Dear Rev. Fathers, Sisters, Brothers, and my dear

Lay Faithful of the Diocese of Vellore

Greetings of peace and joy in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

This year, the Church celebrates the 100 World Mission Day with deep gratitude and renewed missionary zeal. Our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV has given us the beautiful theme: "One in Christ, united in mission." This theme invites every one of us to return to the heart of Christian life. Mission is not first of all a programme, a collection, an event, or an activity. Mission begins from our union with Christ. When we are one with Him, we become capable of being sent by Him.

Before His Passion, Jesus prayed to the Father: "May they all be one" (Jn 17:21). This prayer of Jesus is at the centre of mission. The world comes to believe not only through our preaching, but also through our communion. A divided Church cannot convincingly proclaim the Gospel of reconciliation. A community wounded by jealousy, competition, indifference, caste divisions, or selfishness weakens its missionary witness. But a family/community/ parish that prays together, forgives together, serves together., and walks together becomes a living sign of Christ.

World Mission Day was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1926, at the suggestion of the Society for the Propagation ofthe Faith. Its purpose was to awaken in the whole Church a sense ofresponsibility for the mission of evangelization. The Pope wanted every Catholic to understand that mission is not the concern only ofmissionaries in faraway ands. Mission belongs to the whole Church. Every baptized person is called to be a missionary disciple. Every parish, every family, every school, every institution, every association, and every faithful person has a share in the mission of Christ.

For one hundred years, World Mission Day has helped the Church to for missionaries, encourage missionary vocations, support young Churches, and assist the pastoral works of the Universal Church. The offerings collected on this day are used for mission territories, seminaries, catechists, schools, health centres, formation houses, and communities where the Church is still young materially poor. Therefore, our contribution on World Mission Day is not merely a donation. It is an act of communion. It says that the sufferings, hopes and needs of the Universal Church are also our own.

The theme "One in Christ, united in mission" is especially meaningful for us in the Diocese of Vellore. Our Diocese has been blessed with a rich heritage of faith, built through the sacrifices of missionaries, bishops, priests,religious, catechists, teachers, families and committed lay faithful. The Gospel took root in our land through prayer, service, education, healing, catechesis and humble witness. We remember with gratitude all those who sowed the seeds of faith before us.

Today, this missionary responsibility is placed in our hands. The mission of the Diocese of Vellore is not finished. There are families that need healing, children who need formation, youth who need direction, the poor who need dignity, the sick who need consolation, and communities that need deeper pastoral care. Mission todayis not only going to distantplaces. It is also going to the person nearby who feels forgotten, to the family that has stopped praying, to the young person who has lost hope, to the poor who feel unseen and to the wounded who wait for compassion.

To be one in Christ means that Christ must be the centre of our personal life, our families, our parishes, our religious communities, and our institutions. Without Christ, mission becomes activism. Without prayer, service becomes routine. Without the Eucharist, our communities lose their spiritual strength. Without the Word of God, our pastoral work loses direction. Therefore, a missionary Diocese must first be a praying Diocese.

To be united in mission means that all of us must walk together. Priests, religious, lay faithful, catechists, teachers, youth, children, elders, parish councils, finance councils, pious associations, and Anbiams all have a role in the mission of the Church. No one should feel excluded. No one should remain passive. The Church grows when every member offers his or her gift for the building up of the Body of Christ.

I earnestly invite all parishes of our Diocese to celebrate World Mission Day 2026 with enthusiasm, creativity, and seriousness. Let it become a routine Sunday or merely a day for collection. Let it become a day of prayer, awareness, formation, participation, renewal. Let the faithful be helped to understand the meaning of mission. Let the homilies, catechism classes, youth meetings. children's programmes, parish councils, religious communities. schools, and Anbiams reflect on the theme of this year.

Parishes may organize missionary prayers, rosaries for missionaries. catechesis on the Universal Church, talks on missionary saints, mission exhibitions, children's activities, youth gatherings, and visits to the poor, sick, and elderly. Let the liturgy be prepared well with meaningful introductions, prayers of the faithful, hymns, participation of different groups. Let children and young people be taught thatthe Churchis larger than their own parish and thatthey too are responsible for the Gospel.

I also encourage our families to become missionary homes. A family becomes missionary when parents teach children to pray, when the Bible is read at home, when forgiveness is practised, when the poor are remembered, and when faith is lived with joy. Our schools and colleges must form students not only for success, but also for service. Our Catholic institutions must continue to be places where the compassion of Christ is made visible through education, health care, social service, and human formation.

The world today needs the Gospel. It needs peace where there is violence, unity where there is division, hope where there is despair, truth where there is confusion, dignity where there is exploitation, and love where there is indifference. The Lord sends us into this world not with fear, but with faith. He does not ask everyone to cross oceans, but He asks everyone to cross the distance between indifference and compassion, between comfort and service, between isolation and communion.

As we celebrate the 100th World Mission Day, let us renew our baptismal commitment. Let every parish in the Diocese of Vellore become missionary. Let every family become missionary. Let every institution become missionary. Let every heart become missionary.

May Mary, Star of Evangelization, accompany all missionaries and intercede for our Diocese. May Saint Thomas the Apostle and all missionary saints inspire us with courage. May the Holy Spirit make us truly one in Christ and united in mission.

With mercy and hope.

+Ambrose Pitchaimuthu
Bishop of Vellore