“"You will be my witnesses."”

14th Missionary Day

This is the central point, the heart of Jesus' teaching to his disciples regarding their mission in the world. All disciples will be witnesses of Jesus, thanks to the Holy Spirit they will receive: it will be grace that constitutes them as such, wherever they go, wherever they may be. Just as Christ is the first sent one, that is, the Father's missionary and, as such, his "faithful Witness," so too every Christian is called to be a missionary and witness of Christ. And the Church, the community of Christ's disciples, has no other mission than to evangelize the world, bearing witness to Christ. The identity of the Church is to evangelize.

The plural form emphasizes the community-ecclesial character From the missionary calling of the disciples. Every baptized person is called to mission in the Church and by mandate of the Church: therefore, the mission is carried out together, not individually: in communion with the ecclesial community and not on one's own initiative. And even if someone, in a very particular situation, carries out the evangelizing mission alone, he carries it out and must always carry it out in communion with the Church that sent him… Indeed, it was not by chance that the Lord Jesus sent his disciples on mission two by two; the witness given by Christians to Christ has above all a communal character. Hence the essential importance of the presence of a community, even a small one, in carrying out the mission.

Secondly, the disciples are asked to build their personal life in mission modeThey are sent by Jesus into the world not only to to do the mission, but also and above all for to live the mission entrusted to them; not only for give testimony, but also and above all for to be Witnesses of Christ... Christ's missionaries are not sent to communicate about themselves, to show off their persuasive qualities and abilities, or their management skills. Instead, they have the sublime honor of offering Christ, through words and actions, joyfully and boldly proclaiming the Good News of his salvation to all, just like the first apostles.

(Pope Francis, message for the year 2022)