J^rtur^pB PaBtormn

ENCYCLICAL LETTER

ON THE MISSIONS

HIS HOLINESS, POPE JOHN XXIII

(November 28, 1959)

Also

AN ADDRESS TO MISSIONARIES
(October 16, 1959)

And

A PRAYER FOR MISSION CATHOLICS



Translation provided by NCWC News Service

Cover illustration from A CATHOLIC CATECHISM with

permission of Herder and Herder, New YorK.

NATIONAL CATHOLIC WELFARE CONFERENCE
1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N. W. Washington 5, D.C.



ENCYCLICAL LETTER

OF HIS HOLINESS

JOHN XXIII

BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE

POPE

ON CATHOLIC MISSIONS

FORTY YEARS AFTER PUBLICATION OF

POPE BENEDICT XV’S

APOSTOLIC LETTER MAXIMUM ILLUD

TO OUR VENERABLE BRETHREN

PATRIARCHS. PRIMATES. ARCHBISHOPS. BISHOPS

AND THE OTHER LOCAL ORDINARIES

IN PEACE AND COMMUNION WITH THE APOSTOLIC SEE

VENERABLE BRETHREN

HEALTH AND APOSTOLIC BENEDICTION

INTRODUCTION

Ever since the time when, answering with conscious humility

the invitation of love of the “Prince of Shepherds”^ but trustful

in His very powerful assistance. We assumed the government

and custody of the “sheep” and the “Iambs” of the flock of

God^ scattered throughout the whole world, there has always

been present in Our mind “the missionary problem in all its

vastness, beauty and importance”.

3

Therefore. We have never ceased to give it Our most

lively concern. And in the homily of the first anniversary of Our

coronation We counted as among the most happy days of Our

pontificate the eleventh of last October, when more than 500

missionaries gathered together in the sacrosanct Vatican basilica

to receive the crucifix from Our hands before they spread

throughout the world in the service of the Gospel. Divine

Providence, in its adorable and loving designs, willed to direct

Us to this field very early in Our priestly ministry. In fact,

immediately after the first world war. Our predecessor Benedict



XV, of venerable memory, deigned to call Us from Our native

diocese to Rome, so that We might dedicate Ourself to the Office

of the Propagation of the Faith, where We remained for four

happy years of Our priestly life.

And the memory of that unforgettable Pentecost of 1922

is still vivid in Our memory, when We participated with deep

joy here in Rome in the celebration of the third centenary of the

foundation of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the

Faith, to which is precisely entrusted the duty of making the

truth and the grace of the Gospel shine to the ends of the earth.

During those years also Our Predecessor of venerable

memory, Pius XI, comforted Us with his word and example in the

missionary apostolate, and from his lips We learned, on the eve

of the conclave in which the Holy Ghost was to designate him as

successor of Peter, that “nothing greater could be expected of

a Vicar of Christ, whoever might be elected, than what is con-

tained in this twofold ideal: Extraordinary dissemination of the

evangelical doctrine throughout the world and the spirit of

pacification.

PATERNAL CONCERN OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF FOR THE
MISSIONS

With Our mind full of these and other sweet memories,

and conscious of the grave duties incumbent upon the Supreme

Shepherd of the flock of God, We wish, venerable brothers, to

take the opportunity of the 40th anniversary of the memorable

Apostolic Letter Maximum lllud^ with which Our venerable

predecessor Benedict XV gave new and decisive impetus to the

missionary activity in the Church, to speak to you on the neces-

sity and the hopes of the spread of the Kingdom of God in that

great part of the world where the precious and fatiguing labor

of the missionaries takes place, so that new Christian com-

munities may rise and may bring forth salutary fruits.

Our predecessors Pius XI and Pius XII of venerable

memory also issued timely norms and exhortations on this

question through encyclicals,^ which We Ourselves have wished

“to confirm with Our authority and with equal charity” in Our

first encyclical.7 But certainly never enough will be done to

bring about the fulfillment of the wish of the Divine Redeemer

that all the lambs may be part of one single flock under the

guidance of one single Shepherd.

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THE NEW ENCYCLICAL

In turning Our special attention to the supernatural in-

terests of the Church in mission lands, there appear before Our

eyes regions full for the harvest, regions in which the work of

the laborers in the vineyard of God is particularly arduous, and

also regions where the violence of persecution and the hostility

of regimes to the name of God and of Christ strive to suffocate

the seed of the word of the Lord.^

But everywhere there is the great need of souls and there

reaches Us from everywhere the prayer “Help us’’.^^ There-

fore, in all these areas, fecundated by the blood and apostolic

sweat of the heroic heralds of the Gospel coming “from every

nation under heaven,"^^ and where native apostles now spring

up like the blossoming and fructification of grace. We wish

that Our affectionate words of praise and encouragement should

reach those places, together also with words of teaching which

are nurtured by a great hope that does not fear being con-

founded, because it is based on the infallible promise of the

Divine Master: “Behold, 1 am with you all days, even unto the

consummation of the world.

I. THE HIERARCHY AND THE LOCAL CLERGY

THE APPEAL OF THE EPISTLE MAXIMUM ILLUD FOR
THE NATIVE CLERGY

Following the first world war, which brought bereavement,

devastation and discomfort to such a great part of humanity,

the apostolic letter Maximum lllud resounded as a cry of

spiritual recovery for the new, peaceful conquests of the

Kingdom of God, the only one that can assure to all men, sons

of the Heavenly Father, lasting peace and true prosperity.

Since then, in a very active and fruitful 40 years of missionary

activity, a fact of the greatest importance has come to enrich

the already happy progress of the missions: the development

of the local hierarchy and clergy.

In conformity with the “ultimate aim” of missionary work,

“which is that of building the Church in a stable way among

other peoples and of entrusting it to its own hierarchy chosen

from among the Christians of the place itself this Apostolic

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See has always provided opportunely and maturely—and in recent

times with significant largess— to establish or to re-establish

the ecclesiastical hierarchy in those regions where circum-

stances permitted and made it advisable to proceed to the

constitution of episcopal sees, entrusting them when possible to

native prelates of the locality.

No one, in fact, is unaware of the fact that this has been

the constant program of action of the Sacred Congregation for

the Propagation of the Faith. It was, however, the epistle

Maximum Illud that gave full evidence, more than ever before,

to the importance and urgency of the problem, recalling once

again, with heartfelt and pressing emphasis, the urgent duty of

those who governed the missions to care for vocations and the

education of that which was then called native clergy, not that

this appellative had ever held a meaning of discrimination or

belittlement such as must always be excluded from the language

of the Roman pontiffs and from ecclesiastical documents.

