Universal mission at the center of the training seminar for the French-speaking diocesan directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies

Burkina Faso, Canada, Chad, Ivory Coast, France, Luxembourg, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo were the countries of origin of the 30 or so participants in the training seminar for French-speaking diocesan directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS), held in Rome from 9 to 14 September, coordinated by Father Dinh Anh Nhue Nguyen OFMConv, Secretary General of the Pontifical Missionary Union with the collaboration of His Exc. Msgr Georges Colomb, National Director of the PMS in France.

The seminar opened with the celebration of the Eucharist, presided over by His Exc. Msgr. Fortunatus Nwachukwu, secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization (section for First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches), who focused on three biblical texts, urging us not to make the mistake of the Pharisees and scribes who, in the story of the miracle of the healing of the paralyzed hand, stopped at the miracle of the hand but did not look at the greater miracle that Jesus performed by ‘lifting up’ man first and putting him at the centre: “We often take our lives for granted. We take for granted that we get up every morning, that we can stand. We too are invited to first help lift the person, then heal the paralyzed hand. This too is part of the missionary commitment to which we are called. To achieve this we need the new life that comes from Jesus Christ”.

The International Centre for Missionary Animation (CIAM) hosted the initiative, which was born and developed with the aim of offering diocesan directors a time of missionary formation, but also a time to meet and discuss the work of missionary animation and cooperation entrusted to them by their bishops.

To this end, each session was followed by a time of debate and discussion; speeches were planned to deepen the knowledge of the four Pontifical Mission Societies and of the respective General Secretaries, and conferences were organized with discussions on mission and missionary animation today and on the charism of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the light of the Pope's message for the PMS. In addition, the participants were able to ‘make themselves’ pilgrims in Rome to some of the symbolic places of Christianity around the world and also visited the headquarters of the General Secretariats of the PMSs, the Dicastery for Evangelization (first section for evangelization and new particular churches), the Urban College, Urbanian University and St Peter's College.