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Scott #:1807 Date Issued: 11/16/2022 Face Value: €1.20 Perforation: 13 x 13 1/4 During his younger years he had a calling to be a missionary. He entered the seminary of the Institute of Foreign Mission in Milan. He was ordained a priest on May 19, 1894. He was sent to Burma (now Myanmar) in 1895. Because of his tireless work he dealt with a number of physical ailments. With the onset of tuberculosis, he was forced to return to Italy in 1907. Back in Italy he continued his missionary work by writing pamphlets, books and articles on the missionary vocation. His writings provided inspiration and teaching to those in the mission field. He also did lectures encouraging seminarians about missionary work. Writing became his missionary vocation. In 1908 he was editor of the magazine “Le Missioni Cattolich (Catholic Mission). In 1914 he started a publication “Propaganda Missionaria”. He evangelized by working with other faith organizations. To a large extent he was a forerunner and almost prophetic about the carrying out of missionary work. Many of his insights were promulgated in Vatican II documents. Through his writings, Blessed Paolo lifted the needs and value of missionary life. The Pontifical Missionary Union created in 1916 was the inspiration of Blessed Paolo Manna. Initially called the “Miissionary Union of the Clergy. Saint Paul VI in 1966 changed the organization’s name to the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions or PIME (Latin: Pontificium Institutum pro Missionibus Exteris). PIME exists today and is made up of secular Catholic priests, brothers and the laity. They are in 9 countries around the world. They sum up their mission as: “We don’t spread the Word of God; we witness it to others.Their communities encourage inter-religious dialogue and charitable work always with a focus on social justice. Their motto is “All the Church for all the world”. Blessed Manna also was the founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, a women’s religious order of missionaries. Pope John Paul II spoke these words at the beatification of Father Manna: “In Father Paolo Manna, we see a special reflection of the glory of God. He spent his entire life for the missionary cause. On every page of his writings the person of Jesus emerges as alive, the center of life and the raison d’etre of mission”. References: |