PROVIDENT DEVELOPMENTS DURING THE PONTIFICATES

OF PIUS XI AND PIUS XII

This appeal of Benedict XV, renewed by the successors

Pius XI and Pius XII of venerable memory, has already had its

providential and visible fruits, and We invite you to thank the

Lord for this. Who raised up in the mission lands a numerous

and elect legion of bishops and priests. Our beloved brothers

and sons, thereby opening Our heart to the happiest hopes. A

rapid glance, in fact, at the statistics alone on the territories

entrusted to the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the

Faith, not including those at present subjected to persecution,

reveals that the first bishop of Asiatic origin was consecrated

in 1923, and that the first apostolic vicars of African origin

were named in 1939. By 1959 there were 68 bishops of Asiatic

origin and 25 of African origin. The native clergy increased

from 919 members in 1918 to 5,553 in 1957 in Asia, and from

90 members to 1,811 in the same period of time in Africa.

In this way the Lord of the harvest^"^ has wished to re-

ward the toils and the merits of all those who, through direct

action and many collaborations, have dedicated themselves to

the work of the missions according to the repeated teachings

of this Apostolic See. It was therefore with reason that Our

predecessor Pius XII of venerable memory could affirm with

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rightful satisfaction: "At one time ecclesiastical life, insofar

as is visible, developed abundantly, chiefly in the countries of

old Europe, where it spread like majestic rivers to what could

be called the limits of the earth; today, however, it appears

like an exchange of life and energies between all the members

of the Mystical Body of Christ upon earth. Many regions in

other continents have long ago surpassed the missionary phase

of their ecclesiastical organization and are governed by their

own hierarchy and give spiritual and material goods to the whole

Church, whereas before they only received them.’’^^

To the episcopate and the clergy of the new churches We

wish to address Our paternal exhortation that they may pray

and act in a very special way so that their priesthood may be-

come fruitful, and that they assume the task of speaking very

often in catechetical instructions and in their preaching of the

dignity, beauty, necessity and lofty merit of the priestly state,

so that they might persuade all those whom God may wish to

call to such a great honor to answer without delay and with

generous spirit the divine vocation. May they also have the souls

entrusted to them pray while the entire Church, according to the

exhonation of the Divine Redeemer, may not cease to raise

prayers to heaven for these same intentions, so that the Lord

may "send forth laborers into his harvest, especially in

these times when "the harvest indeed is great, but the laborers

are few. "1^7

FRATERNAL COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE LOCAL
CLERGY AND THE MISSIONARIES OF OTHER COUNTRIES

The local churches of the mission territories, even those

founded and established with their own hierarchy, still continue

to need the work of the missionaries from other countries,

either because of the vastness of their territory, or because

of the increasing numbers of the faithful and the considerable

multitude of people who still await the light of the Gospel. One

can rightly say of them: "They are by no means foreign, since

every Catholic priest finds himself, while discharging his duty,

as if in his own country, wherever the Kingdom of God blossoms

or is at its beginning. "18

May all of them work together, therefore, in the harmony

of fraternal, sincere and delicate charity, the sure reflection

of the love they have for the Lord and His Church; in perfect,

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joyful and filial obedience to the bishops “placed (by the Holy

Spirit) to rule the Church of God,”^^ each one grateful to the

other for the collaboration offered, “of one heart and one soul, “20

so that the way in which they love one another may show clearly

to the people that they are truly . the disciples of Him who gave

mutual love to men as the first and greatest precept, as His

own and the “new” commandment.

2

II. THE FORMATION OF THE LOCAL CLERGY

PRIMACY OF THE SPIRITUAL FORMATION IN THE EDUCA-

TION OF THE YOUNG CLERGY

Our predecessor had at heart in Maximum Illud to in-

culcate in those who govern the missions that their most

assiduous concern should be turned toward “the complete and

perfect” formation of the local clergy as being the body “having

origin, disposition, mentality and aspirations in common with

its co-nationals, and marvelously suited to the instilling of the

faith in their hearts, because better than any others it knows

the ways of persuasion. ”22

It is hardly necessary to recall that a perfect priestly

vocation must be above all directed toward the acquisition of the

virtues proper to that holy state, this being the first duty of

the priest, “that is to say, the duty of attending to his own

sanctification. ”23 xhe new native clergy must enter into holy

competition with the clergy of the more ancient dioceses which

has given priests to the world who, by their heroism and their

obvious virtues and the living eloquence of their example, have

deserved to be proposed as models for the clergy of the whole

world.

It is especially with sanctity, in fact, that the clergy can

show that they are the light and salt of the earth,24 that is of

their own nation and of the whole world, and that they can

efficaciously teach the faithful that the perfection of the Christian

life is a goal to which all the sons of God can and must aspire

with every effort and perseverance, whatever be their origin,

their environment, their culture and their civilization. Our

paternal mind longs for the day when the local clergy, as

spiritual guides, may be able to furnish subjects everywhere

capable of educating to sanctity the students of the sanctuary

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themselves. We invite the bishops and directors of mission

territories not to hesitate from now on in choosing from among

the local clergy priests who by their virtue and prudence give

assurance of being safe masters in the spiritual formation of

their co-national seminarians.

EOUCATION SUITABLE TO THE ENVIRONMENT

As you well know, venerable brothers, the Church has

always required its priests to be suited to their mission through

a solid and thorough intellectual education. That the young men

of every race and nation are capable of this needs no repetition,

so much has this become evident by facts and experience. It is

obvious that the formation of the local clergy must take into

account the factors of the individual environments of the various

regions. Valid for all candidates to the priesthood is the very

wise norm according to which they must not be formed “in an

environment too much apart from the world’ because in such

case “when they enter society they will then find serious

difficulties in their relations with lower classes and with the

cultured classes, and it will therefore often happen that either

they adopt a mistaken or false attitude toward the faithful, or

consider unfavorably the formation they have received. “26

They must be spiritually perfect priests, but they must

also be “gradually and carefully incorporated into that part of

the world’’27 which is their lot, so that they may illumine it

with truth and sanctify it with the grace of Christ. With this in

view, one must insist on the local way of life, even in those

things that pertain to the government of the seminary, but not

without making use of all those facilities of a technical or

material order which are now the property and patrimony of all

civilizations, insofar as they represent a real progress toward

a higher standard of living and more suitable safeguard of the

physical forces.

EDUCATION IN THE SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY AND SPIRIT
OF INITIATIVE

The formation of the native clergy, said Our venerable

predecessor Benedict XV, must strive to make it capable of

taking the government of the new churches into its own hands as

soon as possible and of guiding its own co-nationals, through

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teaching and the ministry, on the road of salvation.^8 In this

respect We deem it supremely opportune that all those, whether

foreign or native, who are in charge of this formation, should

strive conscienciously toward developing in their students the

sense of responsibility and the spirit of initiative,29 so that

they may be capable of assuming quickly and progressively all

the duties, even the most important, inherent in their ministry,

in perfect harmony with the foreign clergy, but also in an equal

measure. This, in fact, will be the proof of the real efficacious-

ness of the education given them and will constitute the crowning

and best reward of those who have contributed to it.

