AFRICA/NIGERIA - Missionary Childhood: Sister Inês Paulo Albino to diocesan directors: mission is born from an encounter with Christ and expressed through service

Lagos (Fides News Agency) – “God created each of us unique, but no one is more important than another. The same is true in the Church. God did not create us all alike. He made us different because each of us has a special gift to share. No one possesses every gift, but everyone has something to offer.” With these words, Sister Inês Paulo Albino, Secretary General of the Pontifical Society of Missionary Childhood (POSI), addressed the 2,400 children taking part in the National Congress of the Pontifical Society of Missionary Childhood, held to mark the Society’s 25th anniversary, during an interactive formation session dedicated to them yesterday morning (see Fides, 4/6/2026).
“When Jesus enters our lives through Baptism, He unites us as brothers and sisters. In Jesus we become one family. He teaches us to love one another, to help one another and to walk together. To be ‘one in Christ,’” Sister Albino continued, “means placing Jesus at the centre of our lives. What unites us is greater than what distinguishes us. For Him there are no important children and less important children. There are no rich children and poor children. There are no children from one tribe who are better than those from another. Every child is precious in the eyes of Jesus.”
The Secretary General then continued by describing the profile of a “missionary of unity,” offering practical examples: making peace after an argument, respecting those who are different from us, and sharing rather than keeping everything for ourselves. The children were then invited to take part in a hands-on activity, which concluded with each participant making a commitment to become a “missionary of unity” by choosing a friend or family member for whom to pray and towards whom to perform an act of love.
Later that same morning, Sister Inês Paulo Albino met with the diocesan directors and coordinators of the local Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS), leading a formation session which, she stressed, was not intended to cover every aspect of the subject but rather to serve as the starting point of a process that should continue through workshops, personal testimonies, group work and the preparation of a concrete action plan for each diocese. The aim, she explained, is to ensure not only learning but also practical commitment at the conclusion of the formation program.
Entitled “Formation, Missionary Animation and Financial Sustainability,” Sister Albino’s presentation highlighted the theological and pastoral importance of formation, missionary animation and sustainable financial support.
“Formation is essential because no mission can bear fruit without well-prepared disciples,” she said. “Missionary animation is equally important because a community grows when every baptized person feels part of the mission.” The same applies to financial support, she added, “because a mission that involves everyone also generates the human, spiritual and material resources needed to continue its service.”
Finally, Sister Albino underlined the importance not only of fundraising but also of the equitable redistribution of resources to all missions in need, including those that do not have a direct link with local Churches. In this way, the Pontifical Mission Societies sustain an annual program of assistance for all the Churches.
Thanking all those present, the Secretary General concluded by recalling that “the presence of children, wherever they may be, should compel us to change the way we look at the world. More than that, it should lead us to invest all our resources in them and to roll up our sleeves to build the future together with them. Every child who comes into our lives brings a dream, and there is nothing more human than trying to help make that dream come true.”
(EG) (Fides News Agency, 7/8/2026)

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