Society for the Propagation of the Faith

The Society for the Propagation of the Faith is one of four Pontifical Mission Societies. The others are: The Society of St. Peter Apostle, The Missionary Union of Priests and Religious and the Holy Childhood Association.

Under the direction of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (Rome, Italy), and the bishops, the Society for the Propagation of the Faith seeks to foster an ever-deeper spirit of universal mission, to inform Catholics of the life and the needs of the Catholic Church in the Missions, and to encourage prayer and financial help for those mission churches.

Along with Mission Sunday, Mission Cooperation, Peter's Pence, Lent/Christmas Appeal, this office also coordinated the following special collections: Holy Land, Catholic Home Missions and Special Needs.

Through the offerings of Catholics worldwide, the Propagation of the Faith provides ongoing support for the pastoral and evangelizing programs of the Catholic Church in Africa, Asia, the Islands of the Pacific and remote regions of Latin America. This includes aid for the education and support of seminarians, Religious novices and lay catechists; for the work of Religious Communities in education, health care and social services; for communication and transportation needs, and for disaster and emergency relief when necessary.

The national office for the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in the United States is located in New York; the national director is Rev. Andrew Small, OMI. This Manhattan location is also the national office for The Society of St. Peter the Apostle and The Missionary Union of Priests and Religious.

Following is the list of special collections for the Diocese of Phoenix.

Collection Title	Formula for Dates	Office Responsible	2011	2012	2013
Catholic Relief Services	Fourth Sunday in Lent	Chancery		March 18, 2012	March 10, 2013
Holy Land	Good Friday	Propagation of Faith		April 6, 2012	March 29, 2013
Catholic Home Missions	Last Sunday in April	Propagation of Faith		April 29, 2012	April 28, 2013
Communications	Mid-May	Communications Office		May 20, 2012	May 12, 2013
The Catholic University	Second Sunday in June	Propagation of Faith		June 10, 2012	June 9, 2013
Native American and Black Mission	Sunday closest to July 14th	Ethnic Ministry Office		July 15, 2012	July 14, 2013
Special Needs Church in Latin America, Church in Africa, Church in Eastern Europe	Second Saturday in August	Propagation of Faith		August 12, 2012	August 11, 2013
Peter's Pence	Third Sunday in September	Propagation of Faith		Sep 16, 2012	Sep 15, 2013
Gospel of Life Collection	First Sunday in October	Respect Life Office		Oct 7, 2012	Oct 6, 2013
Mission Sunday	Next to last Sunday in October	Propagation of Faith		Oct 21, 2012	Oct 20, 2013
Campaign for Human Development	Sunday before Thanksgiving	Chancery		Nov 18, 2012	Nov 24, 2013
Retirement Fund for Priests and Religious	Second Sunday in December	Office of Religious & Vicar for Priests Office	Dec 11, 2011	Dec 9, 2012	Dec 8, 2013