UTILIZATION OF THE LOCAL VALUES

Precisely with a view to an intellectual formation taking

into account the real needs and the mentality of each nation,

this Apostolic See has always recommended special studies of

missiology, not only for the foreign clergy but also for the

native clergy. Thus Our predecessor, Benedict XV, decreed the

institution of the teaching of missionary matter in the Pontifical

Urban Athenaeum of De Propaganda Fide,^^ and Pius XII

recorded with satisfaction the erection of the Missionary

Scientific Institute within the same Urban Athenaeum and the

institution in Rome and elsewhere of faculties and chairs of

missiology.31

Therefore, the programs of the local seminaries in mis-

sion lands will not fail to secure study courses in the various

branches of missiology and the instruction in the various studies

and techniques especially useful for the future ministry of the

clergy of those regions. For this purpose an instruction must be

provided which, in the spirit of the most pure and sound ec-

clesiastical tradition, will carefully form the judgment of priests

regarding the local cultural values, particularly those of a

philosophical and religious nature, in their relation to Christian

teaching and religion.

"The Catholic Church," said Our immortal predecessor

Pius XII, "neither scorns nor completely rejects pagan thought,

but rather, after having purified it of every dross of error,

completes and perfects it with Christian wisdom. It is thus

that it gave similar acceptance to the progress in the fields of

science and the arts...and to some extent consecrated the special

customs and ancient traditions of peoples; the pagan feasts

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themselves, transformed, served to celebrate the memory of the

martyrs and the divine mysteries.”^^

We Ourselves have already made Our thoughts known on

this matter: “Everywhere . . , where authentic values of art and

thought are apt to enrich the human family, the Church is ready

to favor these products of the spirit. As is known, the Church

does not identify herself with any culture, not even with the

Western culture to which her history is so closely linked. For

the mission of the Church is of another order, that of the

religious welfare of man. But the Church, so rich in youth, that

is, constantly renewed by the breath of the Spirit, is always

ready to recognize, to welcome, and indeed to encourage all that

does honor to the intelligence and to the human heart in other

parts of the world which are different from this Mediterranean

basin that was the providential cradle of Christianity.

PENETRATION AMONG THE CULTURED CLASSES

Native priests well prepared and trained in such a diffi-

cult and imp»rtant field, in which they are capable of giving

worthy contributions, can, under the direction of their bishops,

give life to movements of penetration also among the cultured

classes, especially in nations of ancient and high culture, ac-

cording to the example of famous missionaries, of whom it

suffices to cite Father Matteo Ricci.

It is also, in fact, the duty of the native clergy “to bring

every mind into captivity to the obedience of Christ”,^^ as was

stated by the incomparable missionary St. Paul, and thus “at-

tract to themselves in their country also the esteem of great

personalities and scholars. May the bishops, according to

their judgment, provide immediately for the needs of one or

more regions by establishing centers of culture in which the

foreign missionaries and native priests may be able to put

to advantage their intellectual preparation and their experience

for the benefit of the society in which they live by choice or birth.

In this field, it is also necessary to recall what was sug-

gested by Our immediate predecessor, Pius XII, that is, that it

is the duty of the faithful to develop the Catholic press in all its

forms^^ and also to interest themselves in “the modem
techniques for the diffusion of culture,” since “it is known in

our day how important a well-formed and enlightened public

opinion is. ”37 Not everything will be able to be done everywhere.

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but one must not allow any good occasion to escape in providing

for these real and urgent needs, even though sometimes “one

sows, another reaps. “38

CAUTIONS IN THE UNDERTAKINGS OF SOCIAL AND CHARI-
TABLE NATURE

The propagation of the truth and charity of Christ is the

true mission of the Church, whose duty it is to offer to peoples

“in the greatest measure possible, the substantial wealth of its

doctrine and its life as promoter of a new Christian social

order. The Church in mission territories, therefore, should

provide with the greatest possible generosity also undertakings

of a social and charitable nature which are of great benefit to

the Christian communities and to the people in whose midst

these are. But one should be careful however not to burden the

missionary apostolate with a combination of institutions of a

purely material nature. One should limit oneself to those in-

dispensable services of easy maintenance and of easy use, the

operation of which might be placed as soon as possible in the

hands of local personnel, and matters should be arranged in such

a way that the missionary personnel itself is allowed to dedicate

its best energies to the ministry of teaching, sanctification and

salvation.

FORMATION IN THE SPIRIT OF UNIVERSAL CHARITY

If it is true that for a most fruitful apostolate it is of

primary importance that the native priests know how to estimate

the local values with intelligence and caution, what our im-

mediate predecessor said to all the faithful remains all the more

valid: “The universal perspective of the Church must be the

normal perspective of their Christian life.""^^ For this purpose,

the local clergy must be informed not only of the interests and

events of the universal Church, but it must be educated also to

an intimate and universal spirit of charity. St. John Chrysostom

said of the Christian liturgical celebrations: “When we are at

the altar, we pray above all for the whole world and for the

collective interest;”"^^ and St. Augustine beautifully affirmed:

“If you want to love Christ, spread charity over the whole

earth, because the members of Christ are throughout the

entire world.^^

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Precisely with the desire of safeguarding in all its purity

this Catholic spirit that must animate the work of missionaries,

Our predecessor, Benedict XV, did not hesitate to denounce with

severe expressions a danger that could lead to a loss of sight

of the very high finality of the missionary apostolate, and a

resulting compromise of its effectiveness: "It would be a very

sad thing," he wrote in Maximum Illud, "if some missionary

showed himself so neglectful of his dignity as to think more of

his fatherland than of heaven, and excessively concerned himself

with spreading its power and extending its glory. This manner of

acting would constitute a fatal harm to the apostolate, and it

would extinguish every impetus of charity in the missionary for

souls and would diminish his prestige in the opinion of the

people.
"**3

This same danger could repeat itself today under other

forms, because of the fact that in many mission territories

the aspiration of the people to self-government and to independ-

ence is becoming general, and the conquest of civil liberty can

unfortunately be accompanied by excesses that are by no means

in harmony with the authentic and profound spiritual interests

of humanity.

We are fully trustful that the native clergy, moved by

sentiments and by superior intentions in conformity with the

universal demands of the Christian religion, will also contribute

to the real good of their own nation.

"The Church of God is Catholic and is not foreign to any

people or any nation", said Our same predecessor,44 and no

local church will be able to express its vital unity with the

universal Church if its clergy and its people allow themselves

to be influenced by an individualistic spirit, by sentiments of

ill will toward other peoples, by a misunderstood nationalism

that would destroy the reality of the universal charity that

edifies the Church of God and which alone is truly "Catholic".

III. THE LAITY IN THE MISSIONS

LAYMEN IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH

In insisting on the need of preparing the advent of the

native clergy with the greatest zeal and of forming it with en-

lightened dedication. Our venerable predecessor, Benedict XV,

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certainly did not intend to exclude the importance, also funda-

mental, of a native laity at the height of its own Christian voca-

tion and working in the apostolate. This was done specifically

and with every emphasis by Our immediate predecessor Pius

XII, "^5 who returned several times to this vital question which,

today more than ever before, calls for consideration and demands

a solution everywhere in the greatest possible measure.

