Rome (Fides News Agency) – On the occasion of the opening of the General Assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) underway in Rome, on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 27, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle proposed a spiritual reinterpretation of Pope Leo XIV’s Message for World Mission Day 2026, drawing inspiration from Jesus’ prayer for unity and the experience of the first Christian communities.
The papal Message was published last January 25, the day on which the Church’s liturgy commemorates the conversion of the Apostle Paul. World Mission Day (WMD) was established one hundred years ago, in 1926, by Pope Pius XI, and this year it will be celebrated on Sunday, October 18.

“One in Christ and united in mission”

The Cardinal recalled that the theme of Pope Leo XIV’s Message, “One in Christ, united in mission,” echoes his Augustinian papal motto, “In Illo uno unum” (in the one Christ, we are one).
The Cardinal Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches) presented an exegesis of chapter 17 of the Gospel of Saint John, where the Pope’s reflection finds its roots, particularly in Jesus’ prayer, “I pray not only for them,” meaning the disciples, “but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.” “Let me highlight this part of the prayer of Jesus: ‘that all may be one,’ the Cardinal said, “because you have all strands of theology, spirituality, Trinity, ecclesiology, mission all come together there. Brothers and sisters, this is Jesus’ prayer before he died. And we believe that seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us, he continues to pray, and he continues praying this prayer to the Father: ‘that they may all be one.'” The unity for which Jesus prays, the Cardinal continued, is not “just a matter of organization. This is not just a matter of planning and strategy, but of divine communion shared with the disciples and the divine communion into which the disciples are invited or allowed by grace to enter.” Unity is a gift: “the unity that Jesus desires, the unity that Jesus prays for, and which is granted to us through faith and in the sacrament of baptism. It is this type of spiritual communion that is being granted to us.” “So, when we prepare our catechetical materials for the World Mission Sunday about this call of the Holy Father to be one in Christ and therefore one in mission, I hope we do not forget to go back to this very fundamental aspect of communion, which is often overlooked or downplayed in favor of other forms of so-called unity,” he added. For the cardinal, this is the very foundation of mission: “when we talk about baptism as the sacrament of faith and also the sacrament of mission, we should go back to this fundamental element of unity, of communion with the Trinity.”

Unity, a condition of missionary credibility

In the second part of the Message of Pope Leo: “Unity in mission,” the Cardinal emphasizes: unity is not an exclusive good to be lived in one’s own small, elitist groups, but a witness for the world.
“In the prayer of Jesus, it is not the unity of people who say, “I look at you. You look at me. I smile at you. You smile at me. We are united. We are happy together.” For Jesus, unity, spiritual, true and authentic spiritual unity in the Christian community, is not inward looking.”
The unity of Christians in the prayer of Jesus is like a missionary condition: “a condition for missionary authenticity, credibility. The unity of Christians is a missionary declaration of who our God is. And we say, “Look at us, because in us dwells the God of communion.” So the life of Christians should be in itself a living word to the world. And they are in us. Starting from Saint Paul, the Cardinal described what he calls “the mystique of missionary unity”: “the diversity of gifts, the diversity of tongues, the diversity of generations. But all part of one another, concerned for each other, and working for the common good. This is missionary unity, and it is missionary communion.”
The Cardinal painfully evoked the situations of internal divisions, even violent ones, that undermine the credibility of the Gospel message, particularly in the territories of first evangelization: “What is at stake is not my tribe. What is at stake is not my region. What is at stake is: will people believe that Jesus was sent by the Father?”

The first Christian communities, a paradigm of mission

To illustrate Pope Leo XIV’s appeal, the Cardinal explicitly refers to the Acts of the Apostles, where he sees the model for this “mysticism of missionary unity”: “In the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2, verses 42 to 47, we see how the early Christian communities lived this. They lived and focused on the teachings of the apostles, prayer, the Eucharist, and the sharing of resources. The quality of community life, unity, becomes a missionary proclamation. And the people seeing them, maybe out of curiosity, started joining the community.” These first communities, of which Luke writes, had “one heart and one soul” and that they shared everything, can constitute a horizon for contemporary ecclesial life: “The way I read it is the Holy Father is asking our parishes, our dioceses, our religious communities, our schools, to live this, to make it the rule of life, and so that that communion will also be a missionary proclamation of who our God is.”
In a world “lacerated, wounded, and divided by competition, by inequality, by discrimination, by injustice, by wars,” the Cardinal believes Leo XIV’s Message reiterates a specific mission for the Church: “to show the world that unity is possible. Unity is real.
In our unity with the Lord and in our unity among ourselves—thanks to our unity with the Lord—we should be able to say to the world, with our words and, we hope, with our community life: ‘Unity is possible. Unity is real. Look at the Body of Christ.'”

