Being a missionary means bringing the Gospel and its values into the world and transforming the lives of individuals, which can and must transform societies, Pope Leo XIV said.
Missionaries
While the number of Catholic priests and religious continues to decline, the number of lay missionaries, catechists, and permanent deacons continues to increase, according to the news agency Fides.
Pope Leo XIV has advanced the sainthood causes of two missionaries whose murders in the Amazon jungle in Ecuador led to the protection of remote Indigenous peoples from encroaching extractive industries.