MISSIO

St Joseph’s Missionary Society was founded at Mill Hill, London, in 1866 by Father Herbert Vaughan, later to become Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster.

It is the only major missionary society to have been formed in England. It was one of the first societies to introduce lay missionaries. Its priests, brothers and lay associates work in 27 countries and on every continent.

Mill Hill Missionaries help build up and sustain new faith communities in some of the poorest areas of the world. Among the Society’s main aims are the evangelisation of the poorest, solidarity with the marginalised, working towards a more just society, concern for the integrity of creation, inter-faith dialogue, and assisting local churches in their own missionary outreach.

In 1935 the Hierarchy of England & Wales asked the Mill Hill Missionaries to combine their existing fundraising organisation (the original Red Boxes) with that of the APF. It was agreed to combine the fundraising activities of the two societies into one common parish-based organisation throughout England and Wales with the right to make a five-yearly membership appeal in each parish, sharing the money raised by membership subscriptions and the Red Boxes, and publishing a joint magazine Mission Today. The Hierarchy endorsed this agreement, which then came into effect in 1936 and is unique to England and Wales.