Pope Francis urges all Catholics to be ‘missionaries of hope’ through prayer and action

BY Kristina Millare

Pope Francis on Thursday released his message for World Mission Day 2025, encouraging all Catholics to be “missionaries of hope” who actively participate in the Church’s evangelizing mission through a “communion of prayer and action.”

“I urge all of you, children, young people, adults, and the elderly, to participate actively in the common evangelizing mission of the Church by your witness of life and prayer, by your sacrifices, and by your generosity,” the pope shared in his message.

The pope said he chose “Missionaries of Hope Among All Peoples” as the motto for the 2025 mission day, which will be observed this year on Oct. 19.

To continue Jesus’ “ministry of hope for humanity,” the Holy Father said each Catholic must first develop “a mature faith in Christ” that is nourished by prayer.

“Missionaries of hope are men and women of prayer, for ‘the person who hopes is a person who prays,’” the pope said, quoting Venerable Cardinal François-Xavier Van Thuan. “Let us not forget that prayer is the primary missionary activity.”

The Eucharist and the other sacraments, the Holy Father explained, are essential for Catholics to “draw upon the power of the Holy Spirit” to work with determination and patience in the “vast field of global evangelization.”

“In following Christ the Lord, Christians are called to hand on the good news by sharing the concrete life situations of those whom they meet and thus to be bearers and builders of hope,” the pope said.

“Indeed, ‘the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted, are the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well. Nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an echo in their hearts’ (Gaudium et Spes, 1),” he continued.

‘Missionaries of hope among all peoples’

In order to be builders of hope in both advanced and developing nations, the 88-year-old pontiff said the Church must recognize that Jesus Christ, the “divine Missionary of hope,” wants to speak to the heart of every man and woman and offer them salvation through his followers.

“Christian communities can be harbingers of a new humanity in a world that, in the most ‘developed’ areas, shows serious symptoms of human crisis,” he said. “In the most technologically advanced nations, ‘proximity’ is disappearing: We are all interconnected but not related.”

In his message, the Holy Father decried how obsession with efficiency, materialism, ambition, and self-centeredness has created a culture of loneliness and indifference in wealthy nations.

Expressing his special love for the poor, the pope said the Church’s missionaries must give particular attention to the weakest and most vulnerable members of society.

“Often they are the ones who teach us how to live in hope,” the Holy Father said. “Through personal contact, we will also convey the love of the compassionate heart of the Lord.”

Referring to his papal bull for the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, Spes Non Confundit, the pope said Christians can be “signs of hope” through works of mercy such as visits to the poor, elderly, sick, and migrants.

‘Missionaries ad gentes’

The Holy Father also shared his particular gratitude for the work of Pontifical Mission Societies who “have gone forth to other nations to make known the love of God in Christ” and built new churches.

“I thank you most heartily! Your lives are a clear response to the command of the risen Christ, who sent his disciples to evangelize all peoples (cf. Mt 28:18-20),” the pope said.

“In this way, you are signs of the universal vocation of the baptized to become, by the power of the Spirit and daily effort, missionaries among all peoples, and witnesses to the great hope given us by the Lord Jesus,” he added.