Bishop’s Message
Dear Rev. Fathers, Sisters and Brothers,
Greetings!
We have a rich tradition of celebrating Mission Sunday every year meaningfully in our parishes. Through various programmes and activities, we create great awareness of the Church’s missionary work and encourage our parishioners to support the Church’s evangelizing work materially. Let us celebrate this year’s Mission Sunday in our parishes with the same spirit and enthusiasm.
World Mission Sunday 2026 falls on 18 October and the theme chosen by Pope Leo XIV is “One in Christ, United in Mission.” This theme carries a deep significance as this year marks the centenary of the establishment of the World Mission Sunday by Pope Pius XI in 1926. The Holy Father’s message has three closely connected dimensions: One in Christ, United in Mission and Mission to love.
In the first part, the Holy Father explains that the mystery of being ‘one in Christ’ is the ultimate source and foundation of all missionary activity in the Church. To be a disciple means to enter into a deep and living relationship with Jesus like branches connected to the vine (cf. Jn 15:4). This union with Christ gives rise to mutual communion and fraternal unity among believers. At the same time, the Pope points out that we often encounter conflicts, polarization, misunderstanding and a lack of mutual trust which undermine our Christian witness. For effective evangelizing mission, therefore, we need hearts that are reconciled and eager for communion. The more united we are in Christ, the more effectively we can carry out together the mission entrusted to us.
The second part of Pope’s message emphasises that being ‘united in mission’ means sharing a common spiritual purpose: to show God’s love so that the whole world may believe (cf. Jn 17:21). No baptized person is excluded from this call; every Christian has an active duty to share the Gospel according to his or her unique gifts. This unity is expressed through global cooperation, as local churches share their spiritual and material gifts to help one another grow.
The third part highlights that a ‘mission to love’ represents the very heart and essence of the entire message. The Gospel is not an abstract set of rules, but the true story of God’s faithful love made real in Jesus Christ. Following the brave examples of past martyrs and missionaries, all Catholics are called to step out of their comfort zones and support the Pontifical Mission Societies through continuous prayer and generous material assistance so that even the smallest gift may become a life-changing act of love for those in deep need.
The Holy Father also expresses his gratitude to those who, “like St. Francis Xavier, have left their homeland, their families and security in order to proclaim the Gospel and bring Christ and his love to places that are often challenging, poor, conflict-ridden or culturally distant.” At the end of his message, the Pope appeals to our generosity to contribute to the great mission of evangelization which is always a work of love. Our prayers and practical support, he says, will be a great help in bringing the Gospel of God’s love to everyone, especially the poorest and those most in need. He also expresses his heartfelt gratitude for all that we will do to help him help missionaries throughout the world.
At this juncture, I wish to remind you about our accountability and responsibility regarding the special collections prescribed by the Universal Church and Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI). While thanking all our parishes for their generous contribution towards the purpose for which these special collections are made, I am concerned to note that a few parishes fail to remit the amount collected, while some do not remit the full amount collected from the faithful to the Bishop’s House. We are all aware that each special collection serves a particular and noble purpose in the Universal and national Church. Some collections are forwarded to Rome through the Apostolic Nunciature, while others are remitted to the CBCI for its various pastoral commissions. Therefore, I earnestly request all of you to give due attention to these special collections and ensure that the entire amount collected is remitted to the office of the Financial Administrator, without retaining any portion at the parish level unless a parish share is explicitly specified.
Our annual retreat is at hand and I am sure that we are all eagerly looking forward to these days of spiritual renewal, prayer and fraternity. As I have already shared with you, this year’s retreat will be somewhat different from the way we had in previous years. The retreat will be conducted in three batches: two in October and one in November. Apart from a few common spiritual exercises, much of the retreat will take place in small groups, providing us with greater space for prayer, reflection, listening and sharing. Another significant feature of this year’s retreat is that we will not have an outside preacher as in previous years. Instead, our own diocesan priests will accompany and animate us through the theme of ‘Conversation in the Spirit.’ This is in keeping with our journey towards becoming a more synodal Church which listens, discerns and walks together.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the team of priests who have been preparing for this retreat with great commitment under the coordination of the Vicar General. They have spent a considerable amount of time, energy and thought in preparing the various sessions and exercises.
Let us place our retreat under the maternal care of Mary, Mother of Priests that this retreat may truly become a time of grace, renewal and inner transformation! Let us keep one another in our prayers that these days of retreat may be truly fruitful and renewing for each of us.