One of the best news stories the Irish as a nation has are the Irish men and women belonging to missionary societies who went to different parts of the world according to Bishop Kieran O’Reilly of Killaloe.
Speaking to ciNews at the launch of the theme for this year’s Mission Month in October, Bishop O’Reilly, who in the past served as a missionary in Africa, paid tribute to the “tremendous work” Irish missionaries have done over the years.
Mission Sunday provides the Church in Ireland with an opportunity to remember the Irish-born missionaries who help Christian communities in other parts of the world and Bishop O’Reilly said, “Their contribution is enormous.”
He also acknowledged that the number of Irish missionaries had dropped substantially in recent years with fewer vocations from Ireland, and there was also an increasing age profile amongst the remaining cohort of missionaries.
“The core identity of the Church is mission and if we are not mission then really we are not doing the job we were commissioned to do or asked to do,” Bishop Kieran commented and added, “Our missionaries are the links and they are key to this together in faith because they bring our faith from here out there and they are enriched by what they meet.”
October is the Month of Mission throughout the world and Mission Sunday takes place every year on the second last Sunday in October.
In his message for Mission Sunday on 23 October, Pope Benedict declared, “Missionary activity renews the Church, revitalises faith and Christian identity, and offers fresh enthusiasm and new incentive."
The Pontiff also stated in his message that "Faith is strengthened when it is given to others.
It is in commitment to the Church's universal mission that the new evangelisation of Christian peoples will find inspiration and support.”
At the launch on Wednesday in Maynooth, Fr Gary Howley, SPS, Director of World Missions Ireland explained that the mission theme for 2011 Together in Faith focuses on the newly independent Republic of South Sudan.
He noted that there are, at present, 1,762 Irish missionaries working in 84 countries, including in South Sudan.
“Mission Month is a time to celebrate our faith, the work of all missionaries and of all those who make this work possible”, Fr Howley added.
Welcoming Together in Faith as the theme for Mission Month 2011, Bishop Colm O’Reilly, Chair of the Irish Bishops’ Council for Missions, said, “October is a special time in the Church calendar as it allows us to reflect on mission, as well as to renew our missionary work for today.”
He continued, “Specifically on Mission Sunday we are asked to put aside, for that day, our support for our favourite missionary group or project so as to show our solidarity with the younger Churches throughout the world, especially those with the least resources.”
The 2011 theme of Together in Faith, with its focus on the newly independent Republic of South Sudan, is exemplified by 84-year-old Pio Lokuru, a catechist in South Sudan.
He endured imprisonment and torture during the long civil war that resulted in the deaths and displacement of millions of people. Now living in a newly independent nation, the new republic needs all the material and spiritual assistance it can get.
According to Mill Hill missionary, Fr Denis Hartnet, who lived in Sudan until 2000, “The church in Sudan at the present time is in a very precarious position.”
Addressing those gathered for the launch in Maynooth, Fr Harnet said it is “a very precarious time for the people in the north who remain there, as well as the people in the south,” as they have "different things to contend with.”
In a reference to the vote earlier this year for the creation of two independent sovereign states in Sudan, Fr Harnet, who is in contact with missionaries on the ground in the north and the south, expressed concern for the Christian churches that will remain in northern Sudan.
Referring to the witness of Pio Lokuru throughout all he endured, Fr Hartnet said he hoped that the experiences of the new Sudan, South Sudan, would "enrich the people” and he added that he also hoped hearing of Pio’s experience would, “enable them to go forward with hope and meet all the challenges they have to and to practice the art of compromise.”
He said the 84-year-old catechist is “a great model for people on this side of the world because he is showing us no matter what age you are and no matter where you are – you can be a person of mission.”
Over the last decade Ireland has ranked seventh in the world in contributing to the missions.
The collection is organised by the Society for Propagation of the Faith.
The Mission Sunday collection is made available, in its entirety, to be distributed to the 1,100 young Churches who are supported by the generosity of Churches that are better-off.
In 2010, the Irish office sent more than €2.2m to help build up the Church in countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as to help the training of priests, religious, seminarians, novices and catechists in mission lands.
Ireland has a long tradition of supporting the missions and our first collection took place in 1838.
World Missions Ireland (WMI) is the registered name of The Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Ireland. It compromises the Propagation of the Faith, St Peter Apostle, Missionary Children and the Union of Priests and Religious.
Together, these societies form the Catholic Church's official support organisation for the spreading of the gospel in the world, especially in countries where the Church is new, young or poor.
In Ireland, the principal activities of the PMS are to promote awareness of, and raise funds for, the worldwide missionary and pastoral work of the Church.
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