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Missionary Childhood Association

A group of children posing together, some wearing colorful traditional attire and others in matching school sweatshirts, with one holding a certificate. A purple draped background is visible behind them.

Making a Difference in the Lives of Children

The Missionary Childhood Association (MCA), formerly known as the Holy Childhood Association is one of the four Pontifical Mission Societies active in some 110 countries throughout the world. Founded in 1843 by Bishop Charles de Forbin-Jason, MCA helps to animate the young faithful to a universal missionary spirit and to gather support for the local churches of Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands and remote regions of Latin America for the Church’s service among children.

With a distinct focus entirely on children, MCA serves the Church worldwide:

  1. Spreads the Good News of Jesus Christ to children all over the world.
  2. Helps build schools.
  3. Provides nutritious meals for hungry children in developing countries.
  4. Provides religious education teachers for students
  5. Provides financial and spiritual support to suffering children in war-torn nations.
  6. Gives young Catholics a chance to live their faith by actively responding to their Baptismal call to mission.
  7. Supports programs that provide children homes in orphanages and hostels in place of the streets.
  8. Is the only association of its kind in the world based on the approach of “Children Helping Children.”
 
All young Catholics have a baptismal responsibility to make the message of Jesus Christ known to others. Through mission education programs and mission presentations, MCA helps our young missionaries in San Diego understand the universal nature of the Catholic Church and to recognize that they are missionaries today, in prayer and sacrifice, reaching out to children in the missions.
A group of children stand together in a classroom, with some smiling and chatting. They are wearing a mix of uniforms and casual clothes. Other students are seated in the background, attentively observing.
A child wearing a red hat and blue scarf receives a glass container from a cleric in a purple robe. Other clergy members and attendees are present in the background.

We are “One Family in Mission”

Each year, the Missionary Childhood Association hosts two special Masses to recognize the generosity of our young missionaries in the diocese of San Diego. One Mass takes place at the Imperial Valley during the month of October and another Mass is celebrated during the Spring at Our Mother of Confidence Parish. During the celebration, we give thanks and praise to God for all the prayers and sacrifices offered by children from Catholic Schools and Religious Education programs throughout the academic year. Students participate during the liturgy as lectors, choir, altar servers, and during the entrance and offertory procession. To enhance the celebration, students wear cultural outfits representing different countries in the world and mission color bandanas. All schools and RE programs are recognized with a certificate.



 

After Mass, we proceed to the Parish Hall to enjoy a luncheon and performances from our talented young missionaries. We are grateful to all principals, catechists, teachers, parents and students for responding to our annual invitation! The celebration is a beautiful way to symbolize that “We are one Family in Mission.”

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen loved the missions and he wanted us to pray for our mission family. Therefore, in 1951 he created the World Mission Rosary. Each set of beads on the World Mission Rosary is a different color and represent a specific part of the world for which to pray.

A mission rosary with beads of various colors representing different continents: red for the Americas, green for Africa, white for Europe, blue for the Pacific, and yellow for Asia. A crucifix hangs at the end.

Green – the forests and grasslands of Africa


Blue – the oceans surrounding the islands of the Pacific


White – Europe the seat of the Holy Father, shepherd of the world


Red – the fire of faith that brought missionaries to the Americas


Yellow – the morning light of the East, for Asia

World Mission Rosary

  • Pray the Mission Rosary or even a decade together as a class or encourage your children to pray it alone or with their families during the week. With your children, discuss the needs of the people in the different areas of the world represented by each color of the decade. Talk together about the many people in the world that may not know of Jesus.
  • Have your children find one country in the news where people are in need. Discuss this need with your children. Stress the idea of being one family. Pray one decade of the rosary each day/week for those people from the news story.
  • Create an acrostic prayer with your children using words like FAMILY, SHARING, MISSION. Write the word vertically on a paper. Create a prayer with your children using each letter of the vertical word to begin a line in the prayer. Pray this prayer daily.
  • Encourage families to begin meals with a prayer of thanksgiving, remembering those in need by “name”- a current news story can be used – i.e. the children in China who can’t talk about Jesus, the refugees in the Sudan, the orphaned children in Ghana, etc.

Remember Daily PRAYER is the best way to make a difference in the lives of children all over the world! The World Mission Rosary is an excellent way to pray for the missions.

Learn How to Make a World Mission Rosary
Purchase Parts and Supplies at www.olrm.org

Contact Information

Staff

  • Director: Rev. Soney Sebastian
  • Associate Director: Sister Doreen Lai, SP
  • Director of MCA at Diocese of San Diego: Sister Eva Rodríguez, SJS
  • Administrative Assistant: Joy Chan

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Copyright © 2025.

Diocese of San Diego Office for Missions.

About the Coat of Arms

Bishop Pulido’s coat of arms is divided into four quarters with wavy horizontal lines from top to bottom. The blue and white lines represent the Blessed Virgin Mary. They also suggest water, which alludes to Jesus washing the feet of His disciples and to the waters of baptism. The red and gold lines represent the Holy Spirit and fire. The colors also can be seen as referring to the Blood that (along with water) poured from Jesus’ side at His crucifixion, as well as to the bread (gold) and wine (red) transformed into the Eucharist. At the center is a roundel featuring a symbolic representation of the “mandatum” (washing of the feet), which he believes exemplifies service to all humanity. The roundel’s outer edge is a line composed of small humps; it is borrowed from the coat of arms of the Diocese of Yakima, where Bishop Pulido served as a priest before being named a bishop.

About the Coat of Arms

Bishop Pham’s coat of arms depicts a red boat on a blue ocean, which is crisscrossed by diagonal lines suggesting a fisherman’s net. This symbolizes his ministry as a “fisher of men,” as well as how his own father had been a fisherman. The boat is also a symbol of the Church, which is often referred to as the “barque of Peter.” At the center of the sail is a red beehive (a symbol of the bishop’s baptismal patron saint, St. John Chrysostom, who was known as a “honey-tongued” preacher). The beehive is surrounded by two green palm branches (an ancient symbol of martyrdom; the bishop’s ancestors were among Vietnam’s first martyrs). The eight red tongues of fire around the boat are a symbol of the Holy Spirit and a representation of the diversity of ethnic and cultural communities. The red of the boat, the beehive and the tongues of fire allude to the blood of the martyrs.

About the Coat of Arms

The coat of arms combines symbols that reflect Bishop Bejarano’s spiritual life and priestly ministry. The main part of the shield shows four wavy vertical lines on a gold background. These represent flowing waters. This alludes to his chosen motto and also symbolizes the graces that come from the Divine life to quench our thirst for God. The upper third of the shield is red because it is borrowed from the coat of arms of the Order of Mercy, of which the Bishop’s patron saint, Raymond Nonnatus, was a member. The central symbol resembles a monstrance because St. Raymond is often depicted holding one. The Eucharist is Bishop Bejarano’s inspiration for his vocation. It was through the Eucharist that he received his call to the priesthood at age seven and which keeps his faith and his ministry going. It represents the call to offer oneself as a living sacrifice. The monstrance is flanked on either side by an image of the Sacred Heart, alluding to the mercy of God and echoing the idea of a sacrificial offering of oneself united to the sacrifice of Christ, and of a rose for Our Lady. It is an allusion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, and highlights the bishop’s Hispanic heritage.

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