Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - Fifty years ago to the day, on 21 April 1957, Pope Pius XII issued his Fidei Donum encyclical to bring to the attention of diocesan bishops and priests the missionary needs of Africa: the vast urgent challenge to spread and deepen the faith in those lands came up against a scarcity of pastoral workers and means. The Pope urged the older Churches to help the younger African Churches with prayers, funds and by sending priests and religious and also lay members of Catholic movements for missionary service in mission lands. In these fifty years the older Churches and more recently the younger ones have replied to Pius XII's appeal and sent priests and lay people from their dioceses to other younger Churches for Mission Ad Gentes, in a movement which now embraces the whole world and which is not one-way, from Europe to the other continents. In half a century a new missionary figure has appeared taking the name of the encyclical, “Fidei Donum”, and thanks to profound reflection following Vatican II, has helped to outline a new co-responsibility in the Church's missionary activity.
To look back on these fifty years the Pontifical Missionary Union PMU has organised an international congress 'All the Churches for All the World' to be held at Fraterna Domus di Sacrofano (Roma), 8 to 11 May. “Participants will include two representatives of every Bishops' Conference, the Bishop delegate for missions and a person with Fidei Donum experience. The speakers at the Congress all have experience as Fidei Donum personnel” Fr Vito del Prete, PIME, PMU secretary general told Fides.
The organisers expect about 350 participants representing Bishops' Conferences, guests as well as over 100 national directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies from all over the world who will be in Rome for their annual assembly. “The Congress - says Fr. del Prete - has been preceded by local initiatives over the past few months in various countries including Italy, Spain, France, Poland …”. He continued: “Today the way of sending missionaries has changed radically. Increasingly evangelisation will become an effective responsibility of the local Churches, which in the ecclesiological model of communion among the Churches for mission will send clergy, religious, lay people to other Churches. This 'Fidei Donum’ journey has developed with Vatican II and post-conciliar Magisterium. It is also the fruit of years of ongoing work of animation and formation on the part of the Pontifical Mission Societies and missionary institutes which have always reminded the Churches of their missionary duty. Only this will ensure that the missionary mandate is no longer left to missionary orders and institutes, which however will always be the expression of the Church's radical missionary nature. The Congress hopes to reach practical conclusions: rethink Fidei Donum according to a new identity which responds to the new missionary reality, promotes concrete communion among the local Churches, and puts young Churches in a condition to form and send their own Fidei Donum”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 21/4/2007; righe 42, parole 577)
