Missio, formerly the Association for the Propogation of the Faith, is the principal of the Pontifical Mission Works mentioned in the Vatican 11 Decree on Missionary Activity (Ad Gentes, par. 38). and it belongs to the Pope and each Catholic Bishop world-wide.  It was started by a teenage girl, Pauline Jaricot, who saw the need to support all the missions, not just those where one had friends or personal contact.  The aims are educational, leading Catholics world wide to solidarity in Prayer and Funding for the Church’s missionary endeavour in Africa, Asia, Oceania, parts of Latin America, where the Church is young or poor or both – bringing all things together under Christ as Head (cf Eph. 1:10).

In England and Wales, it works through the Prayers and Offerings on World Mission Sunday and through the Missio/Mill Hill red boxes (special individual offerings boxes) and annual members.  Of the offerings collected through the Missio/Mill Hill promotion, 60% goes to Missio and 40% to Mill Hill (Mill Hill Fathers- a Missionary Society). ALL the Mission Sunday collections go to Missio.

At the beginning of each year , our National Director advises the Secretary General in Rome how much Missio in England and Wales has collected the previous year.  Combined with the collections world wide, the Secretary General then knows how much there is for distribution to the mission Bishops.