Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Dublin (Fides Service) - In its ongoing activity to reclaim October as the month of mission, the Irish Missionary Union (IMU), of which the PMS is an active member, announced the following: The theme for the Mission Month and Mission Sunday is ‘Witness to the Faith.’ As national Fr Edward Grimes CSSp Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Ireland underlined in a message to Fides, the Church in Ireland has produced many missionary martyrs in the 20th century.
Archbishop Seán Brady of Armagh Archdiocese has suggested that their witness to the faith should be recognised and celebrated in the Mission Month of October, culminating with Mission Sunday as its highpoint. The theme is highlighted in the message of the late Pope John Paul II for Mission Sunday 2005. While looking back at the witness of the current martyrs, the Pope prays that ‘their example will draw numerous young men and women to tread the path of heroic fidelity to Christ.’ Witness to the Faith is about the present, not the past. ‘The Church has need of men and women to commit themselves fully to the great cause of the Gospel.’ Witness to the Faith proposes to remember the work and lives of missionaries who died violently overseas in the service of mission. In order to implement a meaningful programme of events and to reflect the witness and work of IMU members, fourteen witnesses were selected. These reflected a geographical spread within the country, a variety of ministries, representation of laity, Brothers, Sisters, Priests and different age groups as well as personal stories reflecting a wide range of Gospel witness and values. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 15/6/2005 - Righe 18; Parole 259)
