Pope at Audience: Second Vatican Council still guiding star of Church’s journey

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

"It is the Magisterium [of the Second Vatican Council] that still constitutes the guiding star of the Church’s journey today."

Pope Leo XIV expressed this during his Wednesday General Audience, on January 7, in the Vatican, as he began a new catechesis series, which is dedicated to Vatican Council II and a rereading of its Documents, following the Jubilee Year's focus on the mysteries of the life of Jesus.

READ THE FULL CATECHESIS HERE

The Pope called this "a valuable opportunity to rediscover the beauty and the importance of this ecclesial event," pointing to Pope Saint John Paul II's words at the end of the Jubilee 2000 when he said, “I feel more than ever in duty bound to point to the Council as the great grace bestowed on the Church in the twentieth century.” 

Pope Leo recalled that, in 2025, along with the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the Church recalled the 60th anniversary of Vatican II.

He said that while the time that separates us from this event is not so long, it is true that the generation of Bishops and theologians of Vatican II is no longer with us.

Rereading Council's documents

"Therefore, while we hear the call not to let its prophecy fade, and to continue to seek ways and means to implement its insights, it will be important to get to know it again closely, and to do so not through 'hearsay' or interpretations that have been given, but by rereading its documents and reflecting on their content."

He quoted Pope Benedict XVI's words in 2005 that “as the years have passed, the Conciliar Documents have lost none of their timeliness; indeed, their teachings are proving particularly relevant to the new situation of the Church and the current globalized society.” 

Pope Leo recalled that when Pope Saint John XXIII opened the Council on October 11, 1962, he spoke of it as the dawn of a day of light for the whole Church, adding that, "The work of the numerous Fathers convened from the Churches of all continents did indeed pave the way for a new ecclesial season."

Rediscovering face of God as Father calling us to be His children

"After a rich biblical, theological, and liturgical reflection spanning the twentieth century," Pope Leo highlighted, "Vatican II rediscovered the face of God as the Father who, in Christ, calls us to be His children; it looked at the Church in the light of Christ, light of nations, as a mystery of communion and sacrament of unity between God and His people; it initiated important liturgical reform, placing at its centre the mystery of salvation and the active and conscious participation of the entire People of God."

At the same time, the Pope reflected, "it helped us to open up to the world and to embrace the changes and challenges of the modern age in dialogue and co-responsibility" as a Church that "wishes to open her arms to humanity, to echo the hopes and anxieties of peoples, and to collaborate in building a more just and fraternal society."

Thanks to the Second Vatican Council, Pope Leo underscored, quoting Pope Saint Paul VI's Encyclical Ecclesiam suam, the Church “has something to say, a message to give, a communication to make,” striving to seek the truth by way of ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, and dialogue with people of good will.

Guide for Church's spiritual life and pastoral action

"This spirit, this inner disposition," Pope Leo insisted, "must characterize our spiritual life and the pastoral action of the Church, because we have yet to achieve ecclesial reform more fully in a ministerial sense, and, in the face of today’s challenges, we are called to continue to be vigilant interpreters of the signs of the times, joyful proclaimers of the Gospel, courageous witnesses of justice and peace."

He recalled then-Bishop Albino Luciani, the future Pope John Paul I, who wrote a note at the beginning of the Council. "As always," wrote Bishop Luciani, "there is a need to achieve not so much organizations or methods or structures, but a deeper and more widespread holiness."

Pope Leo noted that Pope Francis would later say the Council helped the Church “restore primacy to God, to what is essential: to a Church madly in love with its Lord and with all the men and women whom he loves.” 

Finally, Pope Leo XIV concluded with an invitation to engage in a fresh reading of the Second Vatican Council's documents.

"As we approach the documents of Vatican II and rediscover their prophetic and contemporary relevance, we welcome the rich tradition of the life of the Church, and, at the same time, we question ourselves about the present and renew our joy in running towards the world to bring it the Gospel of the kingdom of God, a kingdom of love, justice, and peace."