Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions

The Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions or PIME (Pontificium Institutum pro Missionibus Exteris; Pontificio Istituto Missioni Estere) is a society of secular priests and lay people who dedicate their lives to missionary activities in: Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong, India, Ivory Coast, Japan, Mexico, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and Thailand.

Independently founded in Milan in 1850 and Rome in 1874 as a group of missionary-style diocesan priests and seminarians, these two seminaries were merged and officially recognized as PIME in 1926 by Pope Pius XI. PIME supports more than 500 missionaries in 18 countries and is headquartered in Rome. The institute opened its North American Regional headquarters in Detroit in 1947 at the invitation of Cardinal Edward Mooney, Archbishop of Detroit.

The members of PIME minister in local parishes, fostering vocations, mission awareness and financial assistance to their missions and missionaries around the world. PIME has built more than 2,000 churches and chapels and either operates or supports many hospitals and clinics, schools, orphanages and shelters. Among the programs offered by PIME are:
 * Chapel Building
 * Foster Parents - Adoptions at a Distance
 * Masses
 * Missionary Medical Relief
 * Native Seminarians Program
 * Special Appeals
 * Special Projects
 * Vocations

Museum
The Peoples and Culture Museum (Museo Popoli e Culture) was founded in 1910 at the PIME Center in Milan. It houses collections from Asia, Africa, Oceania and Latin America.