History

USCMA’s roots trace back to the period immediately following the Second World War. By the late 1940’s, Catholic mission activity had become integral to global development and relief efforts, with religious congregations, episcopal and pontifical agencies, and Catholic associations engaging in programs and ministries dedicated to education, healthcare, agriculture, labor rights and social welfare. In 1949, at the request of 32 mission sending societies, the US Bishops founded the Secretariat of the Catholic Societies of the United States Engaged in Foreign Mission Activities. Known more commonly as the Mission Secretariat, the goal was to assist those engaged in mission efforts, particularly by helping them coordinate among themselves and with governmental and non-governmental agencies.

In 1970, the Mission Secretariat was reconstituted as the United States Catholic Mission Council (USCMC). In the preceding years, the Church’s view of mission had fundamentally deepened and broadened. In 1964, the Second Vatican Council affirmed “the obligation of spreading the faith” as the imperative “of every disciple of Christ” (Lumen Gentium). Pope St. Paul VI’s 1965 decree on mission activity built upon this understanding, characterizing “the pilgrim Church” as “missionary by her very nature” and extending the call to “reveal and to communicate the love of God” to “all Christians, wherever they live,” particularly through lived example, dialogue and community (Ad Gentes). Comprised of the US conferences of major superiors for women and men, lay mission-sending organizations, the Episcopal Commission for Missions and pontifical missionary aid organizations, USCMC expanded its international focus to include domestic mission activity and promoting this Baptismal vocation to mission.

In 1981, USCMC formally became the US Catholic Mission Association (USCMA). In keeping with the spirit which prompted the formation of the Mission Secretariat, USCMA is a community of religious congregations, diocesan offices, organizations and individuals committed to the global, intercultural and social mission of the Catholic Church. “Our purpose,” according to inaugural executive secretary Fr. Anthony Bellagamba, IMC, “is to bring the good news to all strata of society – personal, cultural, social, economic, and political.” USCMA remains committed to its founding principles of promoting intercultural encounter and dialogue, fostering global peace and justice, researching and sharing trends in mission theology and practice, and enlivening the US Church through diverse mission experiences and perspectives.