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| Evangelii praecones Encyclical of Pope Pius XII | |
|---|---|
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| Signature date | 2 June 1951 |
| Number | 20 of the pontificate |
Evangelii praecones (June 2, 1951) was an encyclical letter of Pope Pius XII about Catholic missions. In it, he described necessary improvements and changes, and the persecution of the Church in some parts of the world. The encyclical was issued in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the encyclical Rerum ecclesiae by his predecessor Pope Pius XI.[1]
It is sometimes identified as the first of five papal encyclicals issued between 1919 and 1959 that redefined the Church’s missionary role.[2]
- ^ AAS 1951, 497
- ^ Kroeger, James (2013). "Papal Mission Wisdom: Five Mission Encyclicals". In Bevans, Stephen B. (ed.). A Century of Catholic Mission. Regnum. pp. 93–100. The others are Rerum Ecclesiae (Pius XI, 1926), Evangelii praecones (Pius XII, 1951), Fidei donum (Pius XII, 1957), and Princeps pastorum (John XXIII, 1959).