Pope to inaugurate Extraordinary
Missionary Month October 2019
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| A missionary sister in the Amazon |
Tuesday, October 1st, marks the beginning of the
Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019 inaugurated by Pope Francis in St.
Peter's Basilica with the celebration of Evening Vespers Prayers.
By Linda Bordoni
The Extraordinary Missionary Month was called
for by Pope Francis two years ago on World Mission Sunday.
“For the month of October 2019”, he said “I ask the whole
Church to live an extraordinary time of missionary activity”.
He also explained it marks the 100th anniversary
of Pope Benedict XV's Apostolic Letter Maximum Illud, a
document on the Church’s mission to bring to the world the salvation of Jesus
Christ, which he described as prophetic and far-sighted.
The theme chosen for the month is “Baptized and Sent: The
Church of Christ on Mission in the World.” It will help us in our mission,
he explained, which he said is not about spreading a “religious ideology” or a
“lofty ethical teaching.” Instead, he continued, “through the mission of the
Church, Jesus Christ himself continues to evangelize and act; her mission thus
makes present in history the Kairos, the favorable time of
salvation.”
This special month opens on the feast of Saint Therese of
Lisieux, patroness of the Missions together with Saint Francis Xavier, and has
its culmination in the celebration of World Mission Sunday marked this year
on 20 October.
Vespers
At 6 pm Rome time, Pope Francis will preside over solemn
vespers in St. Peter’s Basilica after having listened to testimonies and
prayers prepared by eight Italian missionary institutes: Comboni and Saverian
Missionaries, Missionaries of the Consolata, PIME and Missionaries of the
Immaculate.
At the end, Pope Francis will give the missionaries who are
preparing to go forth, a crucifix.
Of course, as the Extraordinary Missionary Month involves
and engages the universal Church, moments of sharing, prayer and
missionary commitment have been organized by local Churches across the world.
Missionary Month and Synod of Bishops
And while some fear that the 3-week Synod of Bishops for the
Pan-Amazonian Region may overshadow the Missionary Month, the Pope has already
spoken of ties between the two events saying: “We pray that the Synod for
the Amazon can help provide a more evangelical approach to missionary work in
this area of the world that is so troubled, so unjustly exploited and so much
in need of the salvation of Jesus Christ.”
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