100th World Mission Sunday to be celebrated later this year on October 18
By Elizabeth Landry
Staff writer
Retired priest Father Peter Major, MHM, now resides in Skaneateles, where he was born and raised. Many decades of his life in between were spent in faraway places, however, as a Mill Hill Missionary. Fr. Major’s first mission was on the island of Borneo, where he lived among the people for 10 years.
There were “no roads, no cars, no doctors, no police,” in Borneo, he said. From there, he went to Sudan, where he lived and worked for over three decades. Father said when he was living in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, the archbishop told the missionary priests, “I don’t want you just living with all the Catholics. I want you to be like salt in the soup. I want you to be with all the Muslims and the communists and everybody.”
This message reflects the missionary call of Catholics united around the world — a call supported year-round by the Pontifical Mission Societies. Here in the Diocese of Syracuse, the director of the Pontifical Mission Societies is Deacon Daniel Stevens. As we approach the celebration of the centennial of World Mission Sunday, a special collection always taken on the next to last Sunday in October, which was first instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1926, Dc. Stevens emphasized how all Catholics are called to be missionaries.
Pope Leo XIV established the centennial theme of “One in Christ, united in mission,” which, Dc. Stevens said, is “echoing the Second Vatican Council … that wanted to strengthen the role of the laity and remind us that all of us are called to be missionaries. … We reflect the work of Christ in how we engage with the world.”
One way Catholics in our diocese can engage with the world and answer the call to be missionaries is by supporting the work of the Pontifical Mission Societies, which assists the ministries of missionary priests around the world. And their ministries are truly needed in today’s world, Dc. Stevens explained. Due to the defunding of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) about a year and a half ago, the Catholic Church is needed to fill the void where aid is no longer available. He also shared that much progress was made between 2000 and 2024, during which time the worldwide infant mortality rate was cut in half, but now that progress is in jeopardy. Dc. Stevens said both financial support and prayers go a long way.
“Any financial contribution is vital, but probably more important is prayer, just trying to align ourselves with God’s will, to understand what our purpose is and what He intends for us to do,” said Dc. Stevens. “Prayer requires discipline and consistency and diligence, but it works. It’s so powerful. It connects us with divine power.”
As we contemplate the upcoming 100th World Mission Sunday on October 18, which is still several months away, the words of Fr. Major remind us what Catholic missionary work is all about. He said there is so much competition in the world to be “number one” that leads to division, violence, and war, but what we should instead be seeking is to ensure all people’s basic needs are met.
“The greatest need in mission today, I think, is about what our Lord said: to seek first the kingdom of God, and everything else will be given to you,” Father said. “I think that we missionaries today are called to that mission, to work for God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. This idea is about working for justice and peace. And for me, it’s about love and service. … If we put Christ and God’s kingdom as number one, then we don’t have to fight anymore. We’re working together to work for God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.”
To learn more about the Pontifical Mission Societies, or to make a financial donation ahead of World Mission Sunday, contact Dc. Dan Stevens at 315-470-1466 or dstevens@syrdio.org. Dc. Stevens is also the artistic director for Syracuse Shakespeare in the Park, a role he enjoys and that helps keep him involved in the community, “like salt in the soup.” The group will be performing King Lear in June and The Taming of the Shrew in August, both at Thornden Park and free to attend. For more information, visit https://onthestage.tickets/syracuse-shakespeare-in-the-park.
