"This is not a prescriptive text; our true intention is to inspire, to offer suggestions, and to stimulate local creativity. In this way, we believe that we can faithfully fulfill the role that the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP) and the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) carry out at the service of the universal ministry of the Pope, who, as Successor of Peter, has at heart the faith and mission of all the churches scattered throughout the world”.

— introductory Guide —

The Guide in pdf format is now available online in English, Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese; the paper version as of the forthcoming February 2019

The Guide for the Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019, "Baptized and Sent: The Church of Christ on Mission in the World", promoted by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP) and the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS), is a subsidiary text collecting contributions from and for Christians all over the world. The drafting of the Guide was made possible also thanks to the cooperation of the PMS National Directors based in various countries of all continents.

The purpose of the Guide is to support the single dioceses in meeting their needs as to missionary formation and activities, thus preparing the faithful throughout the world to live the Extraordinary Missionary Month wanted by Pope Francis on the occasion of the 100^th anniversary of the promulgation of Pope Benedict XV's Apostolic Letter, Maximum Illud (November 30th, 1919).

The Guide will inspire the creativity of the local Churches and of their parishioners in facing the challenges inherent to evangelization, starting from “missio ad gentes” and their own particular context, without any claim to be exhaustive or to provide a systematic theological or catechetical reflection on the mission. The sections of the Guide correspond to the spiritual dimensions outlined by the Holy Father in calling for the Extraordinary Missionary Month: the personal encounter with Jesus Christ living in the Church, the witness of saints and martyrs of the mission, the catechetical formation for the mission and missionary charity. The text is published in English, Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

The Guide can be downloaded, used, printed and distributed, but the Italian, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish versions cannot be published locally by other publishing houses. Those who wish to translate the Guide into other languages can publish a local language edition with a publishing house in their own country.