''Evangelii nuntiandi'' (''Evangelization in the Modern World''; abbreviation: EN) is an apostolic exhortation issued on 8 December 1975 by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

on the theme of Catholic

evangelization In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are ...

. The title, taken from the opening words of the original Latin text, means "in proclaiming the Gospel". It affirms the role of every Christian, not only ordained ministers, priests, and deacons, or religious, or professional church staff, in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul VI convened a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...

to meet in September 1974 to define what Catholics mean by "evangelization." The exhortation, which appeared in late 1975, reflects the work of that synod. The term, although ancient, was and is ambiguous for many. ''Evangelii nuntiandi'' gave theological principles to guide members in understanding what is meant by the word ''evangelization'' and how it applies to the average Roman Catholic. In doing so, the document emphasized that the modern world emphasized images more than words. As such, the world needs to see witnesses of a new possible way of living in order to be introduced to the Gospel. At the time of the synod, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, the

Archbishop of Kraków The Archbishop of Kraków is the head of the archdiocese of Kraków. A bishop of Kraków first came into existence when the diocese was created in 1000; it was promoted to an archdiocese on 28 October 1925. Due to Kraków's role as Poland's politic ...

and future

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, was

consultor A consultor is one who gives counsel, i.e., a counselor. In the Catholic Church, it is a specific title for various advisory positions: *in the Roman Curia, a consultor is a specially appointed expert who may be called upon for advice desired by ...

to the Pontifical Council for the Laity. He acted as the synod's general rapporteur or recording secretary and participated extensively in the original drafting of ''Evangelii nuntiandi''.

Content

The exhortation has an introduction followed by seven sections. The introduction articulates evangelization as the Church's primary service. The first section highlights the connection between Christ the evangelizer and his Church which imitates his example. In the second section,

Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

and the Synod of Bishops propose a definition of evangelization in contrast to all of the other possible conceptions of the term. The third section explains the content of evangelization. The fourth describes the methods of evangelization. The fifth denotes the beneficiaries of evangelization while the sixth section clarifies who the workers in evangelization are. The seventh, and last, section considers the Spirit of evangelization.

Relation to the New Evangelization

''Evangelii Nuntiandi'' is cited often as a source for the New Evangelization of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

which was described by Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

as a call for each person to deepen one's faith in God, believe in the Gospel's message, and proclaim the Good News. The focus of the New Evangelization calls all to be evangelized and then go forth to evangelize others. It is focused on re-proposing the Gospel to those who have experienced a crisis of faith. According to a 2008 Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate study, only 23% of U.S. Catholics regularly attend Mass once a week, while 77% self-identify as proud to be Catholic.

Pope Francis on ''Evangelii Nuntiandi''

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

referred to Evangelii Nuntiandi as "the greatest pastoral document written to date." and has directed reading and re-reading of EN among bishops and cardinals. His first apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, quoted Evangelii Nuntiandi in a section on popular

piety Piety is a virtue which may include religious devotion or spirituality. A common element in most conceptions of piety is a duty of respect. In a religious context piety may be expressed through pious activities or devotions, which may vary among ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Evangelii nuntiandi at Vatican web site
Apostolic exhortations Conversion to Christianity Documents of Pope Paul VI Catholic missions 1975 documents 1975 in Christianity

Content

Relation to the New Evangelization

Pope Francis on ''Evangelii Nuntiandi''

See also

References

External links