The same Pius XII — and this is to his special merit and
praise — with abundant doctrine and renewed incitements warned
and encouraged laymen to take up promptly their active posts

in the field of the apostolate in collaboration with the ec-

clesiastical hierarchy. In fact, from the very beginning of

Christian history and in all subsequent epochs, this collaboration

of the faithful allowed the bishops and the clergy effectively to

develop their work among the people, both in the specifically

religious field and in the social field.

This can and must also take place in our time, which in-

deed reveals greater needs in proportion to a numerically

greater humanity with multiple and complex spiritual require-

ments. Furthermore, wherever the Church is founded, it must

always be present and active with its whole organic structure,

and therefore not only with the hierarchy in its various orders,

but also with the laity. It is through the clergy and laymen that

it must necessarily perform its work of salvation.

AIMS IN THE FORMATION OF THE LAITY IN MISSION TERRI-
TORIES

In those places where Christianity is newly established,

there is not only the question of procuring a great number of

citizens for the Kingdom of God with conversions and baptisms,

but also of making them suited, through an adequate education

and Christian formation, so that each one may assume his

responsibilities in the life and future of the Church according

to his own condition and possibilities. The number of Christians

would mean little if their quality was defective, if the faithful

lacked the soundness of the Christian perfection itself and if

their spiritual life was shallow; if they were not, after having

been bom to the faith and to grace, helped to progress in the
youth and maturity of spirit that give impetus and encourage-

ment to good. The profession of Christian Faith, in fact, cannot

be reduced to statistical data, but must invest the Christian

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and change him deeply, and must give meaning and value to

all his outward expressions.

SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE CLERGY

Laymen cannot reach this goal of maturity if the clergy,

whether foreign or native, does not immediately follow the

program already suggested in its essential outlines by the first

pope: “You, however, are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a

holy nation, a purchased people; that you may proclaim the

perfections of Him who has called you out of darkness into his

marvelous light’ ’.*^7

A Christian instruction and education that is satisfied with

the teaching and learning of catechetical formulas and the pre-

cepts of Christian morals by a summary casuistry, without the

inclusion of practical conduct, would run the risk of procuring

the Church of God a flock that might be merely passive. The

flock of Christ is, instead, formed by lambs that not only listen

to their Shepherd, but also are capable of recognizing Him and of

knowing His voice,**® of following faithfully and with full under-

standing to the pastures of eternal life**^ so as to one day de-

serve from the Prince of Shepherds “the unfading crown of

glory It is made up of lambs who, knowing and following the

Shepherd who gave His life for them,®*- are ready to dedicate

their life to Him and fulfill His will to lead the other lambs who

do not follow Him, but who stray far from Him—the Way, the

Truth and the Life— to form part of the one and only flock. 52

The apostolic impetus is essential to the profession of

Christian Faith: In fact, “it is the duty of each one to propagate

his Faith among others, whether in instructing or confirming

the other faithful, as well as warding off the attacks of the un-

faithful’’,®® esp>ecially in times such as ours, when the aposto-

late is an urgent undertaking because of the difficult circum-

stances in which humanity and the Church find themselves.

For a complete and intense Christian education to be pos-

sible, educators must be capable of finding the most suitable

ways and means of penetrating the different psychologies, so

that a deep assimilation of truth with all its demands may be

facilitated in the new Christians to the maximum degree. As a

matter of fact Our Savior imposed upon each one of us the

fulfillment of this supreme command: “Thou shalt love the Lord

thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with

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thy whole mind”.54 xhe sublimity of the Christian vocation

must at an early stage shine before the eyes of the faithful in

all its splendor, so that a desire and intention for the virtuous

and active life can burn effectively in their hearts, a life modeled

on the life of the Lord Jesus Himself, who having assumed

human form commanded us to follow His example.55

THE DUTY OF THE LAYMAN TO TESTIFY TO THE TRUTH

Every Christian must be convinced of his fundamental and

primary duty of being a witness to the truth in which he believes

and to the grace which has transformed him. A great Father of

the Church said: “Christ left us on earth that we might become

the lighthouses that illuminate, the masters that teach; that we

might fulfill our duty as a ferment; that we might behave as

angels, as heralds among men; that we might be adults among

minors, spiritual men among the carnal, so as to win them

over; that we might be the seed bearing much fruit. It would not

even be necessary to expound the doctrine, were our lives to

shine to such an extent; it would not be necessary to resort

to words, were our lives such a testimony. There would be no

more pagans, were we to behave as real Christians”.^5

This, as one readily understands, is the duty of all

Christians in the whole world, but it is easy to see that in the

mission lands it could yield special and particularly precious

fruits for the spreading of the Kingdom of God among those who

do not know the beauty of our Faith and the supernatural power

of grace, as Jesus exhorted us: “Even so let your light shine

before men, in order that they may see your good works and

give glory to your Father in heaven”.57 Similarly St. Peter

lovingly admonished the faithful: “Beloved, I exhort you as

strangers and pilgrims to abstain from carnal desires which

war against the soul. Behave yourselves honorably among the

pagans; that, whereas they slander you as evildoers, they may,

through observing you, by reason of your good works glorify

God in the day of visitation

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TESTIMONY OF CHARITY

It is necessary that the testimony of the individual be

confirmed and amplified by that of the entire Christian com-

munity, similar to that which happened in the springtime of the

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Church’s life when the compact and steadfast unity of all the

faithful "in the teaching of the apostles and in the communion

of the breaking of the bread and in the prayers’’^^ and the

practice of the most generous charity was motive for profound

satisfaction and mutual edification. They were in fact "praising

Cod and being in favor with all the people. And day by day the

Lord added to their company such as were to be saved’

Unity in prayer and in the active participation in the

celebration of the divine mysteries in the Church’s liturgy

contributes in an especially effective way to the wealth of Chris-

tian life of both the individual and the community, it is further-

more a marvelous means of education in that charity which is

the distinctive sign of the Christian; a charity that is alien to

every social, linguistic and racial discrimination, that stretches

its arms and its heart out to all, whether enemies or brothers.

It pleases Us to make the words of Our predecessor St.

clement, Roman, on this subject Our own: "When (the Gentiles)

hear from us that God says: There is no merit for you if you

love those who love you, but there is merit if your love your

enemies and those who hate you,^^ on hearing these words they

admire the very high degree of charity. But when they see that

we do not love not only those who hate us but not even those

who love us, they laugh at us and the name (of God) is cursed’ ’.62

The greatest missionary, St. Paul, writing to the Romans at the

time when he was about to evangelize the Far West, exhorted

them to "love without pretense’’,63 after having raised a sub-

lime hymn to that virtue without which the Christian is noth-

ing.64

THE DUTY TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE MATERIAL NEEDS OF
THE COMMUNITY

Charity becomes visible besides in material help, as was

affirmed by Our immortal predecessor Pius Xll: "The body also

requires a multitude of members, linked among themselves to

help one another. If in our mortal organisms when a limb suffers

all the other limbs suffer together with it, the healthy limbs

furnishing their own help to the sick ones, so in the Church each

member does not live for himself alone but also helps the others

for their mutual comfort, and also for a better development of

the entire Mystical Body ’’.65

The material need of the faithful also includes that of the

ecclesiastical organism. It is therefore well that the native

- 15 -



faithful should become accustomed to supporting spontaneously

within the limits of their possibilities their churches, their

institutions and the clergy who have given themselves entirely

to them. It does not matter if this contribution cannot be con-

siderable; the important thing is that it is the concrete testimony

of a living Christian conscience.

