Everywhere is mission territory!
Dear brothers, sisters and friends in the Assumption family:
While translating a book on Pope Leo XIV from English into Vietnamese (Pope Leo XIV), I was struck by the idea that everywhere is mission territory. “According to an Augustinian sister in Chiclayo [Peru], Bishop Prevost wasn’t sold on the idea of going back to Rome. He loved Peru, being a missionary bishop in a beautiful land of contrasts, being close to his flock. Sr. Marlene Quispe reported to the Global Sisters Report that this is how he expressed himself: ‘I feel like a missionary and I don’t see myself in Rome, but I have prayed and perhaps now what I have to be is a missionary in Rome. There is also a mission to be accomplished there.’
There may not be a more important single sentence for understanding Leo XIV’s vision for the Church, and for each member of the Body of Christ. Yes, he loved being a missionary in mission territory. But everywhere is mission territory! In fact, even Rome is mission territory.” (Matthew Bunson, Leo XIV: Portrait of the First American Pope, Irondale, Alabama, EWTN, 2025, p. 86)
Now, if everywhere is mission territory, what we should do at the place where each of us is currently present (Quebec, Brighton, Worcester, Sturbridge, El Paso, Mexico City, Tlilapan and wherever you are)? For me, the 2023 General Chapter gives us a very insightful reflection. It talks about fraternity as a call to mission. “As part of the Assumptionist way of being in the Church, fraternity invites us to accompany and walk with the people of God. It urges us to proclaim a God who makes of us brothers and sisters. It extends to ecumenical dialogue, where we desire unity among the Churches. Recognizing each other as brothers and sisters is already a first step towards unity. Interreligious dialogue, crucial to peace, is a way of recognizing the believer of another religion as a brother in humanity.
Fraternity also urges us to promote peace, justice and reconciliation. This is particularly important where division and violence reign or in societies that are increasingly polarized and plagued by mistrust of others (cf. the encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis). Many are the men and women who hunger and thirst for justice. ‘In solidarity with their aspirations and struggles, we participate in building a world which is more just and fraternal.’ (Rule of Life, #14). The fraternity of the Kingdom knows no borders, because the Kingdom knows no borders! It is intended to help break down the walls that are constantly being erected and to build bridges across the fractures of our societies. The prophetic dimension of our religious life urges us to be the voice of the voiceless, of those who suffer without anyone paying attention to their cries of distress.
Fraternity even appears as a form of response to secularization. How many Christians have left the Church because they were wounded by behaviors contrary to fraternity or felt unwelcomed by Christian communities? From fraternal welcome and respect comes apostolic fruitfulness.” (Acts of the 34th General Chapter, #10-12).
While celebrating the 145th anniversary of the death of our Founder, Venerable Emmanuel d’Alzon, let us become missionaries where we are currently present. Let us build fraternity within us, among us, and around us. Fraternity knows no borders. It is dynamic. It enters our community, our Church, and our world in order to transform them from within. It brings to us the perfume of the evangelical values. It makes all of us members of the same family—God’s family. It is an antidote to what you are suffering right now: selfishness and indifference, conflicts and violence, injustice and war, polarization and discrimination, secularization and intolerance. Living out fraternity in our current world is our mission. It is the best way for us to honor our Founder. Through our fraternity, Fr. d’Alzon continues to be present to us and to those entrusted to us in our mission, everywhere.
Happy Feast day to all of you and to your loves one!
Fr. Chi Ai Nguyen, A.A.
Provincial of the North American Province
