(Vatican Radio) World Mission Sunday, which takes place this year on 20 October,
aims to remind Catholics to recommit themselves to the missionary activities of the
Church through prayer and sacrifice. Organized by the Pontifical Society for the
Propagation of the Faith, World Mission Sunday is celebrated each year on second-to-last
Sunday of October. In May of this year, Pope Francis issued a message for World
Mission Sunday, in which he writes: “[I]t is necessary to proclaim courageously and
in every situation, the Gospel of Christ, a message of hope, reconciliation, communion,
a proclamation of God's closeness, his mercy, his salvation, and a proclamation that
the power of God’s love is able to overcome the darkness of evil and guide us on the
path of goodness.” Speaking with Vatican Radio, the Secretary of the Congregation
for the Evangelization of Peoples, Archbishop Savio Tai Fai Hon, said that the focus
of the Holy Father's message is that “faith is something very precious to us.” This
gift of faith, he said, “consists in the truth that God really loves us.” “This
love of God pushes us to give our adequate response, and also asks us to share our
faith with other brothers and sisters.” Sharing the faith, the archbishop said,
“is not only a question of preaching, but also of witness… in some concrete activity,
concrete acts, like offering our daily prayer.” Archbishop Hon also said it means
offering something for the Pope so that he, “as successor of Saint Peter, may share,
may show his care for other churches.” Listen to Vatican Radio’s interview
with Archbishop Savio Tai Fai Hon: