Filipino Mission Sunday 2026

In 1965, during the Fourth Centennial celebration of Christianity in the Philippines held in Cebu City, the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines recognized the need to establish a missionary society dedicated to serving the Universal Church. Thus, the Foreign Mission Society of the Philippines, now known as the Mission Society of the Philippines, was born. This marked the beginning of the Philippine Church’s active participation in the Church’s missionary beyond its shores.

As we celebrate Filipino Mission Sunday, we honor and remember our Filipino missionaries especially the members of the Mission Society of the Philippines. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines designated the last Sunday of July as special day to pray for them and encourage all Filipino Catholics to participate in the Church’s mission. By virtue of our baptism, we become missionaries and shared in the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, gospel talks about the Kingdom of heaven. Our Lord Jesus likened it to a buried treasure which was discovered by a person, or a fine pearl which the merchant been searching. As missionaries, we are all called to let the Kingdom of heaven with all its values be felt by our brothers and sisters through our good deeds. This Kingdom is characterized by love, justice, peace, and other values.

Doing mission nowadays is more complex and challenging. Mission is no longer understood only as going to distant places, it also means proclaiming the Good News to people living in a fast-paced world, often distracted by materialism, consumerism, and the demands of daily life. Mission making God relevant into the lives of the people once again especially into this materialistic and consumeristic generation.

Each of us can participate in this mission, through prayer, generous support for our missionaries, and faithful witness in our daily lives. While not everyone is called to serve abroad, everyone is called to become a missionary where God has planted them.

For more than 60 years, by God’s grace, the Mission Society of the Philippines has continued to proclaim the Good News in many parts of the world. The Philippines once a mission country, is now a missionary Church, sending Filipino missionaries to share the gift of faith we first received from the early missionaries. The MSP is currently doing mission in Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Tuvalu, USA, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Philippines.

May the celebration of the Filipino Mission Sunday inspire us to treasure our faith and courageously share it so that more people may discover the priceless treasure of God’s Kingdom.

Mabuhay ang Misyong Pilipino!

(By Fr. Jessie Navaja Gelaga, MSP | MSP Promotion and Vocation Director for Mindanao)