“Witnesses and prophets”. This is the slogan created by the National Directorate of Pontifical Mission Societies for World Mission Day 2021 (GMM 2021).
In the following text, the director Don Giuseppe Pizzoli explains the reason for the choice and delves into the theme of testimony and prophecy, in line with the Message written by Pope Francis for WYD2021. 

The month of October, in the Italian Church, is particularly dedicated to the preparation and celebration of the World Mission Day which always occurs on the penultimate Sunday of the month. Every year this event aims to nourish the universal brotherhood of the Church, that is, communion with all the Christian communities scattered around the world, as well as the commitment of solidarity with the most recently formed Churches, with those who live in the poorest countries and with those who suffer persecution.
Furthermore, from a pastoral point of view, the "missionary month" becomes an opportunity to help our Christian communities and all believers to nourish their own "mission" in the Church and in the world.

The theme we are proposing for this year's missionary October completes a three-year journey of missionary training that we thought of as a development of the Extraordinary Missionary Month desired by Pope Francis in 2019. To better understand the meaning and value of the proposed theme, see remember the sequence:

• “Baptized and Sent”: rediscovering the missionary vocation that belongs to all the baptized (2019);
• “Fraternity Weavers”: living Jesus' project as disciples who love as He loved (2020);
• “Witnesses and Prophets”: announce the Kingdom of God, which will come and which has already sprouted among us (2021).

WITNESSES AND PROPHETS: we are called to look at this time in which we live and the reality that surrounds us with eyes of trust and hope. We are certain that, even in the midst of the pandemic and the resulting crises that will accompany us for a long time to come, the Lord has never abandoned us and continues to accompany us. The Kingdom of God is not just a promise for a future that we still feel is too distant. His Kingdom has already been inaugurated, it is already present: we know how to read the signs and, as authentic missionaries, we make it known so that it may be a regenerating hope for everyone.

even the Message from Pope Francis for World Mission Day exhorts us to be witnesses and prophets, with the same courage as Peter and John who, before the leaders of the people and the elders, are not afraid to say: «We cannot remain silent about what we have seen and heard» (Acts 4,20:4,20). Pope Francis says: “In the current context there is an urgent need for missionaries of hope who, anointed by the Lord, are capable of prophetically remembering that no one is saved alone. Like the Apostles and the first Christians, we too say with all our strength: "We cannot remain silent about what we have seen and heard" (Acts XNUMX:XNUMX)". And further on, Pope Francis adds: “The first Christians, far from giving in to the temptation to close themselves into an elite, were attracted by the Lord and by the new life that He offered to go among the people and bear witness to what they had seen and heard: the Kingdom of God is near. They did it with the generosity, gratitude and nobility of those who sow knowing that others will eat the fruit of their commitment and sacrifice. Therefore I like to think that "even the weakest, most limited and wounded can be [missionaries] in their own way, because we must always allow good to be communicated, even if it coexists with many fragilities".

The material prepared by the National Directorate of the Pontifical Mission Societies together with the other articulations of the Missio Foundation, at the service of the Dioceses, parishes and all Christian communities, helps us as the Italian Church to live in "a permanent state of mission" (EG 25 ).