Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Lilongwe (Agenzia Fides) – “Dear children and young people, you are already missionaries. You are young, but you have a heart as big as the sky. You are the light that illuminates the whole world with the prayers you offer every day and with the help you give to others,” said Sister Inês Paulo Albino ASC, Secretary General of the Pontifical Society of Holy Childhood (POSI), to the children and young people who recently participated in the first Congress on Childhood (see Fides, 2/8/2025).Sister Inês’s address on Saturday, August 2, began by thanking the organizers of the initiative, especially Father Peter Madeya, Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Malawi, for their great commitment not only to the event but also to raising awareness of the Pontifical Mission Societies in general, and especially to the Society of Holy Childhood. “You are, above all, ‘bridges’ between families, in society, and in the world,” emphasized the Secretary General of Holy Childhood in her address to the children and young people with whom she engaged in intensive dialogue during the meeting. “You do this,” added Sister Inês, “with simple gestures that change people’s hearts and help them experience the Gospel in a concrete way.”During the afternoon meeting with the children and the morning meeting with the diocesan directors and staff of the Holy Childhood Society, the Secretary General, who had visited several projects supported by the Pontifical Mission Societies in the dioceses of Dezda and Mangochi the previous day, including a church under construction and a hospital, recalled that the Society of Holy Childhood now has several million members worldwide, active in parishes, schools, and movements on five continents.Sister Inês also mentioned the long-term goals of the Holy Childhood Society, including educational work with a view to missionary awareness and the promotion of missionary vocations, and encouraged the participants to participate in concrete activities. “I would like to challenge everyone,” she said, “with two specific gestures to help us realize our goals as young missionaries. Dedicate yourselves to small daily commitments to live well in the family and in the missionary ecclesial community, and be generous in missionary support for children in need and for the missions throughout the world.”She also emphasized to the diocesan directors and collaborators the importance of starting from the basics, focusing on small, concrete steps and took the opportunity to point out some of the technical and bureaucratic formalities for applying for grants. “I invite everyone to be courageous and creative in rethinking the goals, structures, working style, and methods of evangelization in their communities and dioceses,” said the POSI Secretary General. “A good opportunity to move from theory to practice is World Mission Day for Children on January 6, which is also celebrated on other days in the local Churches depending on the circumstances. On this occasion, we are called to find a way to encourage every child to be active missionaries in their family, school, community, and the universal Church, raising awareness of the need to support missions and projects carried out throughout the world.” (EG) (Agenzia Fides, 4/8/2025)
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