Final Message of the Sixth American Missionary Congress

José Domingos Barão, pmé et Donna Joy

America, witnesses of Christ through the power of the Spirit


Church of America!
The Lord Jesus gathers us once again in assembly, as a missionary family in the Caribbean, on the Enchanted Island: Puerto Rico. His blazing fire has made us feel the human warmth of the welcome and fraternity of our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters. It is in this geographical region of the continent that the Spirit of Trinitarian love has allowed us to experience the Sixth American Missionary Congress, known by its acronym: CAM6. We are deeply grateful to our God in the Holy Spirit for the outpouring of His gifts during these days filled with grace and multiple blessings.


We also thank the Lord for the presence of hundreds of brothers and sisters from our American continent who gathered here, and dozens of international brothers and sisters who joined us in this celebration of mission animation, formation, cooperation, and spirituality. Our gratitude extends to the entire People of God, represented by their shepherds: bishops, priests, religious, consecrated persons, and a significant participation of lay people who confirm, once again, our desire to evangelize with a synodal approach to the ends of the earth.


We are witnesses of Christ in this intercontinental experience that brought together more than 1,300 participants from 42 countries and over 900 volunteers, who have propelled us with renewed zeal toward the Church's mission ad gentes. Walking together and listening to the Spirit, we are called to bear witness to faith in Jesus Christ in the reality of our peoples to the ends of the earth. Here in Ponce, the magnificent city of this beautiful Caribbean island, we have felt God's presence this November 2024. We celebrate the richness of cultural and ecclesial exchanges of participants, from Canada in the north to Argentina in the south, gathered in the Antilles and accompanied by Africa, Europe, and Asia, represented by brothers and sisters from Italy, Spain, Vietnam, the Philippines, and others.


This CAM6 has been a process of synodal missiological reflection built around three main thematic axes, inspired by the Congress’s goal: “Driven by the Spirit, Witnesses of Christ, and To the Ends of the Earth.” These themes structured the Congress days into two main parts:


  1. Missiological illumination in the morning; and
  2. Methodological reflection and discernment in the afternoon.


Each day began with a presentation accompanied by the life testimony of a missionary. This provided a reflective theological and doctrinal provocation on the mission ad gentes, grounded in the lived experiences of missionaries in specific evangelization territories.


In the afternoon, we reflected on what the Spirit inspired through three methodological strategies: Conversation in the Spirit based on the Instrumentum Laboris, Projects and Experiences, and Testimonies. These fraternal exchange experiences allowed us to deeply share, in groups, the challenges facing our missionary reality across the continent and to seek together ways to respond authentically in our local Churches and beyond. This method was based on the pillars of the Pontifical Mission Societies: Cooperation, Animation, Formation, and Spirituality, complemented by vibrant mission animation and moments reflecting the joy of the Spirit.


The active presence of youth, local folk presentations, hospitality in various homes and centres, missionary experiences in urban and rural peripheries of the dioceses, and cultural encounters enriched this profound ecclesial experience.

These Congress days allowed us to revisit reflections from the International Symposia on Missiology. Many group discussions confirmed that the delay in America’s response to the mission ad gentes stems from a significant root cause: resistance. Although we send missionaries beyond our local Churches, the proportion of this sending does not reflect the expectations placed on our region. This fact leads us to ask forgiveness from our poorest brothers and sisters, who still await the liberating word of the Gospel to be proclaimed to the ends of the earth.


We identified several factors that contribute to this resistance:


a) An ecclesial introspection that makes us primarily focus on our internal realities: groups, movements, parishes, and dioceses.

b) A lack of appreciation for current missionaries ad gentes, who are often invisible to their local and parish Churches.

c) A lack of missiological formation in our local Churches.

d) Insufficient financial infrastructure and human resources to support the missionary dimension.

In this context, clear proposals emerge:

a) Promote a constant going forth, as Pope Francis invites us to do, even from our poverty.

b) Recognize and closely accompany our pastoral agents and missionaries, promoting their work and supporting them from afar.

c) Raise awareness of missiological formation centres, promote them, and create international networks of cooperation to broaden access.

d) Foster missionary cooperation through concrete initiatives actively involving lay people, families, and youth in missionary organization.

CAM6 has been a call to renewed commitment to our mission as the Church of America. We conclude by reaffirming that this Congress took place within the framework of the Synod on Synodality, with its principles of communion, participation, and mission, which we have fully experienced in these days. On the threshold of the upcoming Jubilee of Hope, we move toward a new missionary dawn for our American continent, driven by the Holy Spirit.

At CAM6, we have seen a global missionary proposal that promotes an animation concretely nurtured by cooperation, establishing networks between local churches and existing missionary realities. What we experienced at the Sixth American Missionary Congress challenged us!


We live in a fragmented and wounded world, where even the majority of the world is not Christian. But above all, we are united in hope because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us and who drives us to be witnesses.


We sense a resonance of the challenges facing mission today:


a) Fear and indifference toward the mission or the reality experienced by our poorest brothers and sisters; and

b) Stepping out of one's personal and pastoral comfort zone.

In response to these challenges, the following proposals are put forward:

a) A method aimed at integrating the differences and experiences of believers. A method that is, above all, an art that succeeds in shaping creative beauty into a mosaic of differences seeking a common goal: the fullness of life expressed in a more intimate relationship through prayer.

b) Mission amplifies particularities in the pursuit of convergence, and during the congress, we highlighted a latent process: ad gentes, inter gentes, cum gentibus, omnes gentes, omnes creaturas.

c) There is always an emphasis on "going," because the Church is always "going forth," but going forth to meet, to be "with," to integrate, and to learn from "other worlds," in a dynamic relational way; going forth toward everyone and everything, knowing that everything is interconnected, and thus embracing a greater commitment to integral ecology; and

d) A missionary model by attraction, based on presence, accompaniment, closeness, dialogue, mutual recognition and appreciation, missiological methodology, and relational methodology.


         History of the Missionary Congresses in the Americas


The history of the Latin American Missionary Congresses (COMLA) and the American Missionary Congresses (CAM) in the Americas dates back to 1977, when the first Latin American Missionary Congress (COMLA) was held in Mexico. Since then, these congresses have been periodically organized to deepen the missionary responsibility of local Churches, coordinate the continent’s missionary initiatives, promote the mission ad gentes, organize missionary animation and formation, and celebrate the missionary life of the people.


In 1999, the COMLA evolved into the American Missionary Congresses (CAM), incorporating delegates from the United States and Canada, which allowed for the integration of all countries of the American continent. That year, COMLA VI – CAM I was held in Paraná, Argentina, with 3,021 participants from 41 countries, including representatives from India, and 1,600 participants in the Congress of Missionary Groups of Argentina.



The immediate goals of these Congresses include:

  • Encouraging bishops, diocesan clergy, seminaries, missionary institutes, religious institutes, and laypeople to assume a real and effective commitment to the Mission ad Gentes.
  • Promoting missionary animation, formation, and organization.
  • Participating in the celebration of missionary fervor, the religiosity of the people, and the life of the saints.