Association for the Propagation of the Faith

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Association for the Propagation of the Faith

Please click on questions below to view the answers: to hide the revealed text, click the question again.

• What is the APF?

  • The Society of the Propagation of the Faith (APF) is one of the four Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) and under papal patronage since 1922. The APF is the principal mission support organisation of the Catholic Church. The collection from the APF ‘Red Boxes’ and World Mission Sunday enable the Church in England and Wales to share in spreading the Gospel in each of the 1,062 mission dioceses in the world. The APF has an office in 159 countries worldwide and each is headed by a National Director. Here the National Director is Father John Dale.
     

• What we do

  • In England and Wales the APF works with the Mill Hill Missionaries to encourage participation in the mission of the Church through prayer, generous sacrifice, voluntary work and the financial support of our sister churches overseas.

  • Through their prayers and donations APF supporters live out their own missionary vocation and play a vital role in building up the Church in all its aspects.
     

• Where we are

  • All four societies of the PMS of England and Wales are based at 23 Eccleston Square, London SW1V 1NU. The national director is Fr John Dale. In addition, every diocese has a diocesan director who is appointed by the bishop of that diocese.
     

• How do I contact the APF?

  • Please contact the APF General Office or the PMS National Director, Father John Dale - details are given on the side menu of this page.
     

• How is APF funding collected and distributed?

  • Funding is collected through the ‘Red Boxes’, annual membership, Mission Sunday donations and through legacies. The monies collected each year are distributed by agreement between the APF National Directors worldwide who meet in Rome each year to discuss funding allocations.

  • The APF works through local Bishops, churches and missionary congregations to ensure that resources are distributed equitably and justly – on the basis of need rather than depending on particular links or ‘twinning’.

  • Every diocese contributes towards the fund of Universal Solidarity which is then shared out ‘from each according to their resources, to each according to their need’. The monies go directly from England and Wales to the Bishops in the mission territories - local church directly helping local church!
     

• How do I find out more information on the APF?

  • Please see the side menu for details of how to contact the APF. You can view a copy of our quarterly magazine Mission Today on line or request a copy from the APF office. Mission Today is sent to all APF supporters who have a Red Box or an annual membership subscription.
     

• How do I become an APF member?

  • • By donating through the Red Box – To obtain a Red Box for your home please contact your APF Local Secretary (through your Parish Priest or Parish office). Most parishes have an APF local secretary and a team of promoters who collect Red Box contributions within the parish and deliver the Mission Today magazine.  A Red Box enables you to share daily in the work of spreading the Gospel.  Red Box holders do not receive appeal letters from the National Office and their details will not be passed on to any other charity or organisation.
     

  • • By making a regular donation – you may make a regular donation either by cheque/credit card/standing order or charity voucher.  Regular donors become annual members and are placed on our mailing list (you can ask to be taken off the mailing list at any time). Mission Today will be posted to you 4 times a year and you will only receive one annual reminder letter to renew your membership.
     

  • By becoming a volunteer for the APF in your parish

    • APF-Mill Hill work at parish level is coordinated through the Local Secretary (LS) who is appointed by the Parish Priest.

    • Local Secretaries are an essential part of the APF-Mill Hill Network, their time and effort continues to make a huge difference to the way the Church can grow throughout the world.

    • Local Secretaries are responsible for coordinating the way Red Box monies are collected and banked in the Parish as well as the distribution of Mission Today; this can be done in two ways:
      1. by a group of volunteers (called promoters) who arrange to collect donations from the box holders and deliver Mission Today to them.
      2. through the envelope system which is collected and brought back to the parish.   
       

    • We ask for your spiritual support for the continuing work of the APF, and of course any financial support you may be able to offer.
       

• What is Mission Today?

  • APF-Mill members receive a copy of the quarterly magazine, Mission Today, one of the most widely-distributed mission magazines in England and Wales. The full-colour magazine, comes out in Spring, Summer and Autumn, the Winter issue being a  liturgical calendar with space for notes. Mission Today contains articles by lay people, religious sisters and priests about the missions, prayer, the Bible and topical issues from a Catholic perspective.

  • Life Members and Annual Members receive their copies through the post and Box holders receive theirs through the Local Secretary in the parish.  
     

• Supporting the APF by making a one-off donation –

  • all donations received are greatly appreciated and make a significant difference to the number of people helped by APF-Mill Hill. You can make a safe on-line donation by pressing the donate button at the top of this page. If you prefer you can download a donation form or you can make an anonymous donation by sending a cheque to:
    APF, 23 Eccleston Square, London SW1V 1NU.
     

• How do I make a donation? 

  Either click on the Donations Button at the top right-hand side of this page or one of the links below.

  • Whom do I make cheques payable to?
    Please make cheques payable to ‘The APF’
     

  • Standing Order donations
    Please send us an email to request a standing order form click here and we will post it to you. Please include your full name and address
     

  • Card donations
    Please send us an e-mail to request a donation form click here which includes the different ways you can make a donation to the APF. You can also call our offices (9am – 5pm) to phone through your donation. 
     

  • Online donations
    Secure online donations can be made through Charity Choice – please go to our donations page which can be found by clicking on the Donations button at the top right of this page
     

• I would like to know more about Gift Aid

  • To request a Gift Aid form click here 
    Please include your full name and address
     

• I would like to know more about leaving a legacy

  • Request a Making a Will leaflet click here
     

• How often are APF-Mill Hill appeals made in my parish?

  • Every five years. This 5-yearly appeal for the ‘Red Boxes’ is mandatory and has a unique role in supporting the universal mission of the Church. It is not an appeal for money, but an invitation to keep a ‘Red Box’ in your home.
     

• What are the books of remembrance?

  • Our Books of Remembrance contain the names of our deceased members and benefactors. A name is entered as soon as we are informed of the death by relatives, local secretaries or in the case of legacies, by the solicitor. Mass is said every day in Lisieux for all living and deceased members and benefactors of the APF.  Mill Hill priests each offer Mass for deceased members and benefactors in November, and they are remembered at Mass every Sunday and in the daily Office.
     

• Do you receive prayer intentions?

  • Yes. Please let us know and we will put them into our mission prayer box which we keep at the side of the tabernacle in our chapel. The intentions in the box are remembered each time we celebrate Mass here at our offices.
     

• What is World Mission Sunday?

  • World Mission Sunday is a day set aside for Catholics worldwide to recommit themselves to the Church's missionary activity through prayer and sacrifice. Annually, World Mission Sunday is celebrated on the penultimate Sunday in October. Offerings from Catholics in England and Wales, on World Mission Sunday and throughout the year, are combined with offerings from Catholics around the world and distributed to mission dioceses — about 1,069 at this time.

  • The Association for the Propagation of the Faith (APF) is responsible for coordinating World Mission Sunday and provides new, young or poor dioceses with the essential support they need on their journey to becoming self-sufficient.

• How did the APF begin?

  • The Association for the Propagation of the Faith was started among factory workers by a young lay woman Pauline Jaricot, in Lyons, France.  It was formally established there in 1822.
     

  • Members promised to pray daily for the Missions and to support them by a weekly financial sacrifice.  From the outset it was clear that the help should be shared out to all the missions of the world especially the poorest and most in need.  To this day the APF guarantees an equal distribution of funds according to the needs of each local church. 
     

  • The APF was established in England by 1833, only four years after Catholic Emancipation!
     

  • In May 1922, Pope Pius XI made it a Pontifical Society, and thus it became the Church’s official organisation for helping the missions.