This Sunday, October 18, the Church celebrates World Mission Sunday, a day set aside to remember that every baptized Christian shares in Christ’s mission to bring his love to the whole world.

This year, the day also falls on the Feast of St. Luke, the physician who wrote one of the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles.

For those of us at Mission Doctors Association, it feels like more than a coincidence. Since 1959, MDA has recruited, prepared, sent, and supported Catholic physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants who answer the call to heal in underserved communities in Africa and Latin America.

The mission is bigger than the missionary

When we picture the missions, we often picture the person in scrubs at the bedside, whether a pediatrician caring for a fragile newborn in Uganda or a family serving in Guatemala. But no one goes alone. Behind every missionary are people who pray, give, and send. World Mission Sunday reminds us that both are essential: those who go, and those who make going possible.

A Mass, a prayer, a gift

There are simple ways to take part this Sunday:

• Pray for our missionaries, the families they serve, and the communities facing hardship, including those preparing for the threat of Ebola in Uganda.
• Attend Mass and offer your intentions for the missions.
• Give to support the work of Mission Doctors, whether as a one-time gift or as a monthly donor.
• Share this post with a friend, parish, or colleague who might be moved to join us.

Thank you

To every donor, volunteer, prayer partner, and friend of Mission Doctors, thank you. You are part of this mission. On this World Mission Sunday, we give thanks for you and for the God who calls each of us, in different ways, to bring hope to the world.

Interested in serving as a missionary? Learn more about our retreat on February 19-21, 2027.