People urged to support Mission Sunday 2012
- This year’s theme is ‘Growing in Communion’
Parishioners across Ireland have been encouraged to support missionaries working in some of the world’s poorest countries by donating during the forthcoming Mission Sunday collection on Sunday, 21 October. The Mission Sunday collection will take place in churches throughout the island and the world on Sunday. The Diocesan Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in the Archdiocese of Armagh, Father Vincent Darragh, has praised the generosity of people of the Archdiocese who have contributed €101,699 to the Mission Sunday collection in 2011. Since the year 2000, the Archdiocese of Armagh has contributed €1,622,136 to the missions and missionaries around the world.
Father Darragh said, “October is the traditional month of mission. There is a special focus on Mission Sunday which is the one day set aside each year for Catholics worldwide to recommit themselves to the Church’s missionary activity through prayer and sacrifice. Supporting the Mission Sunday collection is a fine Irish tradition and I would appeal to the people in the diocese to support the collection next Sunday. The Mission Sunday collection is about supporting young churches and missionaries in meeting the spiritual and material needs of men, women and children in poorer countries overseas. Over €2m was raised during the national Mission Sunday collection last year. This money was used to fund a range of projects in mission dioceses in 16 countries in Africa and Asia, including India, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Sudan. The theme for Mission Sunday 2012 is “Growing in Communion”. People are encouraged to express missionary spirit at home by welcoming Ireland’s increasingly diverse ethnic communities.”
Father Darragh continued, “This is an important time of the year to recognise and celebrate the work being done by the Irish missionaries around the world. We are now living in challenging times at home and overseas and we all need to play our part in supporting the great work of the missionaries. We have an opportunity to make a difference to supporting the work of the missionaries and to people’s lives by contributing generously on Mission Sunday. Our contributions are needed more than ever and will be used by missionaries and the 1,100 missions in some of the world’s poorest countries.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
- This year’s Mission Sunday theme is ‘Growing in Communion’
- This year’s Mission Sunday poster features Aisling Foley of Viatores Christi. Viatores Christi recruits, trains and sends lay missionary volunteers to work overseas in areas of need.
- The Mission Sunday collection itself has taken place in Ireland for more than 80 years.
- Society for the Propagation of the Faith (www.wmi.ie): The Society for the Propagation of the Faith is one of four Pontifical Mission Societies. Its role is to inform Catholics of the life and needs of the Catholic Church in the Missions. The other three societies are:
- The Society of Missionary Children which educates children about their part in the Church’s mission work and challenges them to share what they have with children growing up in developing countries;
- The Society of St Peter Apostle which supports the education of priest and religious;
- The Missionary Union of Priests and Religious which seeks to increase awareness of the Church’s worldwide mission among people engaged in pastoral ministry.
For media contact: Fr Vincent Darragh, Diocesan Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith 028 (048 from the Republic) 86735503 or the Catholic Communications Office, Maynooth: Martin Long 00353 (0) 86 172 7678
