WHEN a man decides to take up his vocation and become a priest it’s expected of him that he will become a Good Shepherd in the parishes in which he serves. However, for Bishop Joseph Toal, in the very early days of his priesthood, that took on a literal as well as a spiritual meaning!

“AS A missionary priest I had three fears at the start of my ministry. One was that I would be sent to India as I found the culture and the religion so complex and I thought that it might be too much of a challenge for me. Another was that I had a fear of flying so I wanted to keep that to a minimum. And the last fear I had was ever having to stand up and teach. As it turned out I had to do all three! The miracle, I suppose is that I came to love India, flying and teaching.”

“WE ACTUALLY got a lot of a lot of help from Frank Sinatra would you believe? He became one of our benefactors.” Missionary priests and religious sisters have an uncanny ability to downplay extraordinary titbits or stories from their time on mission, but this one took the biscuit and when interviewing Spiritan Father, Fr John McFadden, I had to get him to elaborate on this particular anecdote about Old Blue Eyes supporting the Church in Nigeria.

DEAR brothers and sisters, for World Mission Day 2026, which marks the centenary of a celebration established by Pope Pius XI that is very dear to the Church, I have chosen the theme 'One in Christ, united in mission.'

TO MARK World Mission Day on Sunday October 19, the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, is asking every single parish in the world to help support missionaries who are working and serving in the remotest corners of the earth.

For World Mission Day 2025, I have chosen the motto: "Missionaries of Hope Among all Peoples."