A mission rooted in love

The third part of Leo XIV’s Message, which the Cardinal summarized by speaking of a “Mission of Love,” leads to identifying the “substance” of this unity: “For love is the substance of unity and also the substance of mission. Baptism is being reborn, recreated by the God who is love. So we are made again in the image of the Trinitarian God who is love. When we baptize people, we do not do it in our name: That is the sure way for division. But if someone is baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, this is a person of communion.”
Recalling a visit to a refugee camp in Lebanon, the Cardinal testified how this “mission of love” makes Christ desirable: on that occasion, when asked by some refugees why Christians from different countries were present to help the local population, he replied: “Because our teacher, our Lord, Jesus Christ, told us to love everyone. And that is why we are here.” At that point, the Cardinal recalled, a young girl replied: “I want to encounter that Jesus. He will be a good friend.”
It is this dynamic that the Cardinal proposed again to the more than one hundred national directors of the PMS: helping everyone, from childhood—even through the work of the Society dedicated to missionary childhood—to “say no to all the signs of division present in our existence, and opt for unity in Christ,” in order to “bear witness to another kind of communion.” He concluded: “Taking into account all the beautiful anniversaries we are celebrating this year, Pope Leo’s message, and the context of the world today, I believe we are truly called, as Christians, individually and as a community, to live this gift of communion. Through baptism, we belong to one another. And this belonging is fully experienced in mutual care, in caring for one another for the common good, and becomes a missionary witness for today’s world.” (ML) (Agenzia Fides, 28/5/2026)

On the 25th of March we celebrate the Feast of Annunciation when Angel Gabriel appeared to Virgin Mary to announce that she will give birth to Jesus Christ. Let us join Pope Francis in praying during this special commemoration of our faith. Click here to download the prayer.

Click Image to download PDF file

See other videos of Pope Francis prayers for Ukraine.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, reflects on this Sunday’s Mass readings. See the episode of Cardinal Tagle’s Word Exposed today, 16 January 2022.

In today’s gospel, a messenger from GOD congratulates a young woman named Mary. She was to be favoured by GOD. The prophets had often congratulated the Israelite people under the name, “Daughter of Zion”, because it was from the Israelites that the Messiah would be born. The focus of the prophetic word, shifts from a return of GOD’s presence in Zion (Jerusalem) to the Daughter of Zion; Mary, who hosts the child of GOD’s promise.

The nearness of GOD is our reason for joy. The joy spoken of in today’s liturgy is delight in the passionate anticipation of what has not yet arrived. But something special is disclosed to us. The readings announce a fundamental transformation of reality. This is the reason for our joy. We are at the very centre of the Christian gospel. Joy is tied to a generous and wise heart. The season of Advent prepares for the coming of The One who has such a heart.

The feast, formerly called, “Christ the King” has been renewed by the Vatican Council to stress the universal rule of Jesus. Earlier in John’s gospel there are some words of Jesus to the Pharisees which clarify the rule of Christ. Jesus says, ’I am not of this world’.2 There’s a distance, even a break between domination and service. In today’s passage, Jesus’ clarifies that his realm is unlike the one that Pilate knows (which is the rule of arbitrariness, privilege and domination). Jesus’ realm is love, justice and service. (Read more…)

32nd Sunday Ordinary Time

The month of October is always considered as “mission month,” highlighted with the celebration of World Mission Day. The month-long period designated for mission promotion and animation is a wonderful opportunity for us to renew and deepen our commitment to give witness to our Christian faith. For, after all, faith is something that we cannot keep to ourselves but is to be proclaimed and shared with others.

The theme for this year’s World Mission Day celebration is: “We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard.” It is taken from Acts 4:20 in which the unschooled and ordinary men, Peter and John, eloquently and bravely spoke about the risen Jesus before the Sanhedrin. They were able to speak with eloquence and conviction because of their personal experience with Jesus. They were living witnesses of what Jesus had said and done.

This year’s World Mission Day theme is a good point for reflection as we also celebrate the 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines. This milestone in the history of our Christian faith reminds us also of our encounter with the Lord Jesus in the many and different ways that He has revealed himself to us for the past 500 years. We have been blessed with His divine presence as we encountered Him in faith in the different facets and aspects of our lives.

