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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):
The Pontifical Mission Societies (TPMS) in the United States work through local Bishops, churches, and missionary congregations to ensure that resources are distributed equitably and justly, based on the needs of individual Churches.
The money goes directly from the United States to the Bishops in the mission territories, allowing for a direct link between the two local Churches. [13]
TPMS-USA is guided by a National Director and a highly respected, accomplished, and faithful Board of episcopal and lay Catholic leaders. The Board advises on strategy, vision and direction, provides oversight on the governance of the organization, and ensures our financial sustainability. Each member of the Board is an ambassador of The Pontifical Mission Societies in their dioceses and spheres of influence. [14]
Archbishop Fulton Sheen, now “Venerable” was director of the Pontifical Mission Societies from 1950 – 1966. [15] In the Fall of 1951, he began his famous television series, Life is Worth Living. [16] The rich content and dramatic presentation of his one-man television program soon attracted 30 million viewers. As SPF director, Bishop Sheen worked tirelessly to promote mission awareness and raise funds for the poor churches in mission lands. He started a pocket-sized Mission magazine and wrote his own crisp text, illustrated with graphic photos from the mission world. He also devised a mission Rosary with each of the five decades a different color to represent the missions in Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific Islands. [17]
Father Andrew Small (OMI - Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate) was appointed in 2011 as the National Director for the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States. [18] In August 2013, Father Small travelled to Lisieux to collect the writing desk (the écritoire) of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, on which she wrote the spiritual classic Story of a Soul. The Pontifical Mission Societies sponsored a tour of the desk in the United States from August to October 2013. [19]
In April 2021, Monsignor Kieran E. Harrington of the Diocese of Brooklyn, was named the new national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the U.S. The appointment was made by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Monsignor Harrington succeeded Father Andrew Small, OMI, who had completed his second five-year term. [20]
In February 2024, Harrington stepped down from his position and Rev. Anthony D. Andreassi was appointed as ad interim National Director of The Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States. [21] [22] In his capacity of National Director, he oversees the U.S. efforts to raise awareness of and gather a Universal Solidarity Fund of support for the Holy Father’s missions throughout Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Islands, as well as parts of Latin America and Europe.
He previously served as the provost of the Brooklyn Oratory and the principal of Regis High School in New York City. He holds a doctorate in history from Georgetown University with a concentration on American Catholicism. [23] He is the author of Teach Me to Be Generous: A History of Regis High School in New York City (2014). [24]
The Roman Curia comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Roman Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use of in the exercise of his supreme pastoral office and universal mission in the world. It is at the service of the Pope, successor of Peter, and of the Bishops, successors of the Apostles, according to the modalities that are proper to the nature of each one, fulfilling their function with an evangelical spirit, working for the good and at the service of communion, unity and edification of the Universal Church and attending to the demands of the world in which the Church is called to fulfill its mission.
The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples was a congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is also known by its former title, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, or simply the Propaganda Fide. On 5 June 2022, it was merged with the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization into the Dicastery for Evangelization.
The Society for the Propagation of the Faith is an international association coordinating assistance for Catholic missionary priests, brothers, and nuns in mission areas. The society was founded in Lyon, France, in 1822, by Pauline Jaricot. It is the oldest of four Pontifical Mission Societies of the Catholic Church.
Giovanni Battista Re is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church whose service has been primarily in the Roman Curia. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001. He was prefect of the Congregation for Bishops from 2000 to 2010. As the senior cardinal-bishop in attendance, he chaired the March 2013 papal conclave to elect Pope Benedict XVI's successor. Pope Francis approved his election as Dean of the College of Cardinals on 18 January 2020.
Crescenzio Sepe is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Naples from 2006 to 2020. He served in the Roman Curia as Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 2001 to 2006. He was made a cardinal in 2001. Before that he spent 25 years in increasingly important positions in the Roman Curia.
Laurean Rugambwa was a Tanzanian prelate who was the first modern native African cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Dar es Salaam from 1968 to 1992, and was made a cardinal in 1960 by Pope John XXIII.
The Pontifical Urban University, also called the Urbaniana after its names in both Latin and Italian, is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The university's mission is to train priests, religious brothers and sisters, and lay people for service as missionaries. Its campus is located on the Janiculum Hill in Rome, on extraterritorial property of the Holy See.
The Mission Sui Iuris of Funafuti is a Catholic Latin mission sui juris in Tuvalu, Polynesia.
Patabendige Albert Malcolm Ranjith, known as Malcolm Ranjith, is a Sri Lankan prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the Archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka, since 2009. He was made a cardinal in 2010.
Nicholas Anthony DiMarzio is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn in New York City from 2003 to 2021.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kigoma is a diocese located in Kigoma in the ecclesiastical province of Tabora in Tanzania. Because of the appointment of Bishop Protase Rugambwa as an Archbishop ad personam by Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday, June 26, 2012, the Diocese became a vacant see.
John Oliver Barres is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, who has been serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York State since January 2017. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Allentown in Pennsylvania from 2009 to 2017.
Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso PhD JCL is an Italian Roman Catholic prelate who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See.
The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, also translated as Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia whose creation was announced by Pope Benedict XVI at vespers on 28 June 2010, eve of the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, to carry out the New Evangelization. On 5 June 2022, the department was merged into the Dicastery for Evangelization.
The Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas is a Catholic educational institution providing an international community and formation for lay ecclesial ministers and other lay students at the Pontifical Universities, Athenae, and Institutes in Rome, Italy. It is international in character and composition, and welcomes ecumenical students from other Christian churches and ecclesial communities, as well as those from non-Christian religions.
David J. Malloy is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has served as the bishop of the Diocese of Rockford in Illinois since 2012.
Protase Rugambwa is a Tanzanian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been metropolitan archbishop of the Archdiocese of Tabora since November 2023, after serving as coadjutor there for seven months. He was a secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from November 2017 to April 2023. He previously served as that congregation's adjunct secretary and president of the Pontifical Mission Societies from 2012 to 2017. Pope Francis made him a cardinal on 30 September 2023.
The new evangelization is the particular process by which baptized members of the Catholic Church express the general Christian call to evangelization.
Jeffrey Marc Monforton is an American Catholic prelate who has served as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Detroit since 2023. He was previously Bishop of Steubenville from 2012 to 2023.
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