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May for Mary

“In the Virgin Mary who goes to visit her relative Elizabeth, we recognize the true meaning and the way of the Church herself. The Church is Missionary by nature, called to proclaim the Gospel everywhere and always.  Mary’s  is a true Missionary journey . . . one that leads her far from home, leading her into the world, in places foreign to her daily activities; it makes her reach, in a sense, to the very ends of where she can reach.”
"Excerpts; Pope Benedict, Agenzia Fides, May, 2010  

Devotion to the Blessed Mother is deep and strong in many Mission lands as they may recognize Our Mother as the Queen of Missions. The Rosary is one of the most excellent prayers to Mary.  And during the Year of Faith, it is the international prayer for evangelization.

Pictured here, Vietnamese honor Mary while praying the Rosary. The Rosary is one of the most excellent prayers to Mary. This may have been inspiration for Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who would gather all the workers & visitors in his office at 3PM & Vietnamese Honor Mary recite the Rosary. Archbishop Sheen also inaugurated the World Mission Rosary in his “Catholic Hour” radio broadcast.
This May, consider having your family [or suggest to a teacher or catechists your school or PREP] pray the living World Mission Rosary.  While children pray, they can incorporate the colors of the World Mission Rosary representing each Mission continent using ribbon, t-shirts, paper beads or balloons. Children, as a project, can also research stories on Mission for each of the continents and develop intentions.  As an intention, on May 24, feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, pray a World Mission Rosary to Our Lady of Shesahn, to sustain all those in China, amid their daily trials.  May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world.

Throughout the Archdiocese, students have also made Rosaries for the Missions. Find Rosary & other Mission-minded ideas on this website under Missionary Childhood.

 
 
 
  

Bring the Missions to your Summer Vacation Program or Bible School

Encourage the children of your parish to join the Missionary Childhood Association [MCA] and spread the Good News to the ends of the earth this summer! Introduce the World Mission Rosary through a simple craft project. Invite a Missionary to share his or her experience.  

Mission Presentations can include:
Hands-on Activities ~ Ask about our simple- and fun-to-make World Mission Rosary  craft.
Student Interaction ~  Students can learn phrases or songs from one of the Missionary lands.
Talk with a Power Point Presentation by one of our staff members or a Missionary.  Program is adaptable for your needs!
      
Pictured, Father Michael Useni from Malawi, Africa in July, 2012 spoke to the VBS at St. Joseph’s in Downingtown.

The Missionary World celebrates the election of Francis, a Pope close to the poor
"Pope Francis is a man of great pastoral ability of strong faith, a man of prayer and very close to the priests, the elderly, the poor, and above all, a man who emphasized the Missionary commitment of the Church in our community and in our city":

This is what the General Vicar of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, Monsignor Joaquín Sucunza, who worked at the side of Cardinal Bergoglio for 13 years points out in a note sent to Fides Agency. The Vicar notes that "the election is a joy and a huge gift," for the Catholic community in Argentina, but Pope Francisalso for the universal faith of the wholeCatholic community, noting the joy in the Missionary world, in the young churches

Agenzia Fides 3/14/13

Father Andrew Small, the National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States, spoke about the Pope’s appointment:

“I join with the entire Church and the world to welcome our new Holy Father, Pope Francis, chosen as the Successor of Peter, first missionary of the Church. The Keys of St. Peter have been entrusted to our new Holy Father, whom I had the privilege of meeting in 2010. Being in his presence, you know you are close to the Lord.

We pledge our allegiance and our fidelity to Pope Francis and encourage our entire Mission family to gather around Him as around the Lord. We are renewed again in our faith in the bark of Peter, the Church. In unity with Pope Francis, we pledge our commitment to bring God’s liberating message of salvation to the ends of the earth, preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ to people in the world.”

Photo Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenas Aires with Cardinal Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap. at his residence in Buenos Aires, where Father Andrew Small, OMI, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies took this photograph above after a mission meeting.