Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Madrid (Fides Service) - In Spain Sunday March 5 is Latin America Day an initiative organised by the Missions Commission of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference. In a letter to present the Day the president of the Commission Bishop Ramón del Hoyo of the diocese of Jaen called on local Churches to “always have as their objective the flourishing Christian communities evangelised by men and women who were willing to leave their homes and homeland to obey the missionary command of Jesus Christ and to support those involved in the same task today”.
In a Message for the Day Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America said this year’s theme - “Sharing the bread of the earth and the bread of heaven” - is a reminder of the Christian’s “duty to meet two forms of hunger in the world: hunger for bread and hunger for God. The Eucharist is the sacrament of communion with God and with our brothers and sisters” he added stressing that countless works of charity to help the poor down through the centuries were born of love for the Eucharist. However “the virtue of solidarity is not limited to the material aspect” the Cardinal said, because “a missionary Church shares the gift of the faith, it is a Church which grows in love and solidarity towards others”. The work of evangelising the New World was nourished by the Eucharist and as long as initiatives of charity “born of unity with Christ” continue to flower this work will “continue to bear numerous fruits”.
“In our day too the material needs of poor countries press us to share what we have but faith must always be the basis and principle object of missionary activity” - the Cardinal wrote - and he concluded “May this special Day be an opportune occasion to awaken in all hearts awareness of the missionary call and a desire to join with enthusiasm the mission of New Evangelisation”.
OCSHA, Organisation for Hispanic-American Priestly Cooperation, reports that in 2005 11 more Spanish priests were sent on mission: 7 to Peru, 2 to Bolivia, and 1 each to Ecuador, Venezuela and the United States. This brought the total number of Spanish diocesan priests on mission to 912: 383 members of OCSHA and 529 members of other associations. Of the 912, 76 are in Africa, mainly in Zimbabwe (18) and Angola (11); 814 in America, mainly in Peru (121), United States (89), Venezuela (85), Brazil (76) and Puerto Rico (64); 22 in Asia, mainly in Japan (13). (RG) (Agenzia Fides 3/3/2006 - righe 33, parole 455)
