The theme of this year’s World Mission Sunday, celebrated on Oct. 18, was “One in Christ, United in Mission.”

Pope Leo XIV shared the theme with a message to the universal Church earlier this year, pointing out that, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we share in the Church’s mission to bring the good news to the world. He reiterated that message during his Oct. 18 Angelus.

“Today, we celebrate the 100th World Mission Day,” Pope Leo said. “Let us think of how much missionary history has unfolded over these 100 years! Let us pray that the Church may always remain faithful to the mandate of the risen Lord: ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.’ ”

Pope Leo’s message, as well as the theme of “One in Christ, United in Mission,” serves as a reminder that World Mission Sunday gives everyone in the Church an opportunity to fulfill the responsibility we have to one another and to support the missionary work of the Church that bears fruit worldwide on a daily basis.

In the Diocese of Brooklyn, Bishop Robert Brennan marked the 100th anniversary of World Mission Sunday by celebrating Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights. He detailed a recent trip he made to Nigeria to highlight the impact of the missionary work of the Church, noting that Irish missionaries’ years of efforts in the country have resulted in more than an estimated 80% of Catholics attending Mass on a weekly basis — one of the highest percentages in the world.

Another example of the missions’ impact is Kenya’s Diocese of Nakuru, whose growth was recently highlighted by the U.S. office of the Pontifical Mission Societies. For more than five decades, the donations to missions have helped equip this diocese to proclaim the Gospel and serve communities. Since 1970, the diocese has grown from two priests to 120, and from 72,000 Catholics to 677,000.

These are but a few examples of the liveliness of the faith in the Church’s mission territories, of which there are more than 1,100 worldwide.

According to statistics from the Pontifical Mission Societies, about 9.6 million Catholics lived in mission territories worldwide, representing about 1.7% of the population in 1925, just before World Mission Sunday began. Today, the figures show there are about 347 million Catholics in mission territories worldwide, representing about 8.6% of the population.

If the past 100 years are any indication, these figures will keep growing.

So, while World Mission Sunday has passed, the need remains great, and any day is as good as any other to show support for the Church’s global missionary work, monetarily or otherwise.

You can still make donations through the Pontifical Mission Societies to support seminarian formation, catechists and pastoral workers, religious sisters and priests, schools and orphanages, pastoral outreach in remote communities, and basic Church infrastructure. Their website also lists prayers and ways to promote missionary awareness in your community as important nonmonetary contributions.

As Pope Leo said in his message for the 100th World Mission Sunday, “As we reflect on being one in Christ and united in mission, let us allow ourselves to be guided and inspired by divine grace.”

Thank you to everyone who contributed during World Mission Sunday. Please keep the missions in your prayers.