Colombian archbishop encourages searching for distant Christians and evangelizing non-believers

The Archbishop of Cali (Colombia), Mons. Luis Fernando Rodríguez Velásquez, has encouraged the faithful to go out without fear and with creativity to search for Christians who have distanced themselves from the Church and bring the Gospel to non-believers.

In a article Published on the website of the Colombian Episcopate, the prelate highlights that October is the month of missions and that this year it is celebrated within the framework of Jubilee 2025, whose motto is “Pilgrims of Hope.”

In that sense, he remembers in his text that the baptized are called to fulfill “the Lord’s mandate to go throughout the world and announce the Gospel, the Good News of salvation, which is his own person.” This, in order that “the Church grows and that the Kingdom of God can expand to all corners of the earth.”

The Archbishop of Cali, a city that in recent weeks has been hit by violence, assures that being witnesses of the Good News also converts Catholics into “preachers of peace, making it possible, as authentic disciples of the Master, Christ Jesus, that with our contribution the civilization of love is consolidated everywhere.”

“For this reason, doing mission goes beyond teaching prayers and rituals. The missionary encourages the encounter with the Lord, conversion and assuming a new life,” he affirms.

“It is a mission whose recipients are those who do not know Christ, who among us are already numerous; those who are preparing in the catechumenate to receive the sacraments of initiation; to encourage those who, having been baptized in the Church, have grown cold in the practice of their faith; and to accompany those who live their baptismal commitments with enthusiasm,” he explains.

Bishop Rodríguez recognizes that “it cannot be denied that the Church of yesterday and today has gone through and is going through difficult times, and that it is always being subjected to the snares of the evil one manifested in multiple ways. But one thing is certain, says the Lord, that not even the power of hell will prevail against it.”

For this reason, he encouraged the mission to be carried out “moved by hope.” “The Church has a future. And our responsibility is to ensure that today’s believers continue to sow the seed of faith in Christ in families and society, and that the Church continues to grow with new members.”

With respect to the Archdiocese of Cali, the prelate recalls that both the city and its municipalities Jamundí, Yumbo, La Cumbre and Dagua “are mission territories.”

“It is necessary to remember that we must go out without fear and with creativity to look for those who are distant, those who have grown cold, those who do not believe in God and those who have distanced themselves from the Church. Here is the urgency of becoming aware that our task is the mission, and with it, sowing the seed of hope in everyone,” he points out.

In that sense, the archbishop has invited that, along with prayers, contributions be made to the Mission Sunday Collection that will take place on October 19. The proceeds will be allocated to the Universal Solidarity Fund of the Pontifical Mission Societies.

“May there be much willingness to pray for the missions and missionaries of the world, and much generosity for the collection of the Pontifical Missionary Societies, with which Pope Leo XIV supports the activities of the missions of the world, and also in Colombia,” concludes the prelate.