Parishes across the region will once again welcome missionaries from around the world as part of this year’s annual mission appeal. Bishops, priests, religious sisters, and lay missionaries will visit local congregations to share firsthand accounts of their work and the communities they serve.
Their stories reflect both the struggles and triumphs faced daily by people in some of the world’s most vulnerable regions. Through these visits, parishioners are invited to deepen their connection with fellow Catholics across the globe, recognizing that although separated by distance, they remain united in faith.
Mission leaders say the support offered by parish communities provides more than financial assistance. It also serves as a powerful reminder to missionaries and the people they serve that they are not forgotten. Knowing that others care is often the greatest gift we can give.
This year’s mission collections will support a wide range of spiritual and humanitarian and efforts. Funds will help educate seminarians in Africa and assist with building and maintaining schools in the Congo and Ivory Coast. Donations will also provide shelter for abandoned individuals and care for the disabled, sick, and elderly in India and the Philippines.
Church leaders emphasized that the mission effort reflects the universal nature of the Catholic faith and the shared responsibility of all believers to support one another.
As Pope Leo XIV emphasized the shared responsibility of all believers in the mission of the Church, stating in January 2026 “No baptized person is exempt from or indifference to mission: everyone, each according to their own vocation and condition of life, participates in the great work that Christ has entrusted to his Church.” The witness of Christ in our lives is how we become one with the missionaries.
Please be generous with your time, your gifts and most of all your prayers.