Romania: Preparations for the Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019

The Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019 has been at the center of the diocesan directors’ spring session of the Pontifical Mission Societies' work in Romania. During the meeting, the directors focused on the logistics related to the preparation of the event, discussing the current problems for missionary action and implementing practical solutions to solve them.

In particular, the diocesan directors' reflection focused on the motives that led Pope Francis to call for an initiative to revive the missionary spirit of the Church. They carefully examined Pope Francis' letter to Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; the letter that Cardinal Filoni subsequently addressed to bishops, religious institutions, congregations, seminaries and lay associations; and the Apostolic Letter "Maximum Illud" from Benedict XV on the mission of the Church in all continents, the 100th anniversary of which offered the Holy Father the "providential" opportunity to call for the Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019.

Ample space was then dedicated to the current meaning of "Missio ad Gentes" and to the four dimensions through which to rediscover missionary zeal: the personal encounter with Jesus Christ living in His Church through the Eucharist, the Word of God, personal and community prayer; witness; missionary formation; missionary charity.

The directors also discussed the importance of media for mission animation and formation, such as the website dedicated to the Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019 created by the Pontifical Missionary Union (www.october2019.va). 

As far as the local environment is concerned, the directors examined cooperation between the Churches and ecumenical relationships in a country which presents various religious denominations, making proposals for universal missionary activities to be carried out within the local churches.

During the session, promotional materials related to the Extraordinary Missionary Month and hard copies of the Guide, which the Pontifical Mission Societies sent to the Bishops of Romania through the Papal Nuncio’s Office in Bucharest, were distributed.