IV. DIRECTIVES FOR THE LAY APOSTOLATE IN THE

MISSIONS

PREPARATION FOR THE APOSTOLATE

The Christian faithful, members of a living organism, can-

not remain shut up within themselves, nor can they believe that

it is enough to give thought and provision to their own spiritual

needs, thereby carrying out all their duties. Each one, instead,

must for his own part contribute to the increase and spread of

the reign of God upon earth. Our predecessor Pius XII recalled

this universal duty to all: “Catholicity is an essential mark of

the true Church to such an extent that a Christian is not truly

affectionate and devoted to the Church unless he is equally

attracted by and devoted to its universality, desiring that it

put out roots and flourish in all places of the earth’ ’.66

All must enter into a contest of holy emulation and give

assiduous testimony of zeal for the spiritual welfare of his

neighbor, for the defense of his own faith, to make it known to

him who is completely ignorant of it, or to him who knows it

imperfectly and therefore judges it imperfectly. It is necessary

from infancy and throughout adolescence, even among the

youngest Christian communities, that the clergy, the families

and the various local organizations of the apostolate should

inculcate this holy duty.

There are then several particularly happy occasions in

which such education for the apostolate may find the most apt

place and the most convincing expression. Such for example is

the preparation of young people and of newly baptized persons

for the Sacrament of Confirmation, by which “there is infused a

new force in believers of the defending of Holy Mother Church

and the Faith which they have received from Her’’.^^ This

preparation is highly opportune, especially where there exist by

local custom special ceremonies of initiation preparing youth for

official entry into their social group.

- 16 -



THE CATECHISTS

We cannot fail to mention here the true emphasis of the

work of catechists, who in the long history of the Catholic mis-

sions have demonstrated themselves to be an irreplaceable help.

They have always been the right arm of the workers of the

Lord, and they have shared and alleviated the labors to such a

degree that Our predecessors considered their recruitment and

their most careful formation as being among “the most im-

portant points for the spread of the Gospel’’,^8 and defined them

as “perhaps the most classic example of the lay apostolate".^^

To these We repeat the highest praise, and We exhort them

to meditate always more on the spiritual happiness of their

station and never to cease every effort for the enrichment and

deepening, under the guidance of the hierarchy, of their in-

struction and moral formation. Catechumens must learn from

them not only the rudiments of the Faith but also the practice

of virtue, the great and sincere love of Christ and His Church.

Every concern dedicated to increasing the number of these

most worthy helpers of the hierarchy and to giving them adequate

formation, and every sacrifice of the catechists for accomplishing

their task in a manner most suited and perfect, will be a con-

tribution of immediate usefulness for the foundation and for

the progress of new Christian communities.

CATHOLIC ACTION

In our first encyclical We recalled the multiple grave

reasons that make necessary today in all nations of the world

the recruiting of laymen “in the peaceful army of Catholic

Action, with the intention of having them as collaborators in the

apostolate of the ecclesiastical hierarchy “.70 vVe have also

shown Our satisfaction with “what has been done in the past,

even in mission territories, by these valuable collaborators of

the bishops and priests”, 71 and We wish here to renew with all

the urgency of the love that urges Us72 the admonition and appeal

of Our predecessor Pius Xll “on the necessity that all the laity

in the missions, filling the ranks of Catholic Action with abundant

numbers, collaborate actively with the ecclesiastical hierarchy

in* the apostolate “.73

The bishops of the mission countries, the diocesan and

regular clergy, the most generous and well-prepared faithful,

- 17 -



all have made a most praiseworthy effort in translating into act

this desire of the Supreme Pontiff, and one may say that every-

where today there is a blossoming of works and projects. One

cannot insist enough, however, on the need of adapting con-

veniently this form of the apostolate to local conditions and

needs. It is not enough to transfer to one country that which was

done elsewhere, but, under the guidance of the hierarchy and in

the spirit of most happy obedience to the holy pastors, it is

necessary to act in such a way that the organizations are not

overburdened to a point where precious energy is robbed or

dissipated in fragmentary movements and excessive specializa-

tion which, necessary elsewhere, would be less useful in areas

where circumstances and needs are completely different.

In Our first encyclical We also promised to return with

greater fullness to the subject of Catholic Action; when We do,

the mission countries also will be able to derive profit and new

impetus from it. In the meantime, all should work in full concord

and with a supernatural spirit in the conviction that only thus

will they be able to take pride in themselves, placing their

efforts at the service of the cause of God, of spiritual elevation

and of the better progress of their people.

FORMATION OF LAY LEADERS

Catholic Action is an organization of laymen “with proper

and responsible executive functions”.74 Laymen then compose the

directive cadre. This requires the formation of men capable of

impressing on the various associations the apostolic drive and of

assuring its better functioning. Such would be men and women

who, to be worthy of being entrusted by the hierarchy with the

central or peripheral direction of the association, must furnish

the most ample guarantee of a most sound Christian intellectual

and moral formation, by virtue of which they are able “to

implant in others that which they already have themselves with

the help of divine grace”.75 One can well say that the natural

center of this formation of lay leaders of Catholic Action should

be the school. And the Christian school will justify its reason

for being in the measure that its teachers—priests and laymen,

religious or diocesan— succeed in forming solid Christians.

Everyone knows the importance that the school has always

had and will continue to have in Christian countries, and how

much energy the Church has spent in instituting schools of

- 18 -



every level and grade, and in defense of their existence and

prosperity. But a program of forming leaders of Catholic Action,

as is obvious, can be incorporated only with difficulty in

scholastic courses; so it will most often be necessary to en-

trust it to a program outside the school that brings together the

most promising youth to instruct and form them for the aposto-

late.

Ordinaries therefore will seek to study the best means to

give life to a school of the apostolate, the educational methods of

which are obviously different from true and proper scholastic

methods. Sometimes it will be a matter of preserving from false

doctrine the children and youth who must go to non-Catholic

schools. In every case it will be necessary to balance with a

particularly intelligent and intense spiritual education, the

humanistic and technical education received in public schools,

so that this instruction does not produce badly formed individuals,

full of pretenses and harmful rather than useful to the Church

and px?ople.

Their spiritual formation must be in relation to the level of

intellectual development, tending to prepare them to live in a

Catholic way in their social and professional circles, and to

assume in time their place in organized Catholic life. For such

a purpose, in a case in which young Christians are forced to

leave their community in order to go to public schools of another

city, it will be opportune to consider the establishment of

residence halls and meeting places that would assure them a sane

religious and moral environment, congenial and apt in directing

their capacities and energies toward apostolic ideals.

