Did You Know? The Church Is Taking Evangelisation from the Pulpit to the People

Sep 2, 2026: You hear about sharing the Gospel, Mission Sunday and proclaiming Christ. But have you ever wondered who is helping Catholics across India understand that proclaiming Jesus Christ is not only the work of priests and religious?

Across India, the Church has a network working specifically to strengthen this missionary responsibility — reaching from the national level through Regions and Dioceses to the parish and, ultimately, the people.

This is the work of the CCBI Commission for Proclamation. The Commission promotes, strengthens and coordinates evangelisation and proclamation in the Church in India, with a vision of a missionary, synodal and outward-looking Church where bishops, priests, religious and laity journey together to proclaim Jesus Christ and bring His Good News to all.

Its pastoral vision, “Journeying towards a Synodal Church: Mission 2033,” seeks to help every baptised person recognise and live the call to proclaim Jesus Christ.

At the heart of this mission is a simple conviction: “A Church that has encountered Christ cannot remain silent.”

What If Evangelisation Is Your Mission Too?

What if sharing the Good News is not something you simply watch the Church do, but something you are called to do yourself?

One of the Commission’s major priorities is helping the laity discover that evangelisation is not the responsibility of clergy alone. The journey it encourages is:

Disciples → Witnesses → Evangelisers → Missionary Disciples

Through ongoing formation, workshops, seminars and missionary initiatives, the Commission equips Regional and Diocesan Secretaries, Proclamation Team members, lay evangelisation leaders, catechists, religious, youth, children and leaders of lay initiatives with the spirituality, knowledge, skills and confidence needed for evangelisation.

But the goal goes beyond information about Christianity. The deeper aim is to help people encounter Jesus Christ personally, experience His love and mercy, and become His missionary disciples.

From the National Level to the Parish

So how does this vision reach people?

The Commission works through 14 Regions, collaborating with Regional Chairman Bishops, Regional Secretaries, Diocesan Secretaries, Regional Proclamation Teams, lay evangelisation leaders, religious congregations and CRI representatives, catechists, youth and National Council members.

Its working path is:

National Level → Regional Level → Diocesan Level → Parish Level → People

Through formation, capacity building, animation, resources, workshops, seminars and ongoing missionary initiatives, the Commission supports Regions and Dioceses in developing a missionary culture according to their pastoral realities.

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October: A Month to Rediscover Mission

Every October, Mission Month gives the Church an opportunity to renew its missionary spirit.

The Commission promotes the Holy Father’s Mission Sunday Message through regional workshops, diocesan seminars, parish programmes, missionary awareness campaigns, formation, prayer and missionary activities. The aim is to help the faithful understand that the Church exists to evangelise and every Christian is called to participate in Christ’s mission.

The Commission also works with religious congregations and CRI members, while accompanying catechists and young people so they can become effective witnesses of the Gospel in their families, communities and society.

A Question That Can Change Everything

Perhaps one of the clearest signs of this missionary awakening is a question increasingly being asked by lay people:

“How can I share Jesus with others?”

The Commission is seeing greater confidence among lay faithful to share the Good News, organise faith-sharing programmes, accompany people in their faith journey, create opportunities for personal encounters with Jesus and take responsibility for missionary activities.

This represents a deeper movement:

Maintenance → Mission

Participation → Responsibility

Information → Encounter

Recipients → Missionary Disciples

Individual Efforts → Synodal Collaboration

The hope is simple: every Catholic knows Jesus, encounters Jesus, becomes a disciple, every disciple becomes a witness, every witness becomes a missionary, and every community becomes a missionary community.

The mission, then, is about more than speaking about Jesus from the pulpit. It is about helping God’s people encounter Him, live the Gospel and discover that they too are called, formed and sent.

Leading this nationwide mission are Archbishop Sebastian Durairaj, SVD, Chairman of the Commission, Archbishop Francis Kalist, Executive Secretary, and Bishop Emmanuel Kerketta, Member, together with Fr. Paul D’Souza, Executive Secretary, and Fr. Raju Mathew, Associate Executive Secretary.

By Catholic Connect Reporter

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