Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we prepare to celebrate World Mission Sunday on October 18, 2026, I invite you to join me in renewing our commitment to the Church’s missionary mandate. This year, World Mission Sunday marks the 100th anniversary of its establishment by Pope Pius XI in 1926. This centenary is an opportunity to mark it with renewed missionary zeal. This year’s theme, “One in Christ, United in Mission,” chosen by Pope Leo XIV, invites us to rediscover the profound unity we share in Christ.
Reflecting on our role in supporting the missions, we ought to remember that just over a century ago, the United States was still considered mission territory. Then, the faith was still taking root, supported by the generosity of Catholics from Europe and beyond, who provided financial assistance, sent priests and religious, and built the parishes and schools that formed the foundation of the Church in this country.
The second collection we take up on World Mission Sunday helps extend the Church’s missionary work to places where the Church barely exists, where the Gospel has never been heard before, and where the Church is too young, too persecuted, or too poor to sustain herself.
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On World Mission Sunday, we stand in solidarity with the missionaries, priests, religious sisters and brothers, and lay leaders serving in the 1,130 mission dioceses — spanning Asia, Africa, Latin America, Oceania, and the Middle East — that depend on our prayers and financial support to continue proclaiming Christ and building His Church. Through our prayers and generosity, we share in spreading Christ’s Gospel message in every land on the earth.
Finally, I invite you to join with me at the Cathedral of St. Joseph for the 5:15 Mass. Let us pray together that the Holy Spirit will renew in us the fire of the early Church, that we might truly be One in Christ, United in Mission, and that we will grow in missionary awareness, solidarity, and responsibility.
Grateful for your sharing in the missionary work of the Church and answering Christ’s call to be a Missionary of Hope, I remain
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Earl K. Fernandes
Bishop of Columbus
