The Society for the Propagation of the Faith

Catholic Diocese of Arlington

In the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, VA, the Society for the Propagation of the Faith is responsible for World Mission Sunday and the Missionary Cooperative Program.  Both programs are designed to bring parishioners to full awareness of their calling in life to be missionaries through prayer and sacrifice, word and witness.

World Mission Sunday

Held on the second to last Sunday of October in every parish of the diocese, World Mission Sunday serves to join all baptized Catholics in solidarity with their brothers and sisters in the missions.  Pastors receive a packet of information, including mission stories, posters, bulletin announcements and the Pope’s mission message for that year.  Leaflets and booklets describing the work of the Pontifical Mission Societies are also available for pastors to use in encouraging their parishioners to participate through prayer and sacrifice.  All over the world, on World Mission Sunday, the second collection is dedicated to the Propagation of the Faith.  All diocesan pastors send the donations to the diocesan office, where it is recorded and then sent to the national office in New York.  Donations from the United States of America are sent to Rome, where the money is dispersed to missions all over the world.

The Missionary Cooperative Plan

Every summer, missionaries are invited to come and speak about their programs to parishes in the Arlington Diocese.  Participation for this program is very selective, as our office receives over 500 requests from missionaries each year.  Speaking slots are filled by mission groups who have served or who are currently serving the Arlington Diocese, as well as by Bishops from impoverished dioceses selected by the bishop. 2/3 of the parishes receive a missionary speaker to inform them of that particular mission work.  Parishioners are encouraged to pray for the mission, and the collection which follows is allocated for that mission and does not go into a general fund. 1/3 of the diocesan parishes receive information on the diocesan missions in the Dominican Republic.  Former and current pastors who have served or who are serving in those missions travel around the diocese preaching on the work done in Banica and Pedro Santana.  Money collected after these appeals serves the missions in the Dominican Republic, and again, is only for that purpose.