For 100 years, Catholics around the world have come together on World Mission Sunday in prayer, solidarity and generosity for the Church’s missionary work.
Established by Pope Pius XI in 1926, World Mission Sunday is the one Sunday each year when every Catholic parish throughout the world joins in supporting the Church in places where it is young, growing, poor, isolated or persecuted. This centennial year, Pope Leo XIV calls us to be “One in Christ, United in Mission.”
Your gift supports the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and the Church’s missionary work throughout the world.
Mission by the numbers
World Mission Sunday helps the Holy Father care for 1,130 mission dioceses and territories throughout the world.
Your generosity makes mission possible.
We invite you to watch a special video from the Pontifical Mission Societies featuring a message from Pope Leo XIV on the importance of World Mission Sunday and our shared call to support the Church’s missionary work throughout the world.
Gifts to World Mission Sunday help form priests and religious, train and sustain catechists, educate children, provide health care and strengthen parishes and communities where the Church does not yet have the resources to sustain herself. The 2026 materials specifically emphasize formation, catechists and the building of churches and parishes as areas supported through these gifts.
Gifts to World Mission Sunday help form priests and religious, train and sustain catechists, educate children, provide health care and strengthen parishes and communities where the Church does not yet have the resources to sustain herself. The 2026 materials specifically emphasize formation, catechists and the building of churches and parishes as areas supported through these gifts.
Mission begins here: The Diocese of Erie
World Mission Sunday reminds us that we belong to a Church much larger than our individual parish, community or country.
For the Diocese of Erie, that understanding of mission is deeply rooted in our own history.
In 2026, the Diocese of Erie celebrates 55 years of the Mission of Friendship, a relationship between the Diocese of Erie and the Archdiocese of Yucatán, Mexico.
For more than five decades, Catholics in both dioceses have formed relationships through prayer, family sponsorship, sister-parish partnerships and service. The Mission of Friendship is a living example of what it means to be One in Christ, United in Mission.
55 years of friendship. One shared faith. One mission.
Our Diocesan and International Missions Office
Connecting the Church of Erie to the Church around the world
The Diocesan and International Missions Office of the Diocese of Erie helps Catholics throughout northwest Pennsylvania live the Church's missionary call.
Through the Mission of Friendship, World Mission Sunday, missionary appeals and opportunities for prayer, education, giving and service, the office helps connect the faithful of the Diocese of Erie with our brothers and sisters throughout the universal Church.
Indira J. Suarez
Director of Diocesan and International Missions
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You are a part of the mission
You may never travel to a mission territory. You may never build a church, teach in a mission school or serve in a distant village.
But you can help send the Gospel there.
Through prayer, sacrifice and generosity, every Catholic can participate in the missionary work of the Church. As the 2026 World Mission Sunday materials remind us: we may not all be able to go to the missions, but we can send our prayers and the material support missionaries need.
One in Christ. United in Mission.
Make your World Mission Sunday gift today.
Make your World Mission Sunday gift today.
