Archbishop Kieran O’Reilly to celebrate Mass for Mission Sunday

18 Oct 2019

World Mission Sunday will be celebrated by the Universal Church this Sunday, 20 October, with the theme, ‘Baptized and Sent: The Church of Christ on Mission in the World.’  To mark this special occasion Archbishop Kieran O’Reilly SMA will celebrate a dedicated Mass at 12.00pm in the Cathedral of the Assumption, Thurles, Co Tipperary.  Special collections to support the work of our missionaries will take place in churches across the country on Sunday.

Instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1926, the annual day encourages prayers, cooperation and help for missions as well as reminding Christians about the fundamental missionary character of the Church and of every baptized person.

As announced by Pope Francis, October is an Extraordinary Month of Mission marking the 100th anniversary of Pope Benedict XV’s Apostolic Letter Maximum Illud (The Momentus Call) on overseas mission.  Mission Month is a special month of prayer and action to help the faithful embrace the meaning and importance of mission in the modern world.  Schools, religious orders and congregations, dioceses, parishes, communities and individuals are all invited by Pope Francis to get behind this worldwide Church initiative.

Notes for Editors

  • Archbishop Kieran O’Reilly SMA is Archbishop of Cashel & Emly and chair of the Council for Missions of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference.  Archbishop O’Reilly’s homily for World Mission Sunday will be published on Sunday.
  • In Ireland, World Mission Sunday is coordinated by World Missions Ireland, the Irish Church’s official charity for overseas missions.  WMI’s main event, the papal collection on World Mission Sunday, takes place in parishes this Sunday.  WMI helps to support the 40% of the Universal Church that is too new, young or poor to support itself.  WMI is part of a network of 120 offices under the coordination of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Rome.  See www.wmi.ie for parish resources and events associated with Mission Month.                                                

For media contact: Catholic Communications Office Maynooth: Martin Long +353 (0) 86 172 7678 and Katie Crosby +353 (0) 86 862 3298.