The Pontifical Society of Missionary Childhood (MCA) has just celebrated 175 years of service. It was on May 19, 1843, when Bishop Charles de Forbin Janson, Bishop of Nancy, founded the Missionary Childhood Association, entrusting it with the protection of the Child Jesus. Accepting Pauline Jaricot's advice, the founder of the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of Faith, Bishop Charles thought of two simple and small missionary deeds through which children around the world would be united and made holy: a short daily prayer and a small monthly sacrifice. In 1922, the Missionary Childhood Association, also known as the Association of the Holy Childhood, was proclaimed Pontifical by Pope Pius XI, together with the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of Faith and the Pontifical Society of St. Peter the Apostle, and thus was assumed directly under the responsibility of the Roman Pontiff. 

With the Association of the Holy Childhood, a new style of missionary work was born, whereby the grace of baptism, from which the missionary nature of every Christian flows, is given a central role, recognizing the children the right to receive it and the duty to give it. For the first time in the Church, children are subject to evangelization and are the protagonists of pastoral work, revealing their courage in their simplicity and humility. The Association fulfills the mission of saving children with children, the salvation of which Jesus Himself speaks about.

Children are, at the same time, the most promising component of society because they represent the present and the future, but they are also the most vulnerable and exposed to social phenomena because they less chances to defend themselves. The Association, therefore, seeks to promote children, not as passive receivers of help, but preparing them to be active members in the Church and in society. The MCA is now spread in more than 150 countries and, through the International Secretariats and the donations collected from all over the world, supports thousands of solidarity projects that help children in five continents. These projects provide them with the necessary tools to live their lives in a dignified way, both physically and spiritually. The areas of commitment are: Christian and missionary activity and formation, pastoral care for children, pre-school, primary and secondary education, and shelter.

MCA currently helps about 20 million children. In 2017, 2,834 projects were funded for a total of $17,431,260 through the Universal Solidarity Fund made up of donations from children all over the world. Among the initiatives, we highlight the funding of a school in Lebanon, open to students of different religions (Muslims, Druze). In recent years, self-funding projects have increased for orphanages, schools and parishes, which request subsidies for raising chickens, goats and pigs or for small vegetable gardens and orchards. Livestock and agriculture are used to feed children, but also to educate them in caring of each other and their creatures. In Malawi, a diocese started a project involving 50,000 children belonging to the Missionary Childhood Association for the reforestation of land.

Although MCA is aimed mainly for children and adolescents, the message it sends is directed to all those who want to collaborate. Indeed, for the missionary formation of children, the role of the family, educators and leaders is very important. Through their testimony, preparation and dedication, they form the little missionaries to the values of love, solidarity and sharing.