This Sunday, we celebrate the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ which is one of the fundamental doctrines that shapes our faith. Also known as the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, it a festival of the Catholic Church in honour of the real presence of the body (corpus) of Christ in the Holy Eucharist as we commemorate Jesus’ complete and unconditional giving of himself for others. Fr Bill Fletcher noted that, “the Word of God proposes a different world from that which dominates our contemporary lives.” It is not a “buy-bread-with-money” nature but acts of self-giving by way of Jesus’ example of giving his own body and blood. As his disciples, “Our task is to replace the consumerist market economy with a give-what-you-have economy. This is the programme Jesus set out for us in giving his life for others”. See more of Fr Fletcher’s biblical insight and this Sunday’s Mass readings below.

Pope Francis’ live-streamed daily Mass during COVID-19 lockdowns has prompted expressions of heartfelt appreciation from many Catholics around the world. The faithful of all religions are invited by the Pope to spiritually unite in prayer, fasting and works of charity “to implore God to help humanity to overcome the coronavirus pandemic”.

The last verses of John’s chapter 11 mark the beginning of Jesus going up to Jerusalem. His disciples are troubled by this and Jesus asks them to deepen their belief in him. Believing in him is believing in God (Jn 14:1). Thomas expresses his doubts despite Jesus’ assurances and Jesus responds, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life”. We go to the Father through Jesus, who tells us that The Way is the practice of loving God and others. Such a path represents a daily urgent demand. Being with Jesus, is being with the Father. Life in the Spirit is somewhere between the old world that still seems to have vitality and authority and God’s new world, voiced in today’s readings. From within our ordinary round of life we dare to voice the Word of God. And like Peter we stand in fear and trembling when the Word opens access to the real power for life-giving, or sanctifying grace. We also sense fear and feel the need to suppress change. We note too, our fearful society, which has few enough occasions for hosting the ambiguity we experience here when God’s newness is given.

This booklet gives a brief context and some commentary on each of this Sunday’s readings and the psalms. Because of these extraordinary times brought about by isolating ourselves to break the transmission of the Coronavirus, we have the opportunity to read God’s Word in a moment of prayer and allowing it to enlighten and renew us through reflection. We express our sincere thanks to Father Bill Fletcher for the shared resource.

God our Father, we ask your protection against the Coronavirus that has claimed lives and affected many.

We pray for your grace for the people tasked with studying the nature of this virus and of stemming the tide of its transmission.

Guide the hands and minds of the medical experts to minister to the sick with competence and compassion, and guide government and private agencies to find a cure and solution to this epidemic.

Read more…

Prayer for Spiritual Communion

They took palm branches and went out to meet him shouting: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel!”
(Jn 12:13)

This Palm Sunday, we commemorate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as our Saviour and King. Marking the beginning of the Holy Week, the liturgy invites us to share in the joy of the people who shout praises to the Lord, which then fades into the sorrow of Christ’s Passion. Pope Francis noted that the celebration combines “stories of joy and suffering, mistakes and successes, which are part of our daily lives as disciples.”

Many of us around the world will be celebrating Palm Sunday at home during Covid-19 lockdown. We have prepared readings and prayers that can be shared among family members to help us prepare for Mass together with our families and welcome Jesus into our daily lives in a more intimate way as we share in the agony of His cross and His powerful resurrection as modern day disciples.

View Mass readings and prayers

including the availability of priests, receiving sacramental graces whilst in quarantine through a Plenary Indulgence, and the fact that at the heart of our faith God comes to us.

In a powerful takeaway, “these next few weeks of lockdown offer us an unprecedented and extraordinary opportunity for growth. Let us unite in embracing this opportunity to grow together seeking greater maturity in faith in Jesus Christ within the Catholic Church.”

Read more…

Pope Francis led a prayer service at St Peter’s Basilica whilst meditating on the calming of the storm from the Gospel of Mark.

The disciples in the Gospel were alarmed  in a stormy sea; however, in spite of the tempest Jesus sleeps on soundly, trusting in the Father. He then wakes up, calms the wind and the waters, and poses to his disciples, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?”

Pope Francis notes that like the disciples, “we were caught off guard by an unexpected, turbulent storm” as the world battles with the coronavirus outbreak. “The storm exposes our vulnerability and uncovers those false and superfluous certainties around which we have constructed our daily schedules, our projects, our habits and priorities.”

We are being called to seize this time of trial as a time of choosing – “a time to choose what matters and what passes away, a time to separate what is necessary from what is not. It is a time to get our lives back on track with regard to you, Lord, and to others.”

We are called by the Lord to revive our faith: to take courage to embrace all the hardships of the present time, to be moved by the Spirit, to rediscover the life that awaits us, to foster the grace within us, to rekindle hope.

Read more…

Francis cites the Catechism to encourage the faithful to express contrition, and make resolve to return to Sacrament as soon as it becomes possible.

Pope Francis took up the question that many of the faithful are wrestling with as they are under lockdown with churches closed: What about confession?

Read more…