Missio thanks Pope Benedict

In 2005, Vatican sources explained that, at 78, the newly-elected Pope Benedict XVI would be unlikely to undertake as many international pastoral visits as his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, who became Pope at the age of 65.

By September 2012 and his visit to Lebanon, the Holy Father had surprised the world. Within just over seven years, he had made 30 apostolic trips within Italy and 24 outside Italy. Pope Benedict’s travels outside Europe included Brazil, Angola, Cameroon, Benin, Mexico, Cuba and several Middle Eastern countries. In each, he showed a genuine and compassionate concern for the real needs of real people.

The Pope’s brief pontificate has witnessed Missio, his official organisation for the Church’s global mission, raise and distribute more than $1.6 billion towards the support of hospitals, schools, people and parishes in 1,069 dioceses across Africa, Asia, the Pacific and South America.

Although not an emergency aid organisation, Missio offices worldwide mobilised their resources to help the victims of the Asian tsunami in 2004 and those caught up in the devastating consequences of the Haiti earthquake in October 2011. In fact when the earthquake struck Port au Prince, the National Director of Missio-Haiti was himself trapped when the cathedral collapsed around him. With the help of the Nuncio, who is the Holy Father’s representative in Haiti, Missio in England and Wales was able to offer practical support during and beyond the country’s tragedy and chaos. We are still annually contributing to a fund for rebuilding the Seminary.

In his Message for World Mission Sunday in 2006, Pope Benedict described the ‘secret’ and meaning of missionary action, saying, “Being missionaries means loving God with all one's heart, even to the point, if necessary, of dying for him... Being missionaries means stooping down to the needs of all, like the Good Samaritan, especially to those of the poorest and most destitute people...”

Four years later, for World Mission Sunday 2010, the Holy Father added that “The people of our time, even perhaps unbeknown to them, ask believers not only to ‘speak’ of Jesus, but to ‘make Jesus seen’, to make the face of the Redeemer shine out in every corner of the earth...”

His eagerness to encourage the whole world to a deep and personal relationship with Jesus has been a hallmark of Benedict’s papacy. Time and again he has stressed that the mission of the Church is accomplished through dialogue with people’s culture and faith.

The Pope’s visit to the United Kingdom in September 2010 had a special significance for Missio. During the Mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, children presented him with a list of the Scottish schools which had enrolled in Scotland’s Mission Together (Holy Childhood) initiative, Pray a little. Give a little. South of the Border, Missio was involved with the publicity for the papal visit. Staff and volunteers also helped to look after the 80,000 people who poured into Hyde Park for the prayer vigil the evening before the beatification of Blessed John Henry Newman in
Birmingham.

Mgr Canon James Cronin, National Director for Missio in England and Wales, spoke on behalf of the many thousands of the charity’s supporters when he said how sorry we all were to hear of the Holy Father’s resignation. “Pope Benedict has been a humble and courageous leader who has continually challenged the Church to develop a personal commitment to Jesus and to carry the Gospel message of love to all peoples. We are immensely grateful for his encouragement. He told us, the National Directors, at our previous meeting with him, that “the work of evangelisation is both fascinating and demanding”. His seven years as Pope has been testimony to these words.

“Knowing his respect and admiration for Blessed John Henry Newman, it was no surprise that the Holy Father used Newman’s missionary prayer in his Message for World Mission Sunday 2012. Newman prayed, ‘O Lord, accompany your missionaries in the lands to be evangelised, put the right words on their lips and make their labours fruitful.’”

“Today, our thoughts and prayers are with the Holy Father and missionaries everywhere.”