In attributing to schools this special and particularly ef-

ficacious task of forming leaders of Catholic Action, We

certainly do not wish to lessen the responsibility of families or

deny their influence, which can be even more vigorous and more

effective than that of the school, in nourishing within their

children the apostolic fire and providing a Christian formation

always more mature and ready for action. The family in fact

is an ideal and irreplaceable school.

THE FUNCTION OF THE NATIVE LAITY IN VARIOUS FIELDS

The "good fight"76 for the Faith is fought not only within

the secret of the conscience or in the intimacy of the home, but

also in public life in all its forms. In all countries of the world

- 19 -



today there are problems of various natures whose solutions

are reached most often by an appeal only to human resources,

and obedience to principles that are not always in accord with

the demands of Christian Faith. Many mission territories are

undergoing “a phase of social, economic and political evolution

big with consequences for their future”.

Problems which in some nations either are already re-

solved or find the elements of solution in traditions, confront

other nations with an urgency that is not free of dangers, be-

cause of the chance that hurried and changing solutions might

be applied with a deplorable levity of doctrine that does not take

into account, or simply contradicts, the religious interests of

individuals and of peoples. Catholics for their own private good

and the public welfare of the Church cannot ignore such prob-

lems. Nor can they wait until prejudiced solutions occur that

would constitute perhaps a force too great to overcome, and

that would present further obstacles to the evangelization of the

world.

It is in the field of public activity that the laity of mission

countries has its most direct and preponderant activity, and it

is necessary to provide—with the greatest timeliness and

urgency—for Christian communities to offer to their earthly

countries, for their common good, men who may honor the

various professions and activities at the same time they honor

with their solid Christian life the Church that has regenerated

them through grace, so that the holy pastors may repeat to them

the praise we read in the writings of St. Basil: ”1 have thanked

the most Holy God, because even though occupied with public

affairs you have not neglected those of the Church; on the con-

trary, every one of you has been concerned for it as if it were

a personal matter on which one’s life depended”.^®

In particular, in the field of the problems of the organiza-

tion of the school—or of organized social assistance, of work,

of political life—the presence of native Catholic experts will

have the most happy and beneficial influence, if they base their

intentions and actions—as is their exact duty, which they may

not leave aside without being accused of betrayal—on Christian

principles, which a lengthy history shows to be efficient and

decisive in achieving the common good.

To this end, as Our predecessor Pius XII, of venerable

memory, has already urged, it will not be difficult to convince

oneself of the value and importance of the fraternal help that

- 20 -



international Catholic organizations will be able to give to the

lay apostolate in mission countries, either on the scientific

level with the study of Christian solutions, especially in the

social problems of the new nations, or, above all, on the apostolic

level for the organization of an active Christian laity.

We are already aware that this has been done and that it is

being done in part by lay missionaries who have chosen, either

temporarily or permanently, to abandon their country to con-

tribute through many activities to the social and religious wel-

fare of the mission countries; and We ardently pray to the Lord

that He multiply the ranks of these generous persons, and that

He support them in the difficulties and labors which they meet

with apostolic spirit. The secular institutes will be able to give

incomparably fruitful help to the needs of the native laity in the

mission areas, if with their example they inspire followers,

and if they place their strength at the disposition of the ordinaries

in hastening the maturity of the young communities.

Our app>eal goes also to all those lay Catholics wherever

they are emerging in the professions and in public life, that they

may seriously consider the possibility of helping their newly

acquired brothers, even without leaving their country. Their

advice, their experience, their technical assistance will be able,

without excessive labor and without serious discomfort, to make

at times a decisive contribution. Good men will not lack the

spirit of initiative in putting into practice this Our paternal

desire, making it known where it will be heard, encouraging

good dispositions and finding the best solutions for them.

NATIVE STUDENTS IN WESTERN COUNTRIES

Our immediate predecessor urged bishops to provide, in a

spirit of fraternal and disinterested collaboration, for the

spiritual assistance of young Catholics coming into their dioceses

from mission countries, to enable them to follow studies and to

acquire the experience which they will put into practice when they

assume directive functions in their own countries.79 They are

exposed to intellectual and moral dangers in a society that is

not their own and that often, unfortunately, is not such as to

support their faith and encourage their virtue. If each one of you,

venerable brothers, takes these things into account, and if you

are moved by the awareness of the missionary duty which is

incumbent on all holy pastors, you will provide for them with

solicitous charity and in the most apt ways.

- 21 -



It will not be difficult for you to find these students, en-

trusting them to priests and laymen particularly devoted to this

ministry, assisting them spiritually, making them know and ex-

perience the fragrance and resources of the Christian charity

that makes us all brothers and solicitous for one another. To

such bountiful and tangible help that you give to the missions

there is added that which makes immediately present to you a

world which is geographically far away, but which is spiritually

also your own.

To these students, then. We wish to send not only all Our

love, but also to address an urgent, affectionate warning to carry

everywhere and hold high their brows marked by the blood of

Christ and by the unction of holy chrism, to profit from their

sojourn abroad not only for their professional formation but also

for the development and perfection of their religious formation.

They will find themselves exposed to many dangers, but they

will also be in the good position of drawing many spiritual

advantages from their stay in Catholic nations; while every

Christian, whoever he may be and in whatever part of the world

he was born, has always the duty of good example and of recipro-

cating spiritual edification.

CONCLUSION

After having spoken, venerable brothers, of the real needs

most characteristic of the Church in mission lands. We must

express Our deeply felt gratitude toward all those who dedicate

themselves to the cause of the propagation of the Faith in the

most distant confines of the world. To the dear missionaries

of the regular and secular clergy, to the women Religious so

exemplarily generous and so valuable to the needs of the mis-

sions, to the lay missionaries who readily run to the frontiers

of the Faith, We assure them all of Our most particular and

daily prayers and of every other help that is within Our power to

give. The success of their work, visible also in the spiritual

fertility of the young Christian communities, is the sign of the

approval and blessing of God, and at the same time attests to the

zeal and wisdom with which the Sacred Congregation for the

Propagation of the Faith and the Sacred Congregation for the

Oriental Church carry out the delicate tasks entrusted to them.

To all the bishops, clergy and faithful of the dioceses of

the whole world who contribute with prayers and offerings to the

- 22 -



spiritual and material needs of the missions We address an

exhortation to intensify still more this necessary collaboration.

Notwithstanding the scarcity of clergy which worries the

Shepherds of even the most ancient dioceses, one does not have

the least hesitation in encouraging missionary vocations and the

sacrifice of excellent laymen that they may be placed at the

disposition of the new dioceses. The supernatural fruits of this

sacrifice will soon be gathered.

The zeal of the faithful of the world who are constantly

vying in demonstrations of tangible charity to the societies

dependent upon the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of

the Faith carries help from every part of the world to the most

useful and urgent destinations, and increases constantly as the

needs grow. The solicitous and concrete charity of brothers will

encourage the faithful of young communities and will make them

feel the warmth of a supernatural affection which grace nourishes

in the heart.

