the lecture, the participants will have meetings and working groups on the New Rules and the PMS in relation to the apostolic constitution. Praedicate evangelium. On the afternoon of June 2, reports will be given by the Finance Council and by Monsignor Carlo Soldateschi, who is in charge of administration.

On Saturday, June 3, in addition to the audience with Pope Francis, Father Andrew Recepcion will give a lecture on "Synodality and Missionarity", while on Sunday, June 4, there will be a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Greccio.

On Monday, June 5, Father Tadeusz Nowak, OMI, Secretary General of the Pontifical Work for the Propagation of the Faith, Sister Roberta Tremarelli, AMSS, Secretary General of the Pontifical Work of Missionary Childhood, and Father Guy Bognon, PSS, Secretary General of the Pontifical Work of St. Peter the Apostle, will speak.

On Tuesday, June 6, after the final presentations and discussions, Bishop Emilio Nappa, President of the Pontifical Mission Societies, will deliver the closing address.

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