Pope: new series of catechises on Vatican II, "the guiding star of the Church's journey"
Leo XIV held his first general audience of 2026 in the Nervi Hall, in the presence of 7,000 people. He began the reflections on the Council documents to “continue to seek ways and means to implement its insights," and “achieve ecclesial reform more fully”. The pope is also set to preside over his first extraordinary consistory this afternoon, with all the cardinals summoned to Rome.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The first general audience of 2026 took place indoors today, in the Nervi Hall, due to bad weather in Rome. This morning, Pope Leo XIV appeared before 7,000 faithful, inaugurating a new series of catechesis “dedicated to the Second Vatican Council and a rereading of its Documents.”
Today’s audience follows the conclusion of the Jubilee series on the theme "Jesus Christ, Our Hope". This “is a valuable opportunity to rediscover the beauty and the importance of this ecclesial event,” Leo XIV said.
Today, the first extraordinary consistory convened by Leo XIV is also set to start in the Vatican at 4:00 pm. The two-day gathering will be devoted to “reflection, sharing and prayer” by the pontiff and the College of Cardinals, which includes 245 members (122 electors, and 123 non-electors).
After a preview last November, the Holy See Press Office announced on 20 December 2025 that the various moments “will be oriented towards fostering common discernment and offering support and advice to the Holy Father in the exercise of his high and demanding responsibility in the governance of the universal Church.”
Convened by John XXIII and concluded by Paul VI, Vatican II was the 21st Council of the Catholic Church, running from 1962 to 1965. Leo described it as the “guiding star of the Church's journey”.
“Together with the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, in 2025 we remembered the sixtieth anniversary of Vatican Council II,” Leo said. Since 1965, the "generation of bishops, theologians, and believers" who supported it has passed away; yet the "call not to let its prophecy fade and to continue to seek ways and means to implement his insights" still resonates. Therefore, it is good to "get to know it again closely”.
In this regard, Leo XIV, in the catechesis read in Italian, cited the words of Benedict XVI, who “taught, ‘as the years have passed, [that] 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’.”
Vatican II “paved the way for a new ecclesial season," and led to the rediscovery of "the face of God as the Father" and of the Church as "the sacrament of unity between God and his people.” The “important liturgical reform” it brought about placed the "active and conscious participation of the entire People of God" at its centre.
The Vatican Council “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,” Leo said.
Since the Church “has something to say,” noted Paul VI regarding the council’s impact, the paths to follow in seeking the truth are those “of ecumenism, interreligious dialogue and dialogue with people of good will,” Leo added.
“This spirit, this inner disposition, 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.”
Leo mentioned the prophetic words of John Paul I, who said: “As always, there is a need to achieve not so much organizations or methods or structures, but a deeper and more widespread holiness.”
Pope Francis too said that the rediscovery of the Council “helps us to ‘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’.”
Pope Paul VI “affirmed that the time had come to leave the Council assembly and go out towards humanity to bring it the good news of the Gospel, in the awareness that they had experienced a time of grace in which the past, present and future were condensed”.
“This is also true for us,” Leo noted. “As we approach the documents of Vatican Council 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.”
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