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St. Joseph Marello - 1895

Its task is precisely to send new Apostles to carry the
knowledge of the Gospel to those who are still unaware of it as
well as to provide the poor and persecuted Catholics living
among the idolaters and heretics with the means to preserve and
perpetuate among them the benefits of the faith. His Holiness
Pope Gregory XVI said: "A great and holy work which opens to
all the faithful, of whatever condition, the way and the easy
means to gain merit through the Apostolic Missions and
participate in their spiritual goods: a work very worthy of the
admiration and love of all good people". The Sovereign Pontiff
Pius IX knowing "with highest consolation of soul how it
resulted, with the help of God, in copious fruits of salvation of
the Christian world" with the decree Urbi et Orbi commanded
"that the shepherds of souls, and especially the Bishops, with
words and writings, should incite the faithful and urge them
increasingly to join this Work, to concur in the very eminent
purpose of spreading the faith, and to enjoy the copious
indulgences and graces granted by Holy Mother Church".
It would take too long to describe the marvelous growth of
this Work, especially in recent years. You can read about it in
the Annals of the Work, but we cannot refrain from quoting one
consoling passage: "In the last fifteen years, more than a
hundred Missions have been created and more than a hundred
and sixty Sees erected in all points of the globe; and from all the
European nations there rise a great number of heroic apostles
who are happy to give their youth, their abnegation and their life
to the Gospel".
Well, this Work, which so marvelously responds to God's
plans, and which is so highly recommended by the Sovereign
Pontiffs, does not require its associates to follow the footsteps of
the missionaries, that they make with them the arduous sacrifice
of their legitimate interests and their most tender affections, that
they face the dangers of the sea, the inclemency of the weather,
the ferocity of wild beasts, persecutions, tortures, and death: it

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