By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
MIAMI | Archbishop Thomas Wenski is asking Catholics in South Florida to be generous when the World Mission Sunday collection is taken up this weekend, Oct. 22 and 23, at parishes throughout the archdiocese.
The funds go to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, a Pontifical Mission Society.
In an Oct. 17, 2022 email to archdiocesan priests, the archbishop noted that the Catholic Church in the U.S., including a yet-to-be created Diocese of Miami, were once beneficiaries of the annual collection.
“Beginning in 1822, the new and growing Churches in the United States benefited from the Society’s universal fund. Today, this assistance reaches more than 1,100 mission dioceses in Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands, and parts of Latin America and Europe, supporting the proclamation of the Gospel, the building of the Church, and service to the poor.”
Following is the letter the archbishop shared with archdiocesan Catholics:
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
October 23rd is World Mission Sunday — and a second collection is taken up this weekend throughout the U.S. and elsewhere to support the Church in her missionary outreach.
By baptism, all Catholics are called by the Lord to be his missionaries: "You shall be my witnesses" (cf. Acts 1 :8) Joining Catholics worldwide this Sunday, we offer our prayers and generous financial support, through the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, to the pope's missions.
World Mission Sunday gathers support for the pastoral and evangelizing programs and needs of more than 1,150 mission dioceses in Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands, and remote regions of Latin America.
The funds gathered on World Mission Sunday are distributed in the pope's name by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith — a Pontifical Mission Society. Your prayers, however, are the most treasured. They along with your financial help offered today, World Mission Sunday, answer Christ's call to be his witnesses. Thank you!
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Thomas Wenski
Archbishop of Miami
