Presentation of the Sixth Utah Catholic Missionary Week
VI Utah Catholic Missionary Week
United in Christ, Missionaries of His Love
October 11–18, 2026 | West Valley City, Utah
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19)
Prepared by
Father Sebastien Sasa, PhD, MPA
Pastor, Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church
Director, Saints Peter and Paul Missionary Center
Founder and Director, Utah Catholic Missionary Weeks
West Valley City, Utah
Prepared October 20, 2026
Telephone: (801) 966-5111 | WhatsApp: (385) 463-4579
www.saintspeterpaulslc.com
The VI Utah Catholic Missionary Week will convene the faithful of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church and the Saints Peter and Paul Missionary Center from October 11 through October 18, 2026. Held under the theme United in Christ, Missionaries of His Love, this observance will constitute a privileged occasion for prayer, formation, service, and missionary renewal. It will call the entire parish community to a deeper awareness that every baptized person is entrusted not only with receiving the Gospel, but also with proclaiming it through speech, personal relationships, works of charity, and the faithful witness of daily life.
The theme articulates the inseparable relationship between ecclesial communion and missionary responsibility. Christ prayed that his disciples might be one so that the world might believe. Christian unity, therefore, cannot be regarded solely as an internal concern of the Church; it is itself a compelling sign of the Gospel. When believers transcend division, receive cultural diversity as a gift, and advance together in faith, they manifest the reconciling love of Christ. Rooted in the Eucharist and sustained by prayer, the Church becomes a community sent forth to bear witness within families, neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and society at large.
A Journey Through the Missionary Week
The observance will commence on Sunday, October 11, with celebrations of the Holy Eucharist at 7:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., and 1:30 p.m. By beginning at the altar, the parish deliberately entrusts the entire program to the grace and providence of God. The opening celebration will unite the faithful in prayer and summon each participant to renew the missionary vocation conferred through Baptism.
On Monday, October 12, Carlos Moreno will present Mission and Christian Unity: “That They May All Be One”, drawing upon John 17:21. The presentation will consider the urgent need, within a divided world, for disciples who foster faith, reconciliation, and fraternity. Communion among distinct languages, cultures, and communities lends credibility to the proclamation of the Gospel and enables the Church to offer a unified witness to the love of Christ.
Tuesday, October 13, will be devoted to youth and young adults as pilgrims and missionaries of hope. Ricardo José Camacho will affirm that young people are not merely the future of the Church, but active participants in her present missionary life. Through friendship, prayer, courageous service, and attentive discernment of Christ’s call, they are invited to recognize their gifts and place them generously at the service of the Church and the broader community.
On Wednesday, October 14, Father Sebastien Sasa, PhD, MPA, will offer a theological and pastoral reflection on Families: domestic churches and missionary communities in the service of evangelization. The family constitutes the primary setting in which faith is received, practiced, celebrated, and transmitted. Prayer within the home, intergenerational formation, hospitality, service, and consistent Christian witness enable families to become authentic schools of discipleship and vital centers of evangelization.
Thursday, October 15, will examine the conviction that mission finds its authentic expression in love translated into action. Conchita will invite participants to recognize the presence of Christ in those who are neglected and to respond to spiritual and material needs with humility, respect for human dignity, and perseverance. Missionary charity cannot remain a theoretical ideal; it must take concrete form in compassion, generous service, and sustained commitment.
On Friday, October 16, Father Dr. Langes will address the theme Many Cultures, One Faith, One Mission in Utah. The cultural diversity of the Catholic community represents a significant gift for evangelization. Each community contributes its language, devotional traditions, music, history, and distinctive testimony of faith. When these gifts are received and shared in communion rather than isolation, they strengthen a single parish family centered upon Christ and united in a common missionary purpose.
On Saturday, October 17, the Missionary Vigil will gather the faithful around Christ’s command: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” Father Sebastien SASA, PhD, MPA, will offer the principal reflection, followed by Eucharistic adoration and prayer for missionary vocations. The vigil will also feature missionary testimonies from José “Pepe” and Lupita, who will share their experience together with their two children, as well as from two young women, Vicky and Miriam. In the presence of the Lord, the community will pray for new vocations, entrust all peoples and nations to Christ, and renew its willingness to respond in faith: “Here I am, Lord. Send me.”
The week will culminate on Sunday, October 18, with the observance of World Mission Sunday. A multicultural celebration of the Eucharist, the special collection for the missions, the closing ceremony, a formal missionary commitment, and a fellowship gathering will express the intrinsic unity of prayer and action. During the celebration, Father Sebastien Sasa, PhD, MPA, will present missionary passports to the Little Missionaries, the Young Missionaries, and the Missionary Parents as a visible sign of their formation, commitment, and participation in the Church’s mission. The conclusion of the scheduled program will not mark the end of the mission; rather, it will send the community forth to embrace missionary discipleship as an enduring way of Christian life.
Throughout the week, the community will be invited to embody four fundamental missionary commitments: prayer, formation, service, and going forth. Prayer entails intercession for missionaries, vocations, and peoples who have not yet encountered the Gospel. Formation requires the continual deepening of one’s knowledge of the faith and the responsible communication of what has been received. Service calls for the generous offering of time, abilities, and compassionate presence. Going forth requires faithful witness to Christ within the family, the workplace, the school, the neighborhood, and every circumstance of daily life.
Missionary discipleship begins within the concrete circumstances of ordinary life. It becomes visible whenever a family gathers in prayer, a young person responds generously to the call of Christ, a parishioner welcomes a person from another culture, or a believer attends to a neighbor in need. Through such ordinary yet faithful acts, the parish becomes a living sign of a Church united in Christ and commissioned to communicate his love.
Parishioners, families, young people, pastoral leaders, and friends of the community are cordially invited to participate in the VI Utah Catholic Missionary Week. May this common observance deepen ecclesial communion, strengthen missionary formation, and renew the commitment of all participants to the proclamation of the Gospel. United in Christ, may the faithful become ever more effective missionaries of his love and labor together for the growth of a Church fully dedicated to her missionary vocation.
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church
Saints Peter and Paul Missionary Center
3560 W 3650 S, West Valley City, Utah 84119
Telephone: (801) 966-5111 | WhatsApp: (385) 463-4579
www.saintspeterpaulslc.com
All are welcome!
Respectfully submitted,
Father Sebastien Sasa, PhD, MPA
Pastor, Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church
Director, Saints Peter and Paul Missionary Center
Founder and Director, Utah Catholic Missionary Weeks
West Valley City, Utah
First Day - Sunday, October 11, 2026
Opening Celebration and Missionary Sending
Father Gregorio Domilies, a priest of the Missionaries of Jesus, came to the parish for the Mission Appeal. Together with Father Sébastien Sasa, he presided at the weekend Masses inaugurating the sixth Utah Catholic Missionary Week: two on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., and three on Sunday at 7:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., and 1:30 p.m. Nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist, the faithful were called to renew their baptismal commitment and go forth as missionary disciples, bearing joyful witness to the Gospel in their families, daily lives, and wider community.
Father Sebastien Sasa, PhD, MPA
Pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church
Director of the Saints Peter and Paul Missionary Center
Director and Founder of the Utah Catholic Missionary Weeks
West Valley City, UT
