The Council is here to stay

 On 7th January 2026, Pope Leo XIV began a series of General Audience catecheses "dedicated to Vatican Council II and a rereading of its documents".

In this first catechesis of the series, Pope Leo cites each of his immediate predecessors own observations on the Council:

Pope St John Paul II, at the end of the Jubilee Year 2000: “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 Benedict XVI, at the start of his pontificate in 2005: ".. 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 attributes to the work of the Council the observation of Pope St Paul VI in his encyclical letter Ecclesiam Suam: that the Church “has something to say, a message to give, a communication to make”, seeking the truth by the different means of dialogue.

In what might be thought as a statement of his aims in this series of catecheses, Pope Leo says:

Although the time that separates us from this event is not so long, it is equally true that the generation of bishops, theologians and believers of Vatican II is no longer with us. 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. 

Pope Leo's intention that the Church should come to know the Council closely by undertaking a rereading of the Council documents offers an invitation to dialogue to those who would prefer to be critical of the Council's teaching.

As far as the implementation of the insights of the Council is concerned, I do think that there are examples in the experience of the Church where some of its most controverted principles are actually lived out in an authentic way. If time allows, I may post on these examples in the future.

Jubilee Year to mark the 800th Centenary of the death of St Francis of Assisi

 In 2026, the Franciscan family will celebrate the last of three anniversary years marking the last years of the life of St Francis of Assisi. After marking the 800th anniversaries of the Stigmata at La Verna in 2024 and of the composition of the Canticle of the Creatures in 2025,  the year 2026 will mark the 800th anniversary of the death of St Francis. The home page for the 2026 anniversary is here: Home: Franciscan Centenary.

The opening of this year was celebrated in the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels on 10th January. 

A decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary proclaims a special Jubilee Year, starting on 10th January 2026 and ending on 10th January 2027, to mark this centenary. During this Year, a plenary indulgence can be gained under the usual conditions by those: 

.. who, with a heart detached from sin, participate in the Year of Saint Francis by visiting, in the form of a pilgrimage, any Franciscan conventual church or place of worship anywhere in the world dedicated to Saint Francis or connected to him for any reason, and there devoutly follow the Jubilee rites or spend at least a reasonable period of time in pious meditation and raise prayers to God so that, following the example of Saint Francis, feelings of Christian charity towards their neighbours and authentic vows of harmony and peace among peoples may spring forth in their hearts, concluding with the Our Father, the Creed and invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Clare and all the Saints of the Franciscan Family.

Pope Leo XIV addressed a letter to the Ministers General of the different Franciscan bodies taking part in the celebration to open the centenary year (I have added emphasis to a sentence that I think is worth noticing):

At the beginning of his evangelical life, [Francis] heard a call: "The Lord revealed to me that we should say this greeting: “May the Lord give you peace”. With these essential words, he conveys to his friars and to every believer the inner wonder that the Gospel had brought into his life: peace is the sum of all God’s gifts, a gift that comes from above. What an illusion it would be to think that it can be built by human efforts alone! And yet it is an active gift, to be welcomed and lived every day.

It is the same greeting that, on the evening of Easter, the Risen Lord addresses to his disciples, afraid and locked in the Upper Room: “Peace be with you”. It is not a formula of courtesy, but the certain proclamation of Christ's victory over death. Like the voice of the Angels on Christmas night – “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those whom he loves” – so the peace that the Seraphic Father proclaims is the peace that Christ himself made resound between heaven and earth.

Pope Leo ended his letter by offering a prayer to St Francis, that we might adopt for use during the forthcoming year:

Saint Francis, our brother, you who eight hundred years ago

went to meet Sister Death as a man at peace,

intercede for us before the Lord.

You recognized true peace in the Crucifix of San Damiano,

teach us to seek in Him the source of all reconciliation

that breaks down every wall.

You who, unarmed, crossed the lines of war and misunderstanding,

give us the courage to build bridges

where the world raises up boundaries.

In this time afflicted by conflict and division,

intercede for us so that we may become peacemakers:

unarmed and disarming witnesses of the peace that comes from Christ.

Amen.