(Lyon, France) – Two Redemptorists will be present at the General Assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS), which is taking place in the Valpré Centre, Lyon, from 16 to 23 May 2022, on the occasion of the beatification of Pauline Jaricot, the founder of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. More than 120 National Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) of the 5 continents are participating.
Mons. Waldo Barrionuevo, C.Ss.R., Redemptorist Bishop of the Vicariate of Reyes, Bolivia, is present as Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies of Bolivia. Paraguay is represented by its National Director, Redemptorist Father César Báez, C.Ss.R.,
Mons. Waldo Barrionuevo, C.Ss.R. 
Fr. Cesar Baez, C.Ss.R.
Pope Francis, in his message to the assembly, says:
“The jubilees that celebrate the beatification of Pauline Jaricot offer me the opportunity to offer to you again three elements that, thanks to the action of the Holy Spirit, have greatly contributed to the spread of the Gospel in the history of the PMS.
First of all, missionary conversion: the goodness of the mission depends on the path of going out of oneself, on the desire to centre one’s life not on oneself, but on Jesus, on Jesus who came to serve and not to be served (cf. Mk 10: 45). In this sense, Pauline Jaricot saw her existence as a response to God’s compassionate and tender mercy: since her youth she had sought identification with her Lord, also through the sufferings she went through, with the aim of igniting the flame of her love in every person. Here lies the wellspring of mission: in the ardour of a faith that does not settle for less and that, through conversion, becomes imitation day by day, to channel God’s mercies on the roads of the world.
But this is possible – second element – only through prayer, which is the first form of mission (cf. Message to the Pontifical Mission Societies, 20 May 2020). It is no coincidence that Pauline placed the Work of the Propagation of the Faith alongside the Living Rosary, as if to reiterate that mission begins with prayer and cannot be accomplished without it (cf. Acts 13:1-3). Yes, because it is the Spirit of the Lord that precedes and enables all our good works: the primacy is always of His grace. Otherwise, the mission would be a question of running in vain.
Finally, the concreteness of charity: along with the prayer network, Pauline gave rise to a collection on a vast scale and in a creative form, accompanying it with information on the life and activities of the missionaries. The offerings of so many people were providential for the history of the missions”.
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