We're turning 100!

This October marks the centenary of World Mission Sunday. In 1926, Pius XI instituted the penultimate Sunday of October as the Sunday on which all the baptized would pray for the missionary work of the Church and a common fund would be created to help the territories where its journey was beginning. Since then, without interruption, Christians have become missionaries with those who have been sent to evangelize the world, accompanying them with our prayers, the offering of our sacrifices, and our financial support… That is why, in the Pontifical Mission Societies From all over the world, we are celebrating our birthday: We want to share with all believers the joy of knowing they are missionaries, collaborating with the evangelizing work that is being carried out throughout the world! 

There are some truly surprising facts, ones we could hardly imagine. For example, in these one hundred years of history of DOMUND, The Church has grown so much in the places where our missionaries work that it's as if, during each of these one hundred years, 9,000 people were baptized every day, a new parish was built every day, two priests were ordained daily, or five nuns were consecrated. That's how the Church has grown in those places. Catholics have gone from representing 1.68% of the population to 8.60%. 

Pope Pius XI instituted this World Day with great foresight: he wanted all the baptized to become aware that mission is not a task entrusted to a few, those who have received from God the vocation to mission ad gentes, but of all the baptized, young and old, healthy and sick, lay people and religious. Each one, according to their vocation, should feel the joy of participating in the evangelizing task that the Church is carrying out throughout the world. Some, like Thérèse of Lisieux, will collaborate with their prayer and sacrifice; others, like Francis Xavier, with their willingness to be sent by the Church to a distant place; others, like Guido Maria Conforti, by promoting the missionary vocation of young people; others, like Paolo Manna, by encouraging priests to foster mission in their parishes; and others, like Pauline Jaricot, by making missionary life known among Christians and motivating them to assume this responsibility and to financially support the work of evangelization. 

Pius XI wanted a missionary renewal within the Church. We could say, in the words of the late Pope Francis, that he dreamed of a Church “going forth”:“I dream of a missionary option capable of transforming everything, so that customs, styles, schedules, language, and all ecclesial structures become a suitable channel for the evangelization of today's world rather than for self-preservation." (Evangelii gaudium, 27).

In Spain, we are also celebrating another centenary. In 1926, the Pope appointed the first National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies. He was a priest from the Diocese of Vitoria who had never served on a mission, but was deeply moved by the invaluable work of the missionaries: Ángel Sagarmínaga. In fact, it was he who, in 1943, coined the acronym DOMUND, shortening the phrase World Mission Sunday. We owe him much of the missionary spirit that the Church in Spain has experienced over these one hundred years. He was the driving force behind Spain's diocesan priests becoming enthusiastic ambassadors of the mission throughout the world. 

For the centenary of World Mission Sunday, the Holy Father, Leo XIV, has chosen the motto: “One in Christ, united in mission”And that is what we want to experience: the Church, like one big family, united by faith and charity, carries the message of Christ to all people in the world, to make possible their encounter with the Savior. The missionary is not merely a reformer of structures and a promoter of development. He or she is a man or woman of God, in love with the Lord, wanting to be one with the One who has called and sent them to proclaim the Good News, the precious message of salvation. And they do so united with all of us who, from our ordinary lives, feel part of their mission, take on their ministry, and rejoice in being part of the immense evangelizing work of the Church.

And it is fitting that we also remember that “This mission is still in its early stages, and we must commit ourselves with all our energy to its service." (Redemptoris Missio, 1) Saint John Paul II said it in 1990, more than thirty years ago… and his words are still relevant today! Let us not allow the enthusiasm for the mission to be lost in Spain!

Leo XIV continues to encourage us to be missionaries here and now, but also to join those who have been sent on mission. Therefore, he invites us to continue “nurturing and forming the missionary consciousness of the faithful, from the youngest to the oldest, promoting a network of prayer and charity that connects all the communities of the world”(Pope’s Message for World Mission Sunday 2026).