The Pontifical Mission Societies (TPMS) of the United States have announced a change in leadership, beginning in 2025. They have tapped Fr. Roger J. Landry, a diocesan priest who played a pivotal role in organizing the 2024 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, to be the group’s new National Director.
A worldwide Catholic network at the service of the pope, the Pontifical Mission Societies encompasses four different groups: the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, the Missionary Childhood Association (MCA), and the Missionary Union of Priests and Religious. Along with supporting on-the-ground missionary work that proclaims the Gospel and builds the Church, these societies work to alleviate suffering in regions touched by natural disaster and war.
According to TPMS’s website, Fr. Landry was considered the perfect fit for this leadership role due to his background in pastoral work, bioethics, youth ministry, and missionary activity. They highlighted his most recent success in which he helped organize and participated in the cross-country National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, a 65-day trek that ended in Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress.
Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan, Archbishop of New York and President of the TPMS USA Board of Directors, expressed how thrilled he was with Fr. Landry’s appointment:
“His commitment to the mission of the Church and his extensive experience make him the ideal leader to guide TPMS USA in its efforts to support the global mission of evangelization, particularly where the message of the Gospel has only recently been introduced, where the Church is materially poor and cannot sustain itself, and also where our brothers in the faith are persecuted,” Cardinal Dolan wrote.
Among his many qualifications for the new position, the Harvard-educated Fr. Landry has formed connections worldwide through his work with various pontifical organizations. A man of many hats, Fr. Laundry has served as Chaplain of Columbia University, editor of his diocesan newspaper, and even as a diplomat of the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations. Furthermore, his work with Aid to the Church in Need has prepared him to address the needs of the Church worldwide.
The priest called the appointment “a great joy and a tremendous honor,” writing humbly in his acceptance of the new leadership position:
“From the time I was a little child, I have loved the mission of the Church. I would go to bed reading about the great missionaries who gave their lives to spread the faith, so today I am overjoyed at the possibility of helping all those on the front lines through The Pontifical Mission Societies USA. As Pope Francis has regularly reminded us, the Church doesn’t just have a mission; the Church is a mission, and each of us, as disciples of Jesus Christ, we too don’t just have a mission; we are a mission on this Earth.”
Read more at the Pontifical Mission Societies’ official website. Get to know Fr. Landry better in his five-part video series on learning to pray, at his YouTube channel.
