Good Shepherd Seminary in Coimbatore Marks Mission Day with Call to Renew Missionary Zeal

Coimbatore, August 8, 2026: A call to deepen missionary commitment and rediscover the Church’s identity as a missionary community marked Mission Day celebrations at Good Shepherd Seminary, Coimbatore, where seminarians were urged to prepare for priestly ministry with a spirit of evangelisation, self-giving and service.

The programme brought together Bishop Ambrose Pitchaimuthu of Vellore, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in India, and Fr. Dinh Anh Nhue Nguyen, OFM Conv., Secretary General of the Pontifical Missionary Union (PMU) in Rome.

Addressing the seminarians, Fr. Nguyen highlighted the significance of the 100th World Mission Day, to be celebrated on October 18 under the theme, “One in Christ, United in Mission.” Referring to the message of Pope Leo XIV, he recalled that World Mission Day was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1926, making the 2026 observance a historic centenary.

Fr. Nguyen urged the seminarians to understand mission not as one activity among many undertaken by the Church, but as something intrinsic to her very identity.

“Evangelisation is at the heart of the Church’s mission,” he stressed, reminding the future priests that the responsibility to proclaim the Gospel belongs to every baptised Christian.

He encouraged the seminarians to cultivate a missionary spirit alongside personal holiness, theological formation and pastoral preparation. Priestly ministry, he said, requires openness to people and cultures and a readiness to serve wherever the Church needs them.

Good Shepherd Seminary had begun its Mission Day observance on August 6 with the aim of strengthening missionary awareness among seminarians and supporting the Church’s missionary outreach through fundraising for the World Mission Sunday collection.

A major feature of the celebration was the missionary testimony of Fr. Victor Roche, who has spent 44 years serving as a missionary in Papua New Guinea. Drawing from his long missionary experience, Fr. Roche encouraged the seminarians to embrace a life marked by courage, sacrifice and generous availability to the Church.

The celebrations concluded with a Mission Day Fancy Fete, bringing seminarians and staff together in an atmosphere of fellowship and solidarity with the Church’s missionary mission.

The celebration served as a reminder to the future priests that missionary zeal is not an optional dimension of priestly ministry but an essential expression of the Church’s life and her call to proclaim the Gospel across cultures and communities.

By Catholic Connect Reporter