Pope Francis’ address to the National Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies
“Communion, creativity, and tenacity. Let us consider these essential words, which are relevant for the Church in its permanent state of mission, and especially for our Missionary Societies called to renewal in order to be ever more effective in service.”
With these words, Pope Francis addressed about 120 National Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) on Saturday, 25 May, during the traditional audience for the Annual General Assembly. Many National Directors made the special trip to Rome to attend the Assembly at the “Fraterna Domus” spirituality centre in Sacrofano.
Fr Michael Pui, Catholic National Director of Mission for New Zealand, was among the National Directors who travelled to Rome to attend the Pope’s audience. (Being new to the job, he also had to attend two days of ‘formation and orientation’ before the Annual Assembly).
“As always, the Pope’s words were full of encouragement and a reminder that the work of mission belongs to the whole Church,” said Fr Michael. He added that ‘Pope Francis addressed us with a very cordial spirit and even went off script!’
In his opening speech, the President of the PMS, Archbishop Emilio Nappa, highlighted: “The ‘epochal change’ underway in the world also challenges the nature and specific mission of the Pontifical Mission Societies, called to carefully read what is happening in society to set out once again to meet the deep needs of today’s men and women.”
In his address to the National Directors of the PMS, Pope Francis discussed the Holy Trinity’s celebration from the previous day. He interpreted three key words in a missionary context, beginning with “communion”: “When we contemplate the Trinity, we see that God is a communion of persons, a mystery of love. The love with which God comes to seek and save us, rooted in his being One and Triune, is also the basis of the missionary nature of the pilgrim Church on earth (cf. Redemptoris Missio, 1; Ad Gentes, 2).”
He then encouraged everyone to “grow in this spirituality of missionary communion, which is the foundation of the Church’s current synodal journey. I emphasised this in the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium and I reiterate it now, especially as you work on renewing your Statutes. Since a journey of missionary conversion is necessary for everyone, it is essential that opportunities for personal and communal formation be provided in order to grow in the dimension of “communal” missionary spirituality.”
The “creativity” – the second word “delivered” by Pope Francis to the National Directors of the PMS – arises from being “rooted in God’s creative work, which makes all things new.” The Pope emphasised: “missionary activity is creative to the extent that Christ’s charity is its origin, form, and end. Thus, with inexhaustible imagination, such charity inspires new ways of evangelising and serving others, especially the poorest.” He also quoted St Maximillian Kolbe, saying; “only love creates”.
“Tenacity”, the third word entrusted by Pope Francis to the reflection of the PMS Assembly: “Let us also contemplate this characteristic of the love of the Triune God who, in order to fulfil his plan of salvation, with constant faithfulness has sent his servants throughout history and, in the fullness of time, gave himself in Christ Jesus. The divine mission ‘is a tireless going out to all men and women, in order to invite them to encounter God and enter into communion with him. Tireless! The Church, for her part, in fidelity to the mission she has received from the Lord, will continue to go to the ends of the earth, to set out over and over again, without ever growing weary or losing heart in the face of difficulties and obstacles” (Message for World Mission Day 2024).
The Annual General Assembly is one of the central events during the year. This time it also included debate and discussion of the updating of the PMS Statutes. Fr Michael reported that a typical day was long, starting with 7am Lauds, and finishing with 7pm vespers. The perk of course was the meeting with the Pope.
