More than 1,000 Missionaries of Mercy from all over the world will receive a special mandate from Pope Francis to preach and teach about God's mercy.
About 700 of the missionaries who were chosen by Pope Francis will be in Rome to receive their special mandate in person during an Ash Wednesday ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica Feb. 10, said the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, the office organizing events for the Year of Mercy.
Representing the Diocese of San Angelo is Fr. Sam Matthiesen, who was ordained in 2013.
For the holy year, which runs until Nov. 20, Pope Francis said he would designate Missionaries of Mercy to be unique signs of God's mercy.
“My general focus will of course be on mercy, and I will be available for retreats or talks at different parishes about mercy, with a special focus on reconciliation,” said Fr. Matthiesen. Some priests will be called to do mission work outside of their diocese. It is unknown if Fr. Matthiesen will be among those called upon for that type of mission work.
Pope Francis is also giving these Missionaries of Mercy special authority during the Jubilee Year of Mercy to pardon sins that carry penalties that only the Holy See can lift.
“These (sins) occur in very rare situations such as the intentional sacrilegious violation of the Eucharist, the violation of the sacred seal of Confession, or physically attacking certain persons,” noted Most Rev. Michael J. Sis, Bishop of San Angelo.
During a news conference at the Vatican January 29, Archbishop Fisichella said there had been a huge response from priests and religious men who — with permission from their bishops or superiors — requested to serve as these special missionaries.
The original plan was to have just 800 missionaries, however, the number of requests was so great, 1071 men ended up being chosen, Archbishop Fisichella said. The missionaries will serve in their own dioceses, but they may be invited by other bishops to visit other dioceses as well.
The pontifical council will send out to all the world's bishops a list of the names and personal contact information of all the missionaries appointed by the pope, the archbishop said.
It will then be up to an individual bishop to reach out to a missionary on the list to invite him to his diocese, as well as cover expenses and provide what may be needed for his stay, the archbishop said.
“I really like the way Pope Francis is carrying out the Year of Mercy and I’d like to promote it as much as I can,” Fr. Matthiesen said. “I think people need to understand we’re not going to be judged as soon as we walk into church.”
The Vatican stated that it desired to have “good preachers and compassionate confessors” as Missionaries of Mercy, Fr. Matthiesen said.
Missionaries were chosen from all over the world, including China, the United Arab Emirates and East Timor. There were to be 125 missionaries from the United States and 10 missionaries from Canada, the council said.
"It is only the pope who nominates these missionaries, not the bishops, and it is he who entrusts them with the mandate to announce the beauty of the mercy of God while being humble and wise confessors who possess a great capacity to forgive those who approach the confessional," the archbishop said.
Those who wanted to serve as special missionaries, but were not chosen, are encouraged to "work as witnesses of mercy in their own daily missions, in the parishes, institutes, and other communities where they offer their service with love," the council said on its website,
www.im.va.
The Catholic News Service’s Carol Glatz contributed to this story.