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Missionary Cooperation Plan

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The assignment of missionaries

One of the diocesan efforts to promote mission awareness and spiritual union with mission efforts is the diocesan Missionary Cooperation Plan (MCP). Because of the many needs of new churches in underdeveloped countries, needs that are as urgent today as in any other period in history, each diocese in the United States invites representatives of missionary dioceses, religious congregations, and lay missionary organizations to visit parishes, usually during the summer months.


The assignment of missionaries to the individual parishes is coordinated by the Mission Office. The representatives speak at Sunday Mass in order to animate the Church in our missionary task by sharing their work and faith experiences. Mutual support through understanding and prayer is the basis for financial collaboration. The hospitality provided by pastors, parish staff, and all the parishioners build up the Church as the living Body of Christ present in the entire world.

The Missionary Cooperation Plan (MCP)

Through the generous self-giving of many faithful throughout our Diocese these missionary dioceses and other evangelizing groups received help to support their ongoing work in sharing the Gospel.



The Missionary Cooperation Plan (MCP) facilitates the access of missionaries (Orders of Missionary men and women, lay missionary societies and designated Mission Dioceses) to the parishes of the diocese to seek help for their projects. In this way parishioners hear directly from missionaries about their work and the peoples that they serve and learn how donating generously is also participation in the mission work.

A group of people stands in a semi-circle, listening to a clergymember wearing a white habit. They are in an outdoor area with striped cloths laid on the ground nearby.

Application For MCP

Kindly use the Application Form provided at the bottom of this page. You may provide additional information on the legal entity, country situated in, missionary work the organization is involved in and what the funds will be used for. The application should include a letter of endorsement from either the Bishop of the Diocese where the ministry takes place or the Provincial Superior/Superior General, if it is a religious order. The endorsement letter should be dated, signed, sealed/stamped by the Bishop or the Provincial Superior/Superior General.

 

Please note that the deadline to apply for MCP is December 1st every year. Any applications received after the deadline will not be accepted. Please refer to the Guidelines and Policies before you submit the application.

We consider the MCP program to be our effort to animate and educate the faithful of the Diocese of San Diego concerning the mission endeavors of our Universal Church.


Mail the application to:



 

Office for the Missions


P.O. Box 82386


San Diego, CA 92138-2386


or Email to:


joy.chan@sdcatholic.org

MCP 2025 Application Form (Fillable)
MCP Revised Guidelines and Policies

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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