Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Arequipa (Agenzia Fides) – In Arequipa, Peru, an authentic Marian and missionary celebration will take place Saturday, October 9, when many pilgrims from the parishes of the districts of Cayma and Yanahuara will meet in the Plaza de Cayma at 3 pm, for a pilgrimage to the Plaza de Yanahuara, praying the Missionary Rosary. In this way, the Pontifical Mission Societies will begin the celebration of the missionary month of October, reported Fides diocesan director Fr. Victor Livorio Grech, MSSP, adding that this first event will bring together young people, children, adults, and families from various parishes, along with Marian groups, lay movements, and the PMS. Also, in the Diocese of Arequipa the PMS are organizing competitions in all the schools and all parishes throughout the month. October 19, the XVI Missionary Exhibition of Religious Congregations and Lay Movements will be held and on the 24th, parishes will celebrate World Mission Sunday. For the 28th and 29th, there will be a public collection for WMS. Every Peruvian diocese has prepared a program with many activities for the missions.
Statements sent to Fides from the various PMS in Latin America regarding the celebration of the Month of the Missions and on the recitation of the Missionary Rosary, show that the celebration is very popular and widely practiced in the Catholic communities of the different countries.
For example, the Diocese of Salta, Argentina, invites everyone to join the various activities planned for the Month of the Missions, including the Missionary Rosary. In the newsletter (which is available at www.portalmisionero.com/oracion.htm) explains what the Missionary Rosary is and the importance of prayer as the first task for the mission on behalf of all the Catholic communities around the world. "Prayer is the main form of spiritual collaboration with the missions. The efforts of thousands of missionaries around the world can bear fruit only because it is supported by the prayers of many others who pray for them," concludes the statement of the PMS in Argentina. In Argentina, on October 9 and 10 there will also be collections that will go towards the missions. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 08/10/2010)
