The dioceses of Bilbao, San Sebastián and Vitoria celebrated the Day of Basque Diocesan Missions on Sunday, 18 March. Its aim is to increase missionary endeavour and continue to maintain the missionary commitments made to the dioceses of Angola and Ecuador and honoured for almost sixty years. The theme of this year’s Day was “With the poor, against poverty”. To mark the Day, the bishops of the three Basque dioceses, Bishop Ricardo Blázquez Pérez of Bilbao, President of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Juan María Uriarte of San Sebastián, and Bishop Miguel Asurmendi Aramendia of Vitoria published a pastoral letter in which they invite the faithful to renew their missionary commitment and their solidarity with the poor. The bishops refer in their letter to a previous document with the title “Future of our diocesan missions” which sought to revive the missionary commitment of the dioceses, counting on its continuity in spite of the lack of vocations. The particular missionary commitments made include service to communities in situations of particular poverty and vulnerability; the opening to other forms of cooperation; and the sending of laypeople suitably trained in pastoral service. The Basque diocesan missions are active in Luanda (Angola), and in eight parishes in Ecuador. Currently 30 Basque missionaries are active in the missions: 3 priests and one layman in Angola, 11 priests and 15 laypeople in Ecuador.
