As Africa rises from mission field to mission force within the global Catholic Church, the column Beyond the Frontiers offers monthly reflections on the stories and spiritual impact of African Missionaries serving the universal Church far from home-living signs of the church’s call to evangelize all nations.
Cosmas Ajawara writes from St. Joseph Church in the Archdiocese of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, where he serves as a Fidei Donum priest.
For more than a century, the global Catholic Church viewed Africa as a vast mission field, a continent in dire need of evangelization and structure. European and North American missionaries arrived to plant the seeds of faith, establishing institutions and proclaiming the Gospel. Today, those seeds have blossomed into a vibrant, self-sustaining Church. From thriving seminaries and religious houses to…
One of the most inspiring movements in the Church today is the missionary witness of Fidei Donum (Latin for “Gift of Faith”) priests—diocesan priests who, with generous hearts, leave their home dioceses to serve parishes across continents and cultures in the spirit of global communion. The term Fidei Donum originates from the title of Pope Pius XII’s 1957 encyclical, Fidei…