Rome (Agenzia Fides) – On May 11, the Superior Council of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) began their General Assembly, which is being held in the Salesianum's Congress Center in Rome (see Fides 8/5/2009). Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, began the assembly, with a welcoming address to the National Directors in which he invited them to reflect on the charism and spirit of the PMS.

He then read a Message to the National Directors from the Holy Father Benedict XVI, who is on his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The Pope reminded them that the secret to evangelization is the search for holiness, contemplation of the face of Christ, and the desire to give Him to others. This "face" is present in children, in the poor, and in the marginalized.

Basis and key of the mission

Prayer and contemplation are the basis of the mission and the key to the mission. Every Christian has received the task of announcing Christ's love. And the world needs holy missionaries. Particular attention, the Holy Father says, should be given to the formation of priests and religious. The PMS should be especially attentive to the formation of candidates for the missions and the support for permanent formation of formators.

The celebration of the Year of the Priest is an occasion for creating initiatives and offering opportunities in the area of formation and missionary cooperation.

Cardinal Dias, in echoing the Pope's words, highlighted the need for a more profound, attentive, and thorough formation. He also mentioned the importance of the Congregation's schools in Rome, which should offer a quality education that is open to the meaning of universality. He then mentioned Cardinal Newman, who studied in the Urban College and was ordained a priest precisely in the Chapel of the Propaganda Fide Palace, where the international Secretariats of the Pontifical Mission Societies are located.

The Secretary Adjunct of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and President of the Pontifical Mission Societies, Archbishop Piergiuseppe Vacchelli, thanked everyone for their arduous labor carried out at the service of evangelization and preaching the Kingdom of God. He also affirmed that the PMS are at the service of Jesus' Gospel. This is a service that is enriching to all, because it opens our heart to the entire world. They are at the service of the dioceses in their evangelization. They take on the poverty and suffering of peoples, not only in the economic arena, but in the spiritual and religious dimension.

Agenzia Fides