First heard at Baptism, the call to share our faith — to be missionaries — is truly connected to every moment of every day. The Missionary Childhood Association (MCA) offers young Catholics and their families opportunities to make those daily connections. The MCA was founded to educate and animate children with the goal of enabling them to support children around the world.
The future of the world and the very existence of faith are in the hands of today's children. Among the world's children are future popes, bishops, priests and religious, future lay leaders and missionary catechists. The MCA is the Pontifical Mission Society that cultivates "children helping children" through programs which help children around the globe to see, know and love Jesus - and one another. After learning about the great needs of the world’s poorest children, young people are invited to pray and to offer financial help so that children in the Missions today may know Christ and experience His love and care.
To learn more or place an order for 2023-2024 MCA materials, visit MCAKIDS. New to teaching about mission? Downloadable documents for teachers and catechists:
This year, the National office is no longer accepting physical entries and suggests using the online entry form. This is not to discourage collection of the authentic artwork at the local offices, but to remove the New York address from the contest guidelines. The National Office MCA Director want to ensure that at the closing of the online entry form, offices will have access to entries and artwork that was submitted by schools or individuals in the respective diocese for recognition.
Here is the online entry form: MCA Artwork Contest Entry Form (missio.org)
Twenty-two winners will be selected in this national competition, as well as two grand-prize winners whose artwork will be the official National Christmas card of the Pontifical Mission Societies.
Contest winners will be notified in late spring 2024 and announced to Catholic media in fall 2024. All winners receive a commemorative plaque, and will be celebrated at an event in December 2024.
To enter, please complete the form at right and upload your art as PDF or .jpg file. Files may not exceed 100MB.
Please note:
Every year, 24 winning artwork is chosen from among thousands of entries received from elementary school students across the United States. We are especially proud to announce that for the school year 2022-2023 one of the 24 national artwork entry winners is from the Diocese of Metuchen.
The artwork of Kaitlyn Wang from St. Bartholomew School in East Brunswick, was selected as a Grand Prize Winner in the 2022-2023 Missionary Childhood Association Christmas Artwork Contest among thousands of entries nation-wide. Her faith-filled artwork will be available as shareable digital greetings beginning the first week of Advent 2023.
The policy of every Bishop of Metuchen that the Missionary Childhood Association is the mandated program by which our children in Catholic schools and parish religious education programs support other children in the missions.
MCA Diocesan Policy
In support of sharing the Good News of Jesus with the world, let us pray together the World Mission Rosary through this audio link. Each decade of the World Mission Rosary calls to mind an area where the Church continues her evangelizing mission.
As we celebrate Epiphany, we are reminded that we are missionaries through our prayers and sacrifices and through our financial gifts to the Missionary Childhood Association.
Epiphany Prayer Service
This program serves as MCA’s Lenten prayer and sacrifice program for Grades K to 8 as well as Grades 9 to 12.