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Pope Leo XIV speaks to students in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican Oct. 30, 2025, as part of the Jubilee of the World of Education. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Vatican announces theme for World Mission Sunday 2026


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Catholic News Service Filed Under: Missions, News, World News

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When the Catholic Church celebrates World Mission Sunday for the 100th time in 2026, it will focus on theme, “One in Christ, united in mission.”

The theme, chosen by Pope Leo XIV, is a reflection of his episcopal motto, “In Illo uno unum,” or literally “In the One, we are one.”

The Vatican announced Oct. 31 the theme for the 2026 observance, which will be celebrated Oct. 18. A papal message on the theme is expected in early February.

The theme “highlights the unity of believers in the faith, founded on the unity of Christ with the Father, and the consequent shared mission of evangelization,” the Vatican said.

For World Mission Sunday, Catholics around the globe spend time learning about the Catholic missions, pray in support of missionaries and make donations to support the work of the church in mission lands.

Ahead of the 2025 celebration, Pope Leo had issued a video explaining that “when I served as a missionary priest and then bishop in Peru, I saw first-hand how the faith, the prayer and the generosity shown on World Mission Sunday can transform entire communities.”

As an Augustinian priest, Pope Leo had served in the missions in Peru from 1985 to 1999 and then as apostolic administrator and later bishop of Chiclayo from 2014 to 2023.

Pope Pius XI instituted World Mission Sunday in 1926 to ensure that Catholics around the world shared responsibility for the missionary work of the church.

Pope Leo XIV names US bishops’ migration committee chair as new bishop of Joliet, Illinois

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Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of Victoria, Texas, as the new bishop of Joliet, Illinois.

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Vatican document affirms interreligious dialogue as essential to ‘journey of hope’ for humanity

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A new Vatican document affirms the Second Vatican Council’s landmark teaching on the Church’s relationship with the Jewish people and those of other faiths, while inviting humanity to enter upon a common “journey of hope.”

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Pope Leo warns technology cannot replace the value of human relationships

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In a world of increasing technological dependence and polarization, Pope Leo XIV said there is greater urgency for humanity to see itself as a single “human community.”

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French Church awaits ‘breath of new life’ from Pope Leo XIV’s visit

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With a little over a week left in France to welcome Pope Leo XIV, the country’s Catholics hope for a “breath” of “new life” into their Church from the pope.

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Pope grants Jubilee Year for Guadalupe Basilica anniversary

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The Archdiocese of Mexico City announced that Pope Leo XIV has declared a Jubilee Year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

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Pope Leo visits Vatican Library on his birthday, announces new building in Vatican City

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Pope Leo XIV visited the Vatican Library for the first time as pope on his birthday, Sept. 14, and announced plans for the construction of a new modern building in Vatican City to house the holdings of the library and the Vatican Apostolic Archive.

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