Serving the Spiritual Needs of Los Angeles Since 1974

Dear Padrinos and Madrinas:

Dear readers of our website,

October is the “Month of the Missions,” and each year the Holy Father writes a message for World Mission Sunday, celebrated on the third Sunday of the month. For this year, 2026, we joyfully welcome the message of Pope Leo XIV, who proposes as our theme: “One in Christ, United in Mission.” This centennial celebration is an occasion to give thanks for the witness of so many missionaries and to renew in each of us the fire of the missionary vocation.

Mission is born of our union with Jesus. Remaining in Him, like branches on the vine, transforms the heart and teaches us to recognize one another as brothers and sisters. For this reason, before being an activity or a program, mission is a life rooted in Christ, nourished by prayer, the Word, and the Eucharist. From this communion with the Lord springs the strength to proclaim the Gospel with joy and hope.

The Holy Father also reminds us that missionary witness requires reconciled communities. In a world marked by division, polarization, and distrust, we are called to safeguard unity, listen with respect, forgive, and build bridges. Communion is both the source and the fruit of mission: when we walk together and make the love of Christ visible, the proclamation of the Gospel becomes credible.

Mission is everyone’s task. Every person, family, and community can contribute with generosity and trust: by praying for missionaries, accompanying those who suffer, sharing time and talents, sustaining the works of evangelization, and caring especially for the poor, migrants, the sick, and the forgotten. No one is too small to offer something, and no one is too far away to be reached by our prayer and solidarity.

During this month, I invite you to renew your personal encounter with Christ and to take a concrete step in favor of the mission. May our celebrations, gatherings, and works of solidarity help us grow as a Church that is united, close to others, and going forth, ready to help the joy of the Gospel reach everyone.

This October, the Guadalupe Missioners also celebrate 77 years of missionary life in service to the universal Church.

It is my duty to remember that these 77 years of service to the Gospel of Christ have been possible through the grace and mercy of God, but also through the untiring spiritual and material support of each of our Padrinos and Madrinas, who have offered their prayers, sacrifices, and financial support to this work of God.

As the Holy Father reminds us in his message, we are all missionaries from within our own circumstances. The one who walks among the villages of African communities, or who prepares a fine message about the Word of God in Chinese or Japanese, is no more a missionary than the one who, prostrate with illness, offers their suffering to God so that those who do not yet know Him may have the chance to know and love Him. All three ways of being a Missionary are necessary and pleasing to God.

May Mary, Star of Evangelization, accompany us; and may the Holy Spirit renew in us the fervor, courage, and tenderness of missionary disciples. United to Christ and to one another, let us move forward with hope in the preaching of the Gospel.

With affection and united in prayer,

Fr. Salvador Rojas Vega, MG
Superior and Director of the Guadalupe Missioners in the United States
Guadalupe Missioners