Pope Leo reflects on ‘profound and vital link’ between God’s Word and the Church

February 11, 2026

Continuing his series of Wednesday general audiences on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Pope Leo XIV reflected today on the “profound and vital link that exists between the Word of God and the Church.”

The audience (video), which took place in Paul VI Audience Hall, was the sixth in the series overall, and the fifth devoted to Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (1965).

“The Church is the rightful home of Sacred Scripture,” Pope Leo began. “Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Bible arose from the people of God, and is destined for the people of God. In the Christian community it has, so to speak, its habitat: indeed, in the life and the faith of the Church it finds the space where it can reveal its meaning and manifest its power.”

Quoting Verbum Domini, Pope Benedict XVI’s 2010 apostolic exhortation on the Word of God in the life of the Church, Pope Leo said that “the intrinsic link between the word and faith makes clear that authentic biblical hermeneutics can only be had within the faith of the Church.” Pope Leo continued:

In the ecclesial community, Scripture therefore finds the sphere in which to carry out its particular task and achieve its purpose: to make Christ known and to open dialogue with God. Indeed, “ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” This well-known expression of Saint Jerome reminds us of the ultimate purpose of reading and meditating on the Scriptures: to get to know Christ and, through Him, to enter into a relationship with God, a relationship that can be understood as a conversation, a dialogue.

Thus, “Sacred Scripture, entrusted to the Church and preserved and explained by her, performs an active role: indeed, with its efficacy and power it sustains and invigorates the Christian community,” Pope Leo said. “All the faithful are called to drink from this wellspring, first and foremost in the celebration of the Eucharist and the other Sacraments.”

“The Word of God also propels the Church beyond herself; it opens her continually to the mission towards everyone,” the Pope added. “The Word of God responds to our thirst for meaning, for the truth about our life. It is the only Word that is always new: revealing the mystery of God to us, it is inexhaustible, it never ceases to offer its riches”.

The Pontiff concluded:

Dear friends, living in the Church one learns that the Sacred Scripture is totally relative to Jesus Christ, and one experiences that this is the deep reason for its value and its power. Christ is the living Word of the Father, the Word of God made man. All the Scriptures proclaim his Person and his saving presence, for each one of us and for all humanity. Let us therefore open our hearts and minds in order to receive this gift, following the example of Mary, Mother of the Church.