Church in Ethiopia Celebrates First Joint World Mission

Church in Ethiopia Celebrates First Joint World Mission

Church in Ethiopia Celebrates First Joint World Mission

CANAA || By Makeda Yohannes, Ethiopia || 27 October 2016

ethiopia church marks joint mission day 2016Religious Congregations and the faithful in the Archdiocese of Addis Ababa gathered at the Nativity Catholic Cathedral on Sunday, October 23, to celebrate World Mission Day, the first time a central event has been organized in the history of the Church in Ethiopia.

The event, which started with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, was organized by the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Ethiopia.

In his Homily, the Secretary General of the Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat (ECS) Father Hagos Hayish said that spreading the Gospel is a mission given to each and every one of us.

“We witness the Gospel through our deeds then we are missionaries, let us contribute to the spread of the Good News by using the grace bestowed upon us by God to live the Gospel in our homes with our families and by supporting the men and women missionaries who have dedicated their lives to this task,” Father Hagos said.

The National Director of PMS, Father Seyoum Fransua who doubles as ECS Deputy Secretary General said that Christianity is the fruit of many sacrifices by missionaries.

“Based on the order of Our Lord Jesus Christ ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ (Mt. 28: 18-20) missionaries have taken up the task of spreading the Good News and today our Universal Church has more than 1.2 billion Catholics throughout the world. This is the fruit of missionaries and kind and dedicated Catholics through the centuries,” Father Seyoum said.

He explained that celebrating Mission Sunday centrally creates the opportunity to bring together all the missionaries and join the Eucharistic celebration to thank God for their mission and also know each other better.

The PMS National Director also added that there is a plan to expand the culture of celebrating Mission Sunday together to the rest of the Dioceses in the coming years.

After the Holy Mass all the congregations working in the Archdiocese of Addis Ababa showcased their Pastoral and Social activities using visual material.

The lay faithful who participated in the event expressed their joy saying that the event created a better awareness for them about the importance of missionary work.

PMS in Ethiopia is engaged in various evangelizing activities in the country, supporting particularly the spiritual aspects of the faithful.

Deixe um comentário