Pontifical Mission Societies:

• The Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith
• Pontifical Society of Saint Peter the Apostle
• Pontifical Association of the Holy Childhood
• Pontifical Missionary Union

The main purpose of the four societies is to promote a universal missionary spirit, a spirit of prayer and sacrifice among all baptized Catholics to gather support for the worldwide missions of the Church. These four societies each received the official title of “Pontifical” in 1922 and their central administration was transferred to Rome. National offices are in more than 120 countries.

Today, this “family” of mission societies is the church’s primary means to inform Catholics about her worldwide missionary work and encourage their active participation – through Prayer and Sacrifice – in those efforts.

Two main objectives of Propagation of the Faith are: Missionary Animation and Sharing of Resources. Missionary Animation reminds and encourages each baptized Catholic to his or her privilege and obligation to witness and proclaim the Good News of Jesus. Missionary Animation also offers education and information regarding the life of the Church in other countries and strives to nourish and encourage missionary vocation.

Sharing of Resources involves the dedication of those who go to a foreign land to share their presence, their personal gifts, and their faith; it also involves sharing of financial resources.

The Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith seeks Prayer and Sacrifice for the world’s missions, it has offices within 1,120 dioceses in Asia, Africa, Oceanic, Pacific Islands, and Latin America. It provides financial support to mission bishops for day-to-day expenses and special projects. It supports pastoral and evangelization programs, catechists and catechetical work, the building of churches and chapels, the work of Religious communities in health care and education, and communication and transportation needs.