Missionary Day

At the colleges of the Society of Jesus, usually in the month of October, students, teachers, and Jesuits were deeply engaged in activities related to Missionary Day. Even the families of boarders took part, both in the organisation of the event and in the scheduled activities.

Missionary Day was not an initiative of the Society of Jesus; Pope Pius XI had already established it in 1926. The words of Federico Di Roberto, a student at the Istituto Arecco, published in an article of the institute’s journal, effectively convey its purpose:

It is a day dedicated especially to missionaries, to draw the world’s attention to them. […] The missions do not ask for compassion but for interest.

The Society of Jesus and its Missions

The missionary cause has always been deeply felt within the Society of Jesus. Among the earliest Jesuits were missionaries and martyrs who often died while carrying out their mission work.

Each province held jurisdiction over specific mission territories. For example, the Roman Province was responsible for Pengpu and Brazil; part of India and other areas of China fell under the Veneto–Milanese Province, while the Neapolitan Province had jurisdiction over New Mexico and Colorado. Over time, these missions became vice-provinces and then independent provinces, particularly during the decolonisation period, in a spirit of respect for local clergy who gradually replaced the European priests—many of whom struggled to learn the local languages and tended to impose their own.

From the late 19th century, the Society of Jesus began to raise awareness about the work of many missionaries through edifying letters. These were excerpts from correspondence between missionaries and their Provincial, describing everyday life in the missions. The lives of missionaries were later chronicled by specialised journals such as Le Missioni or through dedicated sections in the periodicals of Jesuit provinces and colleges.

What Is Missionary Day?

Missionary Day was far more than just a day dedicated to the missions and the Jesuits who lived and worked there. A wide range of events were organised as part of the celebration: raffles, processions, themed performances, lectures, and missionary exhibitions. One of the primary aims was to raise funds for the missions—though this was neither the sole nor the most important objective.

Every individual could become a potential benefactor of the missions: one could buy a raffle ticket, a stamp, knit garments to sell at a school market, or offer their time to assist the Jesuits in organising an event or in preparing banners and signage. Students from Jesuit colleges would scatter throughout cities to collect donations. Handwritten sources and school newsletters recount that, in 1951, boys from the Istituto Massimo in Rome went to St Peter’s Square and Piazza Esedra to collect offerings. Individual classes also organised collections or paper recycling drives that yielded significant sums. At other schools, such as the Arecco in Genoa, students competed to sell the highest number of subscriptions to Le Missioni magazine. The top prize for the winner was a tape recorder.

Missionary Day had a dual purpose: to collect funds for the missions, but above all, to raise awareness in Europe—and in Italy in particular—of the missions and the work of the missionaries, many of whom had left from Italy for distant lands.

In an era without the internet or television, it would have been unimaginable for most people to see a photograph of Africa, a Native American, or to learn about the lives of missionaries in China. Missionary exhibitions served as a window into this world. Jesuits would display photographs, artefacts, and objects sent by missionary confrères, and would hold talks to recount the challenges of the missions.

Missionary Day in Lonigo and surroundings

To understand the scale of the organisation required for Missionary Day, we refer to an excerpt from the household diary of Lonigo describing the event held on 28 October 1951:

Early in the morning, the coadjutor brothers set up the necessary equipment for a raffle in aid of the Missions at the monumental entrance [of the residence], where a shooting range, a roulette wheel, and “St Patrick’s Well” would also operate. A loudspeaker added a lively atmosphere. Two young women operated the raffle table. […] At nine o’clock in the morning, a missionary-themed float covered with a large cross, four boys dressed as Native Americans, five missionaries in white, adorned with various signs and pamphlets, paraded through the streets of Lonigo, arousing great public interest. At 10 a.m., three cars from Padua arrived, carrying players from Petrarca: the match against “Lonigo” began at 10:30. […] All the novice brothers— and not only they—were out in the towns collecting donations, all wearing a cross down to their chests. […] A musical concert consisting of 24 harmonicas was announced at the municipal theatre for the following Tuesday, also in support of the missions.

In other cities of the Veneto–Milanese Province, Jesuits and laypeople were equally active in organising numerous events. In Milan, the Leone XIII Student Missionary League publicised the programme through the press. Among the events promoted by the League were a gathering in Piazza Mercati, a missionary book exhibition, and a fundraising table at San Fedele. In nearby Gallarate, an illuminated sign made of 942 lightbulbs was installed, reading, “Support the missionaries”. In cities such as Padua and Parma, allegorical floats paraded through the streets.

The Needs of the Missionaries

As we have seen, the ultimate goal was not solely the collection of funds for the missions, but also the dissemination of knowledge about the missionaries’ work and the vastly different and distant cultures they encountered—through photographs, artefacts, and illustrations. In a time without television and it would remain a luxury for many until the 1960s, such occasions were invaluable opportunities to learn about the world. Nonetheless, the financial needs of the missionaries remained central. What were these funds used for? What were the missionaries’ needs?

The use of the collected money was often disclosed in the magazines to which benefactors, faithful supporters, and the families of students subscribed. These purposes are also documented in the historical archives.

Missionary life was extremely difficult, beginning with the costly journey to the mission sites. Once there, resources were perpetually lacking. The magazine Le Missioni included a dedicated section for missionaries’ requests: a sort of small noticeboard where Jesuits posted appeals. Some needed posters and drawings for children’s catechism; others requested footballs for playtime, materials to repair crucifixes or liturgical garments, or even a new Nativity scene for a parish where the previous one had burned due to candles placed too close to the wooden figures. Fr Angelo Stefanizzi, a missionary in India, published a notice in the magazine’s bulletin explaining that he owned a projector but lacked the lamp to operate it—an expensive part costing 2,000 lire, a significant amount in 1951. Some missionaries asked for reading materials for the evenings, or copies of L’Osservatore Romano. These announcements themselves serve as valuable sources on life in the missions, the challenges faced by missionaries, and the nature of their apostolic work.

Maria Macchi