Pontifical Mission Societies launches interactive website marking 100 years of World Mission Sunday

World Mission Sunday, known in Spain as the Domund, turns 100 this year. The day was established in 1926 by Pope Pius XI. Over the 36,500 days since then, an average of 9,000 Catholics have been baptized, three schools built and one parish established each day, according to the Pontifical Mission Societies (OMP). The organization has marked the centenary with a website, www.domund100.es, offering an interactive tour of 100 years of the Domund in Spain and in mission territories.

In 1926 Pius XI asked the whole Church to devote the second-to-last Sunday of October to praying for the Church's mission in mission territories and to supporting it through the Pontifical Mission Societies. The aim was to remind all the baptized each year of the call to support evangelization to the ends of the earth.

In Spain the appeal took hold, and each year brought talks, testimonies in schools, videos and other initiatives. OMP says the missionary spirit this produced has made Spain a leader in giving, both in money and in missionaries.

An interactive tour of 100 years of mission

The site is divided into three parts. The first, "100 años contigo" (100 years with you), focuses on the Domund in Spain and brings together historical photographs of the various initiatives. It explains how the day began, presents the campaign posters year by year and recalls the Domund collection boxes. It also covers the missionary films promoted by OMP, with actors including Fernando Fernán Gómez and Sara Montiel.

The fruits of evangelization

In the second part, "100 años por ellos" (100 years for them), OMP sets out the results of missionary work. Drawing on a detailed study of figures in the Pontifical Yearbooks of 1925, 1950, 1975, 2000 and 2025, the section offers interactive maps and infographics on the reach of evangelization. The number of mission dioceses has quadrupled over the century. On average, each day over the past 100 years, 9,000 new Catholics have been baptized, two priests ordained, five religious sisters consecrated, and one parish and three schools built.

The site shows how, 100 years ago, evangelization was entrusted to religious institutes and congregations, and how the Church has since been established in those territories, giving rise to the 1,132 dioceses that exist today. Founded by missionaries, those dioceses still need the support of the whole Church, OMP says. An interactive world map traces what the site calls the missionary "explosion" of the past century, with exponential growth in dioceses and in the number of Catholics.

As an example, the site follows the development of Nakuru, Kenya, where Domund funds have gone year by year toward building up the local Church through convents, parishes, training for catechists and vocations, schools and other works. The section also includes previously unpublished black-and-white photographs of missionaries who took the Gospel to the five continents in far harder conditions than today's.

Testimony from Spanish missionaries

In the final part, "100 años para Él" (100 years for Him), Spanish missionaries recall what the day has meant to them over the years. Many discovered their vocation through the Domund, or have found in its financial support and prayer the means to continue their mission. The site closes with the Domund prayer, proposed by Pope Leo XIV.

With the website, OMP is preparing the Domund campaign, which will be held for the 100th time on October 18. The pope has chosen as the theme "One in Christ, united in mission." OMP said it will announce further initiatives for the centenary across Spain during September and October.