Faith

Propagation of the Faith

Celebrate October as Mission Month

Friday, October 3, 2025Faith

In the Catholic Church, many people associate the month of October with the rosary. We are encouraged to focus our prayer life on this wonderful way to ask our Blessed Mother for her intercession for our prayers to her Son. This month is also deeply tied to the missions.
This deep connection began in 1919 when Pope Benedict XV issued an encyclical entitled Maximum Illud. The letter, named for its Latin opening words, which mean "The Greatest," redefined the way our Church looked at missionary work. The Holy Father sought to outline the idea that all missionaries need to model a selfless spirituality and educate local clergy to lead their own communities. (Cardinal Cushing, former Director of our Mission Office here in Boston, would later echo this, telling missionaries it was their task to "put themselves out of a job!")
In 1926 Pope Pius XI declared the second to last (or penultimate) Sunday of October as World Mission Sunday, a day that celebrates all missionary ministry in the world. The very next year -- just two years after she was canonized -- Saint Therese of Lisieux, whose feast day is October 1, was named as co-patron saint of the missions.
Here in The Pontifical Mission Societies (TPMS) ministry, we are devoted to the promotion of the missions year-round, but October takes on some special tasks. First and foremost, we call attention to World Mission Sunday, this year celebrated on October 19. Our team prepares materials that are sent, by snail mail and email, to all parishes that help them highlight the missions throughout the whole of Mission Month. There are bulletin and Mass announcements, liturgy and music plans, and even mission stories related to the reading of every Sunday of October to help our priests tie their homilies each week to the missions.
We plan an Archdiocesan Mass every year for World Mission Sunday. This year, Divine Mercy Parish in Quincy will host our liturgical celebration at Sacred Heart Church at their 10 AM Mass. All are welcome -- call or email our office to reserve your pews!
This year, in collaboration with our National TPMS Office, there will be a daily recitation of Fulton Sheen's World Mission Rosary on Zoom at 3PM EDT. It will be led by members of our national and diocesan staff. Boston will lead the rosary on Saturday, October 11.
We hope you will log in daily at 3 PM EDT by going to this link: www.pontificalmissions.org/worldmissionrosary. Help us pray for the missions this October!

- Maureen Crowley Heil is Director of Programs and Development for the Pontifical Mission Societies, Boston.