On World Mission Sunday, which falls on 24 October, the whole Church unites in prayer for its missionary activity, and in collecting funds to support Catholic communities across the world living in situations of privation. It is a moment of grace to express solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are living in situations of poverty, violence and oppression.
The theme chosen for the day by the Holy Father is: “We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). In his message for World Mission Sunday, Pope Francis says: “Once we experience the power of God’s love we cannot help but proclaim and share what we have seen and heard. Jesus’ relationship with his disciples and his humanity shows us the extent to which God loves our humanity and makes his own our joys and sufferings, our hopes and our concerns”.
Masses and collections will happen in every diocese across the world, and every single donation supports churches, hospitals, schools and vocations in countries where the Church is new, young or poor, through the Universal Solidarity Fund.
On World Mission Sunday itself, we will be honouring the brave and selfless women and men already making a huge difference in some the world’s most troubled areas. This year, the focus will be on Nigeria and the work of Sister Veronica.
Intense violence continues to rock communities in Nigeria, with fatalities, mutilations, and destruction of property devastatingly commonplace. The violence is essentially caused by poverty, and historical religious tension is easily manipulated to encourage division and mistrust.
To quell the tension and create a peaceful and harmonious environment, free from suspicion, the Women’s Interfaith Council was established in Kaduna, northern Nigeria, by the Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles in 2010.
The Council encourages women of different faiths to work together to build peace through training programmes. These programmes empower women and contribute to healing and reconciliation in their community. Sister Veronica has been leading the Council since 2019.
She says: “When you train a woman, you train a nation. We bring them together as women and build peace. Every religion talks about love, there is no religion that talks about war”.
This World Mission Sunday, please help Missio ensure selfless missionaries like Sister Veronica can keep loving, serving and sharing God’s peace.
For more information about World Mission Sunday, please visit
missio.org.uk/wms.