Faith

Blessed Paolo Manna, PIME, founder of the Missionary Union, one of our Church's four Pontifical Mission Societies. His motto was, "The whole Church for the whole world!"

Propagation of the Faith

Telling the Stories, Enriching the Soul

Friday, December 12, 2025Faith

As I write this, the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica is looming large! Daria Braithwaite, our Mission Education Coordinator, and I are attending a mission course at the International Mission Animation Center (CIAM) at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome. Out theme is the Jubilee Year of Hope and Renewal of Commitments for Evangelizing Mission. The formation session is being facilitated by Father An Hu Nguyen, Secretary General of the Pontifical Missionary Union and Father Anthony Chandry, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies of England and Wales.
There are twenty-eight of us attending the class, all coming from countries whose official language is English. One each from Belgium, Trinidad and Tobago, and Nigeria; two from South Africa; four from Ireland (including one who is an alum of Boston's Saint James Society!); three from Myanmar; nine from Tanzania; and seven from the United States.
Throughout our time together, we will share stories, our ways of ministry, and help each other grow in making the missionary work of the Church better known to more people. We'll also learn more about Church documents, specifically past papal letters about the importance of World Mission Sunday, which we just celebrated on the second to last Sunday of October. That day is one marked worldwide, annually, in every Catholic church in the world.
By doing this, we will follow the founder of the Pontifical Missionary Union, Blessed Paolo Manna, a PIME missionary priest. Born in Avellino, Italy in 1872, Manna entered the PIME seminary and was ordained in 1894. He was assigned to mission in Myanmar. He worked there for a total of ten years -- twice, illness forced him to return home. Finally, his superiors decided he should remain in Italy.
Determined to stay involved in the field of missions, Father Manna began to write. If he couldn't go to the missions, he would bring them home by telling mission stories.
He wrote articles for Catholic publications, founded a magazine and launched "Propaganda Missionaria," a popular broadsheet paper with a large circulation (think of it like "The Boston Pilot," but totally devoted to the missions). In 1916, he founded the Missionary Union. He hoped that by hearing the stories and understanding the needs of the missions, he could help all Catholics be mission minded.
In 1956, Pope Pius XVII named the Missionary Union the fourth Pontifical Mission Society.
We've had just one class of the course, and I've already learned something. Though I've long known the saying, it was Saint Pope Paul VI who first called the Missionary Union "the soul of the Pontifical Mission Societies."
We honor Blessed Paolo Manna by telling the stories.

- Maureen Crowley Heil is Director of Programs and Development for the Pontifical Mission Societies, Boston.