Many dioceses and Christian communities of the mission

lands undergo suffering and even bloody persecution. To the holy

Shepherds who give their spiritual sons the example of a Faith

that does not yield even at the price of sacrificing life; to the

faithful thus so sorely tried but so dear to the heart of Jesus

Christ Who has promised happiness and copious mercy to those

who suffer persecution for Justice’s sake. We address Our

exhortation to persevere in their holy fight; for the Lord, always

merciful in His inscrutable designs, will not leave them without

the help of the most precious graces and of intimate consolation.

With the persecuted there is, in the communion of prayer and

sufferings, the whole Church of God, sure of the expectation of

victory.

Invoking wholeheartedly on the Catholic missions the able

assistance of their patrons and their martyr saints, and in a

most special manner invoking the intercession of the most Holy

Mary, Loving Mother of us all and Queen of the missions, to

each of you, venerable brothers, and to all those who in any way

collaborate in the spread of the reign of God, We impart with

greatest affection the apostolic benediction, that it may be con-

ciliating and a token of the graces of the Heavenly Father

revealed in His Son, Savior of the World, and that it may inflame

and multiply missionary zeal.

Given at Rome, at St. Peter’s, the 28th day of November, in

the second year of Our Pontificate.

- 23 -



NOTES

1. I Peter

^

5:4

2. Cf. John, 21:15-17.

3. Cf. Coronation Homily,

Acta Apostolicae Sedis,

vol. L, 1958, p. 103 sq.

4. Cf. La propagazione della

fede, Writings of A. G.

Roncalli, Rome, 1958, p.

103 sq.

5. Cf. AAS, vol. XI, 1919, p.

440 sq.

6. Cf. Ency. Let. of Pius XI

Rerum Ecclesiae, AAS,

vol. XVIII, 1926, p. 65 sq.;

Ency. Let. of Pius XII

Evangelii praecones, AAS,

vol. XLIII, 1951, p. 497 sq.;

Fidei Donum, AAS, vol.

XLIX, 1957, p. 225 sq.

7. Ency. Let. Ad Petri Cathe-

dram, AAS, vol. LI, 1959,

p. 497 sq.

8. Cf. John, 10:16.

9. Cf. Matt, 13:19.

10. Cf. Acts 16:9.

11. Ibid, 2:5.

12. Matt. 28:20.

13. Ency, Evangeliipraecones,

AAS, XLIII, 1951, p. 507.

14. Cf. Matt, 9:38.

15. Cf. Christmas radio ad-

dress of Pius XII, AAS,

XXXVIII, 1946, p. 20.

16. Luke 10:2.

17. Ibid.

18. Letter of Pius XII to Card.

A. Piazza, 'AAS, XLVII,

1953, p. 542.

19. 20:28.

20. Ibid. 4:32.

21. Cf John, 13:34.

22. AAS, XI, 1919, p. 445.

23. Menti Nostrae of Pius XII,

A4S, XLII, 1950, p. 686.

24. Cf. Matt. 5:13-14.

25. Menti Nostrae, AAS, XLII,

1950, p. 686.

26. Ibid.

21, Ibid.

28. Maximum Illud, AAS, XI,

1919, p. 445.

29. Menti Nostrae, AAS, XLII,

1950, p. 686.

30. Maximum Illud, p. 448.

31. Evangelii praecones, AAS,

XLII, 1950, p. 500.

32. Ibid. p. 522.

33. Discourse to Second World

Congress ofNegro Writers

and Artists, Osservatore

Romano, April 3, 1959.

34. Cf. II Cor. 10:5.

35. Rerum Ecclesiae, AAS,

XVIII, 1926, p. 77.

36. Fidei Donum, AA.S, XLIX,

1957, p. 233.

37. Ibid.

38. John, 4:37.

39. Fidei donum, AAS, XLIX,

p. 233.

40. Ibid, p. 238.

41. Horn. II on II Cor., Migne,

PG, LXI, 398.

42. In Ep. loan, ad Parthos,

Tr. X, c. 5, Migne, PL,

XXXV, 2060.

43. Maximum Illud, p. 446.

44. Ibid. p. 238.

45. Evangelii praecones, p.

510 sq.

-24



46. Cf. Eph. 4:24.

47. I Peter 2:9.

48. Cf. John 10:4-14.

49. CUIbid.

50. 1 Peter 5:4.

51. Cf. John, 10:11.

52. Ibid. 14:6.

53. St. Thomas, Summa Theol.

IMI, q. 3, a. 2 ad 2.

54. Matt. 22:37.

55. Cf. I Peter 2:21; Mctt.

11:29; John, 13:15.

56. St. John Chrysostom, Horn.

X on I Tim., Migne, PG,

LXII, 551.

57. Matt. 5:16.

58. I 2:11-12.

59. Acts 2:42.

60. Acts 2:47.

61. Cf. Luke 6:32-35.

62. F.X. Funk, Patres Aposto-

lici, Vol. I, p. 201.

63. Romans 12:9.

64. / Cor. 13:2.

65. Mystici Corporis, AAS,

XXXV, 1943, p. 200.

66. Fidei Donum, AAS XLIX,

1957, p. 237.

67. Mystici Corporis, AAS,

XXXV, 1943, p. 201.

68. Rerum Ecclesiae, AAS,

XVlIl, 1926, p. 78.

69. Discourse of Pius XII to

participants in the World

Congress for the Lay

Apostolate, AAS, XLIX,

1957, p. 937.

70. Ad Petri Cathedram, AAS,

LI, 1959, p. 523.

71. Ibid. p. 523.

72. Cf. II Cor. 5:14.

73. Evangelii praecones, AAS,

XLIII, 1951, p. 513.

74. Letter of Pius XII on Cath-

olic Action, Oct. 11, 1946;

Discourses and Radio Mes-

sages of Pius XII, vol.

VII, p. 468.

75. Ad Petri Cathedram, AAS,

LI, 1959, p. 513.

76. Cf. II Tim. 4:7.

77. Fidei Donum, AAS, LI,

1959, p. 524.

78. Ep. 288, Migne, PG, 32,855.

79. Fidei Donum, AAS, XLIX,

1957, p. 229.

- 25 -



THE HOLY FATHER SPEAKS TO MISSIONARIES

Address to Missionaries given on October 11, 1959

at a mission departure ceremony in St. Peter*s

Basilica in which 500 priests, nuns and laymen re-

ceived mission crosses.

Beloved missionary children 1

The giving of the crucifix is a simple and impressive

ceremony. It is like the last, definite act of the consecration to

the missionary apostolate, and it is the reason for the deeply

felt emotion (which) floods Our mind and exalts the pious masses

of faithful.

We gladly celebrate the holy eucharistic mysteries with

you and for you. First of all because, gathered around the altar

of the Eternal Priest, there may be renewed among us the

redeeming sacrifice of Calvary, from which the missionary

activity of the Church draws incentive, meaning and effective-

ness. We also wanted this moving function (to be held) so that

all might see the esteem, the love, and the special affection

that We have for so many generous and ardent sons, effectively

represented here by your group which is about to leave.

