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| Ecclesiam Suam Latin for 'His Church' Encyclical of Pope Paul VI | |
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| Signature date | 6 August 1964 |
| Subject | The mandate of the Catholic Church in the modern world |
| Number | 1 of 7 of the pontificate |
| Text | |
Ecclesiam Suam is an encyclical letter of Pope Paul VI on the Catholic Church given at St. Peter's, Rome, on the Feast of the Transfiguration, 6 August 1964, the second year of his Pontificate.
In the opening words of the letter, Pope Paul refers to the Church founded by Jesus Christ as "a loving mother of all men".[1] He states that in light of the ongoing Vatican Council he did not want to offer new insights or doctrinal definitions.[2] He asks for a deeper self-knowledge, renewal and dialogue.[3] He also states that the Church itself was engulfed and shaken by a tidal wave of change, and was deeply affected by the climate of the world.[4]
Sean O'Riordan, in The Furrow, noted that the encyclical was issued between the second and third sessions of the Council "to guide the thoughts and aspirations of men, and of his brother bishops in particular, towards the exigencies of the conclusive moment of the Church's history" which was then upon them.[5]
- ^ Pupe Paul VI, Ecclesiam suam, paragraph 1
- ^ Ecclesiam suam, paragraph 6-7
- ^ Ecclesiam suam, 6-12
- ^ Ecclesiam suam, 26.
- ^ O'Riordan, S, The Third Session, The Furrow, Volume 15, No. 10 (October 1964), pp. 621-628, accessed on 5 July 2024