The membership renewal for the Society of the Propagation of the Faith will take place during the weekend of Jan. 17-18.
The Church is missionary by her very nature since it is from the missions. Through faith and baptism, each of Christ’s followers is incorporated as a living member in the Church and has an active part in her mission of salvation.
On behalf of His Excellency, Earl K. Fernandes, the bishop of Columbus, I would like to thank you for your generosity. I sincerely thank you on behalf of the Church’s missionaries and the people whom they serve. Donors and their intentions remain in the prayers of missionaries. Please consider including the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in your will or trust. Your legacy will live on, andyour life will touch the world for many generations!
The Society of Propagation of the Faith (SPOF) has a pontifical affiliation and its headquarters are in Rome near St. Peter’s Square. The principal function is to carry the Christian faith to every part of the world. It is the central means for the Church to fulfill her missionary task and to bring Gospel to the poor in villages, city streets, clinics, and orphans of the developing world.
Prayer, sacrifice and charity are concrete ways to live a missionary and universal faith. In the words of His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, “The courage to choose comes from love, which God shows us in Christ. It is he who loved us with his whole self, saving the world and thus showing us that self-giving is the way to our fulfillment.” (Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025) His words encourage the faithful to be charitable to fellow men that is the ultimate goal of day-to-day life.
Mission always expresses a concern for the life of others and also it is the holiest duty of all the faithful to be witnesses to Christ through our lives and the explicit proclamation of Jesus Christ. Everyone needs to appreciate the families of missionaries, especially parents who have encouraged their sons and daughters to serve the Church.
According to the Second Vatican Council, the origin of the Church is the missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit as decreed by the Father, “the fountain of love,” who desires the salvation of the whole human race (Ad Gentes 2-3). “Missions” is the term usually given to those particular undertakings by which the heralds of the Gospel, sent out by the Church and going forth into the whole world, carry out the task of preaching the Gospel and planting the Church among peoples or groups who do not yet believe in Christ.
St. Paul often speaks in his letters how the young churches of his time helped each other with their financial needs.
A friend in New England wrote to the Propagation of the Faith, saying, “I enclose $500 for the missions. I wish it could be more, but I am living on a fixed income, which is not large. I try to stretch it and live economically. I have lived alone for more than 20 years … do my own work and get my own meals with no help. I’m past 90 now. My husband and all my brothers and sisters are gone and I’m still here. Left to pray for them. Thank God for the privilege.”
Another co-missionary from California said, “I’m giving this gift outright to God for the work in the Missions. There is so little I can do otherwise on account of age and poor eyesight. I’m just giving back to God what he has given to me. This is to help spread his Gospel so that others can share in our beautiful faith.”
Missionaries need assistance to carry out the needs of the poor people. A financial contribution could make a significant difference.
As Jesus told us, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations … Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you” (Mt. 28:18-20). This mandate was meant for each one of us because by Baptism we became missionaries. The faithful are privileged to continue the mission of Jesus through prayer, financial support and concern for the poor to reach out those who do not know Christ.
Many have followed the custom of enrolling themselves or their loved ones, living or deceased, as members of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. By doing so, they give an ongoing gift to members and the missions. It continues to open the hearts of believers to engage in the vastness of the missionary horizon through spiritual and material support for the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Some people give to the missions by going to mission places and some are going to missions by giving; without both, there are no missions.
The Church established by Christ, the Catholic Church, is intended for all nations and peoples. The Church is to unite all mankind into one mighty family under the Fatherhood of God, which is the goal of the missionary apostolate of the Catholic Church. The consoling part is the Church never turn from the basic task entrusted to her, that of proclaiming the Gospel to all nations.
