The Vatican has released the official message of Pope Leo XIV for the 100th World Mission Sunday, to be celebrated Oct. 18, 2026. Marking a full century since the global missionary observance was established by Pius XI, the Holy Father invites Catholics everywhere to rediscover the heart of the Church’s mission under the theme “One in Christ, united in mission.”
In his message, Pope Leo XIV—the first pontiff born in the United States and the first to have served most of his priesthood as a missionary—urges the faithful to continue the Church’s missionary journey with “joy and zeal in the Holy Spirit,” following the Jubilee Year. Mission, he insists, flows from unity in Christ and finds its fullest expression in love.
Reflecting on Jesus’ prayer “that they may all be one” (Jn 17:21), the pope situates mission within the mystery of communion with Christ. Christian life, he writes, is not primarily about ideas or practices, but about a living union with Christ—“abiding in him like branches on the vine.” From this union flows communion among believers and fruitfulness in evangelization.
Quoting John Paul II, Pope Leo XIV recalls that “communion represents both the source and the fruit of mission,” stressing that division, polarization, and mistrust—when they take root even within Church communities—undermine the credibility of the Gospel witness.
For this reason, he calls the Church to renewed efforts at reconciliation, fraternity, and ecumenical dialogue, particularly as Christians mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. A united Church, he writes, is better able to proclaim Christ to a divided world.
Unity, however, is not an end in itself. It is ordered toward evangelization. Echoing Jesus’ words—“so that the world may believe”—Pope Leo XIV emphasizes that the Gospel is most powerfully proclaimed through the witness of reconciled and fraternal communities.
Recalling the motto of Blessed Paolo Manna, founder of the Missionary Union, one of four Pontifical Mission Societies—“All the Churches united for the conversion of the whole world”—the pope highlights the role of the Pontifical Mission Societies in fostering missionary cooperation. He notes with gratitude their enduring service, which he experienced personally during his years of missionary ministry in Peru.
World Mission Sunday, he reminds Catholics, is not reserved for a few specialists. Every baptized person, according to his or her vocation, shares responsibility for the Church’s mission. Quoting his predecessor Pope Francis, Pope Leo writes that “proclaiming the Gospel is an action that is always harmonious, communal and synodal.”
If unity is the condition of mission, Pope Leo XIV writes, love is its essence. The Gospel proclaimed by the Church is not an abstract message, but the good news of God’s faithful love revealed in Jesus Christ.
Throughout history, that love has been made visible by countless missionaries, martyrs, and witnesses of faith. The pope offers particular gratitude to today’s ad gentes missionaries, who continue to proclaim Christ to the ends of the earth.
“Like Saint Francis Xavier, they have left their homeland, their families and all sense of security in order to proclaim the Gospel and bring Christ and his love to places that are often challenging, poor, conflict-ridden or culturally distant,” Pope Leo wrote. “Despite adversity and human limitations, they continue to give themselves joyfully, because they know that Christ himself, and his Gospel, are the greatest treasures we can offer.”
Still referring to missionaries, the pontiff said that through their perseverance, “they demonstrate that God’s love transcends all barriers. The world still needs these courageous witnesses of Christ, and ecclesial communities still need new missionary vocations. We must always keep them close to our hearts and continually pray to the Father for them.”
Looking ahead, Pope Leo XIV urges the Church to pray for new missionary vocations and to keep missionaries close to their heart through prayer and material support. World Mission Sunday, he notes, remains a concrete expression of the Church’s universal solidarity, with offerings collected worldwide to support young, poor, and growing Churches in mission territories.
As the Church prepares to celebrate the 100th World Mission Sunday, Pope Leo XIV invites Catholics to be inspired by the witness of many missionary saints, highlighting St. Francis of Assisi, who “passed into heaven” 800 years ago, and the zeal of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, patroness of the missions, who declared that she would continue her mission even after death: “I shall desire in heaven the same thing as I do now on earth: to love Jesus and to make him loved.”
Pope Leo closed his first message for World Mission Sunday entrusting the missionary task to the intercession of Mary, Queen of Missions, praying that all the faithful may become instruments of peace and witnesses of Christ’s saving light.
“Your prayers and practical support, particularly on World Mission Day, will be a great help in bringing the Gospel of God’s love to everyone, especially the poorest and those most in need,” the pope wrote. “Every gift, no matter how small, becomes a meaningful act of missionary communion. I renew my heartfelt gratitude for everything you will do to help me help missionaries throughout the world.”
On World Mission Sunday 2026, Catholics around the world are once again invited to pray, to give, and to live their faith as one in Christ, united in mission—so that the Gospel of God’s faithful love may reach everyone, especially the poorest and those most in need.
“To foster spiritual communion,” Pope Leo closed his message with the following prayer:
Holy Father, make us one in Christ, rooted in his love that unites and renews. May all members of the Church be united in mission, docile to the Holy Spirit, courageous in bearing witness to the Gospel, proclaiming and daily embodying your faithful love for all creatures. Bless all missionary men and women, support them in their efforts, and watch over them in hope!
Mary, Queen of Missions, accompany our work of evangelization in every corner of the earth: make us instruments of peace, and grant that the whole world may recognize in Christ the light that saves. Amen.
*Photo Credit: Pope Leo XIV kneels to speak to a boy in Beirut Dec. 2, 2025, during a meeting with families of victims and with survivors of a deadly 2020 port explosion. The boy is holding a photo of his father, who died that day. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
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