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![]() Palazzo di Propaganda Fide, seat of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples | |
Agency overview | |
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Formed | 1922 |
Superseding agency | |
Jurisdiction | Catholic Church |
Headquarters | Palazzo di Propaganda Fide, Rome |
Agency executives |
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Website | https://www.ppoomm.va/en.html |
The Pontifical Mission Societies (TPMS), known in some countries as Missio, is the name of a group of Catholic missionary societies that are under the jurisdiction of the Pope. These organizations include the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, the Holy Childhood Association and the Missionary Union of Priests and Religious.[1]
These four societies each received the title "pontifical" in 1922[1] to indicate their status as official instruments of the pope and of the universal Catholic Church. In most countries, the national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies heads the four societies, as is the case in the United States, and oversees the World Missions Sunday Collection, which is taken up on the third Sunday of October each year in every Catholic parish around the globe.[1][2]
The Pope specifically asks the Pontifical Mission Societies to help bring the messages of Christ to the world, especially in countries where Christianity is new, young or poor. The societies care for and support the younger churches until they are able to be self-sufficient.[3] The Pontifical Mission Societies have, as their primary purpose, the promotion of a universal missionary spirit - a spirit of prayer and sacrifice - among all baptized Catholics. The first three Societies, in carrying out that goal, invite baptized Catholics to express their missionary commitment by offering their prayers, personal sacrifices and financial support for the work of the Church in the Missions. The Missionary Union of Priests and Religious works to deepen mission awareness among priests, men and women Religious, catechists and educators so that they are fully prepared to take on the mission formation of the faithful.[4]
"The Pontifical Mission Societies" raise awareness and foster prayer and cooperation in the whole Catholic Church, with 120 offices worldwide. It is the only organization which supports every one of the 1,200 mission dioceses of the world. "The Pontifical Mission Societies" exist through the generosity of Catholics and plays a crucial role in combating poverty, disease, injustice and exploitation.[5][6][7][8]
On 26 June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Protase Rugambwa, who until then had been serving as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kigoma, Tanzania, as the Deputy Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and as President of the Pontifical Mission Societies, naming him an archbishop. He succeeded Archbishop Piergiuseppe Vacchelli.[9] Rugambwa ceased to be president after becoming Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples on November 9, 2017,[10] with Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso replacing him.[11]
On December 2, 2022, Pope Francis appointed Italian Archbishop Emilio Nappa as adjunct secretary of the new Dicastery for Evangelization with the office of president of the Pontifical Mission Societies. Until then, the Naples' born priest had been an official of the Vatican's Secretariat for the Economy.[12]
Since Acp. Charles Asa Schleck's concurrent appointment as Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and President of the Pontifical Mission Societies, the two appointments have been concurrent (though with the title Adjunct Secretary):
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