Joaquim Magalhães de Castro
What are the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS), what is their mission, and what is their field of action? These questions will be answered in detail in an online course for the Bolivarian countries, which begins on January 31. “The National Directorates of the Pontifical Mission Societies of the Bolivarian countries – Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia – have joined forces for the second consecutive year to offer a course on the activities of the Pontifical Mission Societies. This is a very important opportunity to raise awareness of the four Societies and, at the same time, show how Missionary Works are promoted and developed in our continent,” explains Father José Hipólito Purizaca Sernaque, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies of Peru. The course was designed as an educational opportunity to foster community and missionary involvement, uniting the Bolivarian countries in a single spirit, as also reflected in the theme of the next World Mission Sunday in 2026: “One in Christ, united in Mission”.
“We will explore what Missionary Childhood and Adolescence consists of; how young people are accompanied and supported; how the mission is lived within families, remembering that there are missionary families; and also how the sick and the elderly actively participate as missionaries in their own circumstances,” explains the National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Peru.
“Especially in our countries, voluntary missionary work, as well as permanent vocational ministry, are valued and encouraged.” The initiative is aimed at pastoral agents, young people, teachers and all those who wish to deepen their understanding of the identity, mission and evangelizing work of the Pontifical Mission Societies, in order to strengthen their service to the Church.
“All these efforts,” concluded Father Purizaca, “aim to present and understand the Church in its essentially missionary dimension in the light of the experience of the Pontifical Mission Societies, and to raise awareness of the importance of missionary territories for the Catholic Church.”
Last December, during the Feast of Saint Francis Xavier, Patron Saint of the Missions, at the initiative of the National Office of Catholic Education and Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) of Peru, new teaching and pastoral materials were presented with the aim of enriching Catholic religious education and fostering missionary vocations among students throughout the country. Representatives from various educational institutions were present at the presentation, including school principals, teachers, pastoral coordinators, and members of institutions that actively participated in the design and implementation of these materials. Father José Hipólito Purizaca, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies of Peru, explained the educational, pastoral, and evangelizing importance of these new materials and how they were developed to integrate the missionary dimension into religious education in schools and meet the educational needs of the community at all three levels of schooling. “These texts will not only allow students to understand what the Pontifical Mission Societies are, but also to experience the mission in their daily lives,” Father Hipólito emphasized, adding that they include suggestions for meaningful activities and well-structured educational proposals, all written in clear and understandable language. “Mission is at the heart of the Church, and schools are a privileged place to awaken, nurture, and guide the missionary vocation of children and young people,” explained Father Hipólito, who also noted that the texts were included in the National Library of Peru, a gesture that recognizes their educational and pastoral value and represents a response to the call of the Church and Pope Leo XIV, who lived as a missionary in Peru for many years before his election as Bishop of Rome. Also, at the end of the Jubilee Year 2025, the national directorates of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) of the Bolivarian countries organized and promoted the second edition of the online Missionary Rosary, which had massive participation from people of all ages. This initiative arose to strengthen communion and missionary spirituality among sister nations and was the result of the joint work of the national directors of the PMS of the participating countries, who promoted this and other initiatives to foster spiritual cooperation in the Bolivarian region.
The online Missionary Rosary initiative, shared in 2025 on the liturgical memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, patron saint of missions, was deeply marked by the jubilee theme of hope, offering a space for prayer directed particularly to missionaries throughout the world who generously proclaim the Gospel in diverse contexts and realities. The event was also broadcast live on Facebook through the official platforms of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) of each country, allowing hundreds of people to unite in a spirit of shared faith, transcending borders and distances and offering a living testimony of a Church that goes and lives in communion.
During the meeting, Brother Giancarlo Chirinos Barrera, national secretary of the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith of Peru, emphasized the value of this continental meeting, noting: “We are all called to be missionaries, and it is truly beautiful to do so accompanied by the Virgin Mary,” thus emphasizing Mary’s maternal role in the Church’s missionary journey.
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