MISSIONARY MARTYRS DAY: Missio Foundation proposes four videos for the occasion
There are four videos that the Missio Foundation proposes for Missionary Martyrs Day. In the first docufilm, GO AND INVITE, Elisabetta Vitali, secretary of Missio Giovani, presents the theme of the 33rd edition of the Day, whose slogan is the expression that gives the video its title. In the minutes of the recording, it is recalled that the initiative takes inspiration from 24 March 1980, the day Saint Oscar Romero, archbishop of San Salvador, defender of the poor and oppressed, was killed.
The second video, entitled MARTIROLOGY 2024, recalls the 13 missionaries killed in the world last year. The data are from Fides Agency, which annually publishes the profiles of pastoral workers who gave their lives while proclaiming the Gospel in the various continents.
The third video, SOWERS OF HOPE, illustrates the solidarity project proposed by Missio for the Day of Missionary Martyrs 2025: Missio supports the young people of the diocese of Matanzas, 100 km from Havana (Cuba), where the Conventual Franciscan fathers work.
The Central American country is immersed in a deep economic crisis, with precarious situations for the lives of its inhabitants. In this precarious condition, young people are increasingly motivated to leave the country in search of a better future.
To be close to those who remain, who do not have the possibility to leave, Father José Agustin Zamora, coordinator of the local youth ministry, together with the Franciscans, wants to take the opportunity of the Jubilee year to organize real diocesan missions with young people with the aim of being close to the people and sharing the faith with other brothers and sisters in the midst of daily difficulties. This project is supported by Missio Giovani with donations collected during the Day in Memory of Missionary Martyrs.
Finally, the fourth video, entitled LIVING IN CUBA, collects the testimonies of some missionaries and recounts life today in Cuba among undeniable difficulties and hopes for the future.
