Be missionaries of illusion!Pontifical Mission Societies Spain presented on June 10 the activity report. The most remarkable of the data is that Spain is again the country in the world that sends more missionaries, reaching almost 10,000. Of all of them, approximately 5,000 are active, more than half are women and most are in America.
Prayer and financial contribution
In addition to this good news, José María CalderónThe director of the pontifical institution, explained that the funds made available to Rome in 2024 were higher than in 2023. This is due in part to a higher collection, but also to the decrease in management and administration costs. The result has been the delivery of almost 15 million euros, distributed among 1,131 mission territories. This makes Spain the second country that has given the most money to OMP.
But as Heliodoro Picazo, a missionary who shared his testimony during the press conference, stressed, money is not the only or the most important part of the contribution to the Pontifical Mission Societies. Prayer is essential to support the thousands of men and women who leave everything and go to evangelize, many of them to remote places where their lives are in danger.
Thanks to the sacrifice of missionaries, one out of every three baptisms in the world takes place in mission territories. Likewise, native vocations are increasing, Catholic schools and medical centers are being opened, and the faith is spreading throughout the world.
Lack of missionary vocations
In spite of the good news, both José María Calderón and Heliodoro Picazo have shown their concern for the advanced age of the majority of missionaries. They are getting older, but there are not enough vocations to ensure the continuity of the missions in all the territories.
In this regard, the two speakers emphasized the importance of prayer and of forming young people in the Christian faith, so that those who feel called by God to be missionaries will respond generously to the invitation.
