Our Mission Vision
The Catholic Church once defined mission primarily in geographical terms, designating “unchurched” and underserved regions as “mission receiving” territories, and areas possessing greater institutional, vocational and economic resources as “mission-sending.” Through the turn of the 20th Century to the Second Vatican Council and beyond, the Church has gradually expanded and redefined this mission perspective. Today, “mission territory” includes all places in need of witnesses to the love of God, while the vocation to embody and proclaim the mission of Jesus extends to all people who have encountered that love in Christ Jesus.
“If for a long time we have associated with mission the word ‘depart’, the going out to distant lands that did not know the Gospel or were experiencing poverty,” Pope Leo observes in his Homily for the Jubilee of the Missionary World and Jubilee of Migrants, “today the frontiers of the missions are no longer geographical, because poverty, suffering and the desire for a greater hope have made their way to us.” (October 5, 2025)
While mission is no longer defined along strict geographical binaries, the Church continues to uphold mission principles and priorities rooted in proclaiming God’s reign through intercultural encounter and dialogue, mutuality and solidarity with the poor and vulnerable, and attentiveness to the Holy Spirit in deep communion with Christ and neighbor on a local and global scale. For this reason, Leo affirms the distinct and profound witness of those who “have left their homeland, their families and all sense of security in order to proclaim the Gospel and bring Christ and his love to places that are often challenging, poor, conflict-ridden or culturally distant,” and, in doing so, “demonstrate that God’s love transcends all barriers.” He urges the entire church to pray for “the gift of young people and adults who are willing to leave everything behind to follow Christ on the path of evangelization even to the ends of the earth.” (Message for the 100th World Mission Day, 2026)
The USCMA embraces, embodies and promotes this expansive mission vision. “The mission of the disciples and the Church as a whole is to continue the mission of Christ in the Holy Spirit,” Pope Leo attests in his 2026 Message for the 100th World Mission Day, “a mission born of love, lived in love, and leading to love.” Christian love, Leo tells us in the apostolic exhortation Dilexi te, “breaks down every barrier, brings close those who were distant, unites strangers, and reconciles enemies… A Church that sets no limits to love, that knows no enemies to fight but only men and women to love, is the Church that the world needs today.” (no. 121)