Mission belongs to the entire Church. Every baptized person is called to share God’s love through prayer, generosity, and witness. Inspired by the dedication of missionaries around the world, we continue working together so that the message of Christ may reach every community, especially those most in need.
The collection helps priests in the missions carry out their work to spread the Gospel, like Father and later Bishop Robert Prevost, OSA, in Peru.
“I would like to thank the Pontifical Mission Societies for their service to missionary cooperation, which I experienced with gratitude during my ministry in Peru.”
- Pope Leo XIV (Jan 25, 2026)
Soon-to-Be-Blessed Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen is known for his TV presence, preaching, and charismatic personality. He said his “greatest love,” however, had “always been the missions of the Church.”
Under his leadership (1950–1966), World Mission Sunday became a defining moment in the life of the Church in the United States.
“Whenever money is needed, or a new hospital, or a new jeep, it is always to the Church of the United States that the missionaries look.
There is something right and meet and just about this, for the Lord has blessed the United States as no other country in the world has been blessed. The superfluities of the United States are the necessities of the poor.”
– Fulton Sheen
100 years ago, the Church began a global mission of solidarity.
Today, that mission continues through you.
For a century, Catholics around the world have united on World Mission Sunday to pray for the Church’s missionary work in the poorest and most remote corners of the world.
This year, as we celebrate 100 years of World Mission Sunday and honor the missionary legacy of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, we will pray the World Mission Rosary together each day of October.
We invite you to join our livestreamed rosary at 3pm every day throughout October! Together, we can help equip the Church to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
“My greatest love has always been for the missions of the Church.”
— Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
If you are a priest, deacon, parish staff member, or active lay leader, we have resources to help your parish celebrate World Mission Month throughout October!
Download Parish Resources:
Celebrate 100 years of World Mission Sunday and Pope Leo XIV’s call to unity in mission.
Learn what World Mission Sunday is, why it matters, and how Catholics support the Church’s global mission.
Pope Leo XIV releases his first World Mission Sunday message, calling the Church to unity, love, and renewed missionary commitment in 2026.
Subscribe to daily quotes from Pope Leo XIV
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