As the Universal Church celebrated World Mission Sunday on October 23, our Archdiocesan observance took place at the 11 a.m. Mass at St. Michael Parish in Lowell. Father Chris Lowe and his parishioners made us feel at home in their beautiful church. St. Michael's English and Kenyan Choirs presented such inspiring music as we thanked God for the work of missionaries -- supported by The Society for the propagation of the Faith -- in over 1,100 territories spread across Asia, Africa, remote parts of Latin and South America, and those tiny island countries that dot the Pacific Ocean.

Teens from the Kenyan Catholic Community made our Procession of Nations a real spectacle as they processed in with flags of thirty nations, along with natives of Cameroon, Poland, Portugal, and Vietnam, who carried their own flags. They were followed by the Catholic Daughters of America, the Knights of Peter Claver, and the Knights of Columbus.

Our fabulous team of volunteers and staff greeted attendees with World Mission Rosary beads and prayer cards of our newly beatified founder, Blessed Pauline Marie Jaricot. The Cameroonian Women's Group sang and danced as they processed in with the Lectionary -- everyone present swayed to the beat as they did so!

As we prayed the prayers from the Mass for the Evangelization of Peoples, our readings were in Swahili, Spanish, and English. Prayers of the Faithful were proclaimed in Swahili, Polish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Cameroon ian-Bangwa, and English.

In my remarks to those gathered, I said that Pope Francis had set the theme of this year's World Mission Sunday to be "You Shall Be My Witnesses" from the Acts of the Apostles. In his message for the day, the Holy Father stated that, "Every Christian is called to be a missionary and witness to Christ. And the Church, the community of Christ's disciples, has no other mission than that of bringing the Gospel to the entire world by bearing witness to Christ. To evangelize is the very identity of the Church."

(And if I may be so bold as to add a not-so-gentle reminder to the pope's words, WE are the Church! WE are God's witnesses -- chosen at baptism and strengthened by God's grace when we receive the sacraments. Every day, with the talents God gave us and wherever God placed us, it is our responsibility to be witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I could go on...)

From the altar servers to the readers, the choirs to the volunteers, the flag bearers to the honor guards -- a million thanks for making Boston's World Mission Sunday so special!

Next week: A different World Mission Sunday celebration



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