Vancouver - If this had been a typical year, dozens of young adults from St. Mary’s Parish in Vancouver would have attended Mass on a Friday evening, stayed for adoration, slept overnight at the church, then driven to Mission, B.C., for a talk, prayers and reflection at Westminster Abbey before returning to the parish for Mass and a shared meal.

LUSAKA, Zambia – As Zambia concluded a year of celebration marking 125 years since the Church was established in the country, its bishops have said that while it was once a missionary Church, it is now a Church on mission.

OTTAWA – As the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) marks its 90th anniversary this year, CNEWA Canada celebrates 12 years.

WASHINGTON – It was the end of a long day of baseball under the late May sun in Santa Clara, Cuba, and Marilyn Santos found an unpainted, dented, wooden baseball bat among the shiny blue and black ones she had brought from the United States.

Pope Francis said missionaries are docile to the call of the Holy Spirit which leads them to be consumed by a burning desire to dedicate their life to announcing the gospel, even in the most distant places. The characteristics of those men and women who choose to serve the Church by going on mission were the focus of the Pope’s homily at his morning Mass celebrated in the Santa Marta residence on Tuesday.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has decided that six dioceses in Canada, previously considered mission territories under the jurisdiction of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, will transition to normal status.

VATICAN CITY - To help appreciate and better promote the vocation of religious brothers, the Vatican released a 50-page reflection on the importance of their life and mission of evangelization, fraternity and sacrifice.

We are all called to be saints as we are all called to claim our place in Heaven as children of God. Because this is no easy task, God has given us the saints that have come before us as a huge source of inspiration.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis asked for prayers for his trip to Cuba and the United States, calling it "a mission" he had high hopes for.

MANILA, Philippines - Sr. Margaret Maung doesn't wear a nun's habit, but a traditional "longyi" and a simple blouse.

Experience has taught the provincial superior of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions in Myanmar to embrace the country's cultural dress even while representing her faith.

I have known for a long time that I wanted to go on a mission trip.

Attending Catholic schools and going to Mass every weekend, I have always been taught about the importance of charity. For the longest time I thought charity meant simply giving to the less fortunate. However, in Grade 7, I got involved with Me to We and Free the Children which changed my understanding of what charity really meant.

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia - The Eucharist is a missionary sacrament; it calls people to give all they are and have to God, seek His blessing and then take His love to the world, Pope Francis said at the opening Mass for Bolivia's national eucharistic congress.

LONDON - Catholic bishops in England and Wales hope to establish evangelization teams to transform about 5,000 churches into "missionary parishes."

OTTAWA - Nine months ago Rosa Frias was blessed to meet Pope Francis and tell him about obstacles she faced in opening a children’s clinic in her home town of Limpio, Paraguay. So the Pope’s visit to Paraguay July 10-12 has special significance for Frias now that her dream has come true and her clinic has been opened.

Paulist priests preached their first mission in Canada 156 years ago. Fifty-six years later they arrived in Toronto where they came to operate St. Peter’s parish and open the Newman Centre on what is now the campus of the University of Toronto. Due to declining numbers they are being forced to cease Canadian operations and return home. Here is a timeline of their years in Canada.