Missio is the Catholic Church’s official support organisation for overseas mission. The Pope has specifically asked Missio to help bring the Good News of Christ to the world by supporting younger Churches across the world until they are able to be self-sufficient.

Missio is part of the worldwide network of Pontifical Mission Societies.

In England and Wales Missio has four branches:

• The Association for the Propagation of the Faith (APF)
• Mission Together (Holy Childhood)
• The Society of St Peter Apostle (SPA)
• The Pontifical Missionary Union (PMU)

The primary purpose of each of the four branches is to promote and foster a universal missionary spirit — a spirit of prayer and sacrifice — among all Catholics. The APF, SPA and Mission Together invite Catholics to express their missionary commitment by offering their prayers, personal sacrifices and financial support for the work of the Church in Mission dioceses. The PMU works to deepen mission awareness among priests, men and women Religious, catechists, and educators so that they are fully prepared to take on the mission formation of the faithful.

The four branches (traditionally named Societies) received the title 'Pontifical' in 1922 (1956 for the PMU) to indicate their status as official instruments of the Holy Father and of the Universal Roman Catholic Church. Internationally the four branches are known as Pontifical Mission Societies.

There are national offices in more than 120 countries around the world. Some of these offices have retained the name Pontifical Mission Societies but many of the European Offices have chosen the working name of ‘Missio’.

• Central administrative offices are located in Rome, Italy, under the direction of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. His Eminence, Ivan Cardinal Dias is the Prefect of the Congregation.
• The national office of Missio in England and Wales is in London (23 Eccleston Square). The national director is Mgr John Dale. In addition, every diocese has a diocesan director who is appointed by the bishop of that diocese.

The four branches of Missio share these core values:

• Love: proclaiming and sharing the Gospel message of God's unconditional love for all
• Generosity: responding generously to the needs of the Christian faithful worldwide
• Mission: offering every Christian the opportunity to be a missionary
• Respect: spiritual and practical support for Catholic faith communities, enabling them to become self-sufficient and flourish according to their own needs and traditions

According to the teaching of Vatican Council II, Missio are institutions of the Universal Church and of each local church. Therefore, unlike any other mission organisation, Missio are both Pontifical and Episcopal in nature. And, as such, Missio are recognised as the principal instrument for educating the faithful to an awareness of the Church's universal mission and for encouraging their support, in prayer and sacrifice, for the evangelising mission of the Church throughout the world.

All baptised Catholics have the opportunity to participate in the worldwide mission of the Church by offering their prayers, personal sacrifices or financial contributions to the Association for the Propagation of the Faith, the Holy Childhood or the Society of St Peter Apostle. The PMU is a spiritual apostolate for Priests, religious men and women, catechists and lay people. Each year, the celebration of World Mission Sunday provides an opportunity, within the context of the Eucharist, for Catholics to express their prayerful and financial support of the Church's worldwide missionary work.

World Mission Sunday is a day set aside for Catholics worldwide to recommit themselves to the Church's missionary activity through prayer and sacrifice. Annually, World Mission Sunday is celebrated on the penultimate Sunday in October. Offerings from Catholics in England and Wales, on World Mission Sunday and throughout the year, are combined with offerings from Catholics around the world and distributed to mission dioceses — about 1,069 at this time.

Forms of direct co-operation between churches, also called ‘twinning' can be of great benefit to a parish in the developing world and provide parishioners of the ‘sister' church in England and Wales with great spiritual fulfilment. This one-on-one relationship works to the degree that it broadens the vision of Catholics here to see the universal needs of the mission Church. It is important that ‘twinning' does not become an obstacle to giving to Missio as they help to guarantee that those who need it most are helped, especially the very poorest who do not have the means to seek ‘extra' funding and support.

Quite often priests and Religious men and women visit the UK to seek prayer and financial support for the work of their dioceses or Religious Communities in the Missions. The money collected in your parish in response to such an appeal is given directly to the missionary for use in his / her diocese or by his / her Religious Congregation. This help would be in addition to any help offered by Missio themselves.

Offerings from Catholics in England and Wales are combined with offerings to Missio from Catholics worldwide. Mission dioceses receive regular annual assistance from the funds collected. This grant of help is provided according to a diocese's size. In addition, these mission dioceses submit requests to Missio for assistance for, among other needs, catechetical programs, seminaries, the work of Religious Communities, communication and transportation needs, and the building of chapels and churches. These needs are then matched with the funds gathered in each year. The world's national directors of Missio vote on these requests, matching the funds available with the greatest of needs for help. These funds are then distributed to mission dioceses throughout the world, directly from the country in which that help was raised. All of the money collected is distributed in its entirety each year.

There are a number of local and national organisations that help ‘connect' lay Catholics to mission opportunities abroad. You may contact religious congregations directly or the Lay Missionary & Volunteer Network (LMVN). The LMVN promotes opportunities for men and women of all backgrounds and skills to respond to the Gospel through international volunteer service to people in need.

Please contact Missio National Director, Mgr John Dale. More contact details can be found on our Contact Us page.