Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization and dean of the College of Cardinals, presided over the International Missionary Rosary on the eve of the 100th World Mission Sunday. The prayer event, promoted by the Pontifical Mission Societies, was held on the afternoon of October 17 on the terrace of the International Center for Missionary Animation (CIAM), on the campus of the Pontifical Urbaniana University. During the recitation, Tagle entrusted to God the health of Pope Leo XIV, whom he referred to as “the missionary who became Pope.”
According to reports, Leo XIV was discharged from Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital on the morning of October 17, following surgery for a pulmonary adenocarcinoma performed on October 13. The cardinal’s prayer was also directed to all those who, like Robert Francis Prevost during his years of pastoral service in Peru, have given themselves completely to bringing Christ and his love to contexts marked by misery, war, and deep cultural differences.
In introducing the Marian prayer, Tagle recalled the description of missionaries that Leo XIV offered in his message for World Mission Sunday 2026: “People who, like St. Francis Xavier, have left their homeland, their family, and all security to proclaim the Gospel, bringing Christ and his love to places that are often difficult, poor, marked by conflict, or culturally distant.” The cardinal stressed that missionaries “continue to give themselves joyfully, despite adversity and human limitations, because they know that Christ himself, with his Gospel, is the greatest wealth to share.” Their witness demonstrates, he added, that “God’s love is stronger than any barrier.”
Tagle finally invited prayers for all the faithful, “so that we may become ever more aware of our vocation and live fully what we already are by virtue of baptism: prophets, witnesses, and missionaries of the Lord.”
Context and relevance
Before the Rosary, Sister María Teresa Barron, appointed on October 8 as Adjunct Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization in the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches, as well as President of the Pontifical Mission Societies, read a greeting. She invited reflection on the theme chosen for this year’s World Mission Sunday: “United in Christ, united in mission.” This expression recalls evangelization as the “beating heart of the Church” and the vocation of every baptized person, called to live it “in communion with Pope Leo XIV,” accompanied in prayer with the missionaries who, on every continent, “bear witness to the Gospel with courage and dedication.”
Sister Barron invoked the Holy Spirit to renew in each believer “apostolic zeal and the ability to build bridges, to listen, to serve, and to proclaim with their life the faithfulness of God’s love.” The Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary were prayed in Italian, English, and Spanish, and were dedicated to the five continents: Africa, America, Europe, Oceania, and Asia. The meditations were based on texts and speeches of Pope Francis and Leo XIV.
The celebration, framed within the eve of the Centenary of World Mission Sunday, combined prayer for the Pontiff’s health with the memory of missionaries who give their lives in areas of conflict and poverty. Tagle’s motto — “God’s love is stronger than any barrier” — sums up the meaning of a day that, through the Pontifical Mission Societies, seeks to spiritually support those who proclaim the Gospel in adverse contexts and to renew in the baptized the awareness of their missionary vocation.
Original source: www.vaticannews.va (published October 17, 2026)
