Church of the Sheaves Opens: Mission as Shared Gift
The Dicastery-led initiative, running through Pentecost 2028, rejects one-way mission from North to South and seeks conversion on both sides.
The first international conference of “The Church of the Sheaves,” titled “A Church for All: Synodal in Method, Missionary in Spirit, Credible in Love,” opened October 22, 2026, at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome and runs through October 24. It is organized by the Dicastery for Evangelization in partnership with DePaul University’s Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology, the Urbaniana Faculty of Missiology, and partners from five continents.
Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches), opened the gathering. “Your presence, drawn from different Churches, cultures, and pastoral contexts, already expresses the fundamental truth — the truth that the mission of the Church belongs to all of us, and no local Church can fulfill it alone, and none should be left out,” he said.
The initiative, co-directed by Fr. Stan Chu Ilo, a priest of the Diocese of Awgu, Nigeria, and senior research professor at DePaul, and Fr. Jaeho Chung, draws its name from Psalm 126:6. It frames mission as a reciprocal “exchange of gifts” rather than a one-way flow from North to South.
Every Local Church Gives and Receives
Nwachukwu emphasized that “Every local Church has gifts to give and gifts to receive.” He described the project as requiring preparation on both sides: “We have to prepare the home for the bringing home of the sheaves… we also have to prepare the sheaves so that they will be suitable for the homes.” He rejected viewing missionaries from the Global South merely as a remedy for Western vocations shortages, speaking instead of “a redistribution of priests.”
Day two sessions, moderated by Gaetano Sabetta for Europe and North America, Antonina Wozna for Africa and Asia, and Sandra Arenas for Latin America and the Caribbean, explored “From mission territories to missionary Churches.” Sr. Agnès Sory of the Africa group stated: “No local Church is only a giver. No local Church is only a beneficiary.” Rocío Cortés Rodríguez of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile referenced the Gospel encounter with the Samaritan woman to speak of vulnerability and reciprocity. Fr. Stan Chu Ilo stressed that genuine gift exchange “requires conversion” and is modeled on Trinitarian perichoresis.
A Path Through Pentecost 2028
The program extends through Pentecost 2028 with a 14-module online course, five continent-specific documentaries, five pastoral theology volumes, regional meetings, and a podcast. The conference aligns with the centenary of World Mission Day and with Pope Leo XIV’s calls for bridge-building and synodality.