World Mission Sunday 2014

"Let us pray through the intercession of Mary, the model of humble and joyful evangelization, that the Church may become a welcoming home, a mother for all peoples and the source of rebirth for our world." - Pope Francis

To view a video on the missions click here: Mission Mongolia

A letter from the Holy Father-click here: Pope Francis on Missions

Thank you for your ongoing support of the Society for the Propagation
of the Faith and our vital work in 1,150 dioceses throughout the world.
Your generosity makes it possible for missionaries, local priests,
catechists and pastoral workers to reach out in the name of Jesus to
communities and families in need.
“The Church is called to transmit the joy of the Lord to her children,” Pope
Francis tells us. And as members of the Church, united as the One Body
of Christ, we are called to support, in prayer and sacrifice, the Church’s
mission to bring that joy to people everywhere — especially, as Pope
Francis urges, “the poorest, the weakest, the least important…”
Thank you for your generosity.
Very Reverend Andrew Small, OMI
National Director

Meet Gantulga

Gantulga’s family is just one Mongolian family whose lives have been dramatically transformed after hearing the Good News of Jesus and accepting Him into their hearts. Gantulga and his family, including his wife Uurtsaikh and their children, live in the rural town of Arvaiheer, about 300 miles from Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaanbaatar.  The family first learned about the Catholic Church when they moved to the town after tragically losing all their livestock almost 10 years ago. They were one of a few lucky families to be given a new ger, a traditional Mongolian round tent dwelling. While Uurtsaikh and the children started attending activities run by the local Catholic Church, Gantulga was haunted by his alcoholism and his destructive behavior. “Before in my life, I made a lot of mistakes and I was addicted to alcohol and I had problems with violence, not understanding, misunderstandings with other people,” he explains. “When I started going to church and feeling how God’s mercy reaches me, I felt that I had to receive Baptism.” “Sometimes I try to imagine what would have been my life without faith,” Gantulga continues. “And then frankly I do not find an answer because most probably I would have been pulled by the river of my old life into something bad. I don’t know really what would have been my life without Christ.”Gantulga received Baptism at Easter 2013, but even before that — when he started coming to church with Uurtsaikh and their children — he saw drastic changes in his life. Today Gantulga is not only a better father and husband, he has also emerged as a leader in the community, reaching out to others in need.

Gantulga’s whole family is involved with the Church’s work here. Three

times a week, he participates in a men’s group where they make religious

objects and souvenirs out of wood and leather, while his wife, Uurtsaikh,

is involved in a similar group for women. The couple’s children are also

active in the Church, attending Mass with their parents, and taking part

in the before and after school care programs.

The Society for the Propagation of the Faith has supported the

development and outreach of the Catholic Church since Bishop Wens

and the other missionaries were first invited in to the country more than

20 years ago. With your ongoing support through the Society for the

Propagation of the Faith, offered on World Mission Sunday, the work

of these missionaries may continue here and around the globe, and the

poor receive practical help, while they experience God’s love and mercy,

His hope and peace.

Meet Bishop Wencesao (Wens) Padilla

“Jesus said to Saint Peter, ‘Upon this rock, I will build my Church.’  And I’m thinking that is also addressed to me when I came to Mongolia.” – Bishop Wens

Just over 20 years ago, Bishop Wenceslao Padilla, a missionary priest from the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and now the first Bishop of Mongolia, arrived in Mongolia with two fellow priests.  He recalls finding a country struggling with issues like alcoholism and domestic abuse, with minimal government social services, and with extreme poverty.  He found people searching “for God and for holiness.” 

Bishop Wens was literally starting from zero – no Catholics in Mongolia when he and his fellow missionaries arrived.  The first Baptisms, as a group, took place after three years of their presence.  From the first group, the number of Catholics has continued to grow across Mongolia, with the total today numbering around 850.  Bishop Wens remains as committed today as on that first day, to reach out and offer practical and spiritual support to those in need, and to continue to build the Church.  Pope Francis is very strong on this, ‘Go out, go there and do something for the people especially the poor’…Because that’s what I wanted to do, reaching out to people, to the poor.

The Mongolian Catholic Church and other Catholic churches around the world urgently need us to reach out with them through our prayers and our financial help.  They need that support, for example, to build new churches and schools, train catechists, run medical centers, English and skill training classes, and homes for children with disabilities and who are homeless.

REMEMBER THE MISSIONS!

Thank you for your generosity and prayers,

Very Reverend Andrew Small, OMI

National Director