The men and women missionaries of the whole world—far

from their families and their country, often deprived of material

support and even of spiritual comfort because of the solitude

in which they find themselves, because of the difficulties they

must overcome—remain enthusiastic and serene for years after

their day of departure, eager to serve the Church and the good

of civilization.

We are close to and familiar with all the missionaries,

and We salute them with vibrant words, with paternal eye and

heart.

After seventeen years of service in Our native diocese,

the missions were, in fact. Our field of work in Rome, in a

period of revival and fervor for the reorganization of missionary

works. With a heart full of profound joy We recall the years

passed at Propaganda Fide when, among other experiences. We

had occasion to know many missionaries personally, to ap-

preciate their solid formation, their ardent apostolic spirit,

the sacrifices known only to God.

And during the other missions, entrusted subsequently to

Us by Our predecessors, in Bulgaria, in Turkey, in Greece and

- 26 -



in France, We were able to follow this silent and impressive

work from close quarters; to admire the houses of formation

and the subsequent apostolic work.

We thank the Lord for this, which We cherish among the

most distinguished graces granted to Our humble life by His

kindness. All these memories are accentuated by the soft light

of intense tenderness on this solemn occasion today when a new

group of missionaries, the sign of the indefectibility of the

evangelic message, joins the other innumerable legions to

spread the religion of Christ throughout the world.

Ineffable joy and emotion fill Our heart, and We are happy

to extend to you, and to all missionaries, the expression of

Our approval of your response to your special vocation and the

encouragement to work well.

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, bap-

tizing them. . . . teaching them to observe all that 1 have

commanded you.”^

You carry the standard of peace in the advance lines of an

activity that knows no rest. The Church awaits the golden

harvest that will result through your priestly and sacramental

ministry, through evangelic teachings, through the efforts of

preserving in its integrity the sacred deposit of revelation,

communicated with constant new vigor.

Beloved children 1 The nations await you. With the gentle-

ness of the message of Christ you will carry with you the secret

of true peace and of serene progress. With patient and resolute

work, the missionaries of every age have contributed toward

the elevation of people, illuminating them with the light of the

Cross of Christ. It is true that in some countries this work has

been forgotten or underestimated, and in some places there

have even been various forms of hostility, either open or con-

cealed. But in Our heart We nourish the hope joyfully expressed

by Our predecessor, St. Leo the Great: “Persecutions do not

belittle the Church, but make it greater; and the field of the

Lord is covered constantly with more abundant crops, when the

seeds, falling one after another, are reborn in greater num-

bers’’.^

Therefore, take courage! The Holy Church received from

its founder the universal mandate to approach all peoples, so

1. Matt. 28, 19, 20.

2. Serm. 82; ML54, 426.

27 -



as to unite them in one single family, and no human force, no

difficulty, no obstacle can weaken the missionary drive that

will end only when Jesus “delivers the kingdom to God the

Father, when He does away with all sovereignty, authority and

power .... that God may be all in all’’.^

Beloved children 1 The image of the crucifix which We have

given to each of you as the se^ and viaticum of your mission

will remind you of the road to be followed to assure the full

fruitfulness of your work. The Christ nailed to the wood, an-

nihilated by painful torture, extends His hands as if to embrace

all men. He will teach at what cost one obtains the salvation of

the world. He is the model and example to follow: “He is

reached only by those who walk”—these are again words of St.

Leo—“along the road of His patience and of His humility. On

such a road the pains of toil, the cloud of sadness and the storm

of fear are not lacking. You will find the snares of the evil,

the persecutions of the infidel, the threats of the powerful, the

offenses of the proud, all the things that the Lord of virtues and

the King of ^ory--dominus virtutum ex Rexgloriae-^encoxmieied

in the image (human body) of our infirm state . . . precisely so

that, among the dangers of the present life, we may not wish to

escape them by fleeing but rather by overcoming them with

patience”.^

Do not place trust in other plans or in the help of human

inspiration. Beloved sons, always associate the twofold title

which the Lord Jesus has wished to confer on Our (the Pope’s)

personal weakness in the mysteries of His mercy; keep con-

nected the dual and more serious duty of Father and Shepherd

of the universal Church, with the title of the humble Servant of

the servants of God.

We shall always be with you. The Christian people will be

with you in the toils, in the struggles and in the consolations

that await you. We pray and will always pray to the Lord for you,

for the souls entrusted to you, for the dear relatives you leave

behind in your country, so that He may grant to all the almighty

help of His grace.

We now turn with moving prayers to Jesus, Eternal Priest

and Victim sacrificed—the salvation of the world.

3. I Cor. 15, 24-28.

4. Serm. 67, 6; ML 54, 371-2.

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Behold, O Lord, these Your sons, priests. Sisters and lay-

men, who leave everything to bear witness to Your word and to

Your heart.

Be for each one of them “the powerful protector, and

strong stay . , a cover from the sun at noon, a preservation

from stumbling, and a help from failing”.

5

Support them in the difficult moments; sustain their

strength; console their hearts; crown their work with spiritual

conquests. They do not seek human successes or perishable

gains but only Your triumph and the good of souls.

May Your crucified image, which will accompany them for

their whole life, speak to them of heroism, of abnegation, of

peace, of love; may it be for them a comfort and a guide, light

and strength, so that through them Your blessed name may be

spread increasingly throughout the world and they, surrounded

by an ever greater number of Your sons, may sing to You the

hymn of gratitude, glory and redemption.

5. Eccli. 34, 19-20.

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PRAYER FOR MISSION CATHOLICS

BY HIS HOLINESS, POPE JOHN XXIII

O Jesus, living Son of God, who became man to reveal the

mystery of the Heavenly Father’s love and, with the precious

sacrifice of Yourself, performed His will of mercy and of

salvation of all peoples, we adore You and praise You for having

enlightened and redeemed us.

O Jesus, who sent Your Apostles to reap harvests of souls

in the fields of the whole world and promised to draw all to

Your crucified Self, we thank You for having sent us those

people who have taught us Your truth and communicated Your

grace to us.

Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Your

mother and our heavenly mother. Queen of Angels and of Saints,

we pray to You that we may be worthy sons of Your Church,

faithful to Your teaching and to Your commandments, under the

guidance and protection of Your vicar on earth, the father of our

souls.

Grant that we may be docile to our bishops and priests,

for whom we invoke the graces of sanctification and of the

apostolate; that we may be, according to Your will, the salt and

light of our land and our people.

We beg of You the grace to grow in faith, in hope and in

charity, so that we may make everyone know the joy and peace

that the Holy Ghost has spread in our hearts, and prepare our-

selves for the happiness and glory without end in the paradise

that You have opened to all sons of God. Amen.

(The prayer carries a partial indulgence of three years

every time it is recited with contrite heart; a plenary indulgence,

subject to the usual conditions, once a month when redited

piously every day for a month.)

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