Unity is the condition of the mission of the Church, love is its essence. And no one in the Church is exempted from this “great work”. This is the heart of the message that Pope Leo XIV wrote for the 100th World Mission Day 2026, that will be celebrated on October 18, 2026, on the them “One in Christ, united in mission

According to the Dicastery for Evangelization and the Pontifical Mission Societies the first step in the preparation of World Mission Day 2026 will be the dissemination of this message. This will become the guiding thread of the initiatives of animation and formation in the spirit and of missionary responsibility in all the faithful throughout this significant year.

One in Christ

The prayer of Jesus before his Passion (Jn 17,21.26)  is the red thread of the message: “That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

“The mystery of union with Christ lies at the heart of mission,” the Pope writes. “These words reveal Jesus’ deepest desire, as well as the identity of the Church as a community of his disciples. This union gives rise to mutual communion among believers and is the source of all missionary fruitfulness.”

United in Mission

According to Pope Leo, “The unity of disciples is not an end in itself; it is directed towards mission. It is through the witness of a reconciled, fraternal and united community that the proclamation of the Gospel acquires its full communicative power.”

The Pope urges all the faithful to be part of this “great work”: “No baptized person is exempt from or indifferent to mission: everyone, each according to their own vocation and condition of life, participates in the great work that Christ has entrusted to his Church.”

He also underlines that “evangelization is achieved when local communities cooperate with one another and when cultural, spiritual and liturgical differences are fully and harmoniously expressed in the same faith.”

Mission to love

“If unity is the condition of mission, love is its essence,” the Pope writes. He points all the men and women who left everything behind to proclaim the Gospel and makes “a special appeal to the whole Church to join them in the mission of evangelization through the witness of our lives in Christ, through prayer and through our contributions to the missions.”

In the special Year dedicated to St. Francis on the 800th anniversary of his passing to heaven, the Pope invite the faithful to “find inspiration in his desire to live in the love of the Lord and to transmit it to those both near and far, because, as he said, ‘this love Who hath loved us much is much to be loved’”. 

Pope’s prayer

The Message ends with a prayer the Pope himself composed “to foster spiritual communion:

Holy Father, make us one in Christ, rooted in his love that unites and renews. May all members of the Church be united in mission, docile to the Holy Spirit, courageous in bearing witness to the Gospel, proclaiming and daily embodying your faithful love for all creatures.

Bless all missionary men and women, support them in their efforts, and watch over them in hope!

Mary, Queen of Missions, accompany our work of evangelization in every corner of the earth: make us instruments of peace, and grant that the whole world may recognize in Christ the light that saves. Amen.