World Mission Day was commemorated with a beautiful online prayer session held at the Clementine Chapel of St. Peter’s Basilica, featuring digital missionaries from across the globe. This event emphasized the significance of sharing the message of love and meaning in the digital realm, as highlighted in the summary report of the first session of the Synod of Bishops, particularly in the section titled “Missionaries in the digital environment.”
Embracing Faith in the Online Realm
The Clementine Chapel hosted a momentous prayer gathering with digital missionaries connecting worldwide. Monsignor Luis Marín De San Martín, Undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod; Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication and President of the Information Commission of the Synod; and Monsignor Lucio Ruiz, Secretary of the Dicastery for Communication, were all part of this event.
Monsignor Ruiz announced a significant event during his speech – the Jubilee of Catholic missionaries and digital influencers, set for July 28 and 29, 2025. He commended digital missionaries for their invaluable contributions to the Church’s mission, encouraging them to continue spreading the joy of God in a world hungering for hope.
A Message of Hope and Action
Monsignor Ruiz inspired the missionaries to keep dreaming and creating beautiful things that reflect divine joy. Following his address, a Spanish song set the tone for an interactive prayer session where young participants online actively engaged.
Reading the Gospel chosen by Pope Francis for World Mission Day, Monsignor Ruiz and Monsignor Marín De San Martín emphasized the importance of embodying the teachings of Jesus in digital spaces, moving away from a superficial online persona to truly reflecting the love and joy of the Lord.
Inspirational Testimonies
The event featured touching testimonies from young individuals, including Lebanese twins sharing the beauty of Christianity in the Middle East through online platforms. Missionaries shared their prayer intentions and expressed the essence of their work on social media with words like “fraternity,” “listening,” “joy,” and “need for God.”
A Call to Humility and Responsibility
Paolo Ruffini concluded the event by urging everyone to take responsibility in addressing contemporary challenges, citing St. Paul as a model of humility and effective communication in serving the Lord.
The gathering ended with a final prayer moment, with participants contributing digitally, echoing Monsignor Ruiz’s charge to go forth to the ends of the world with the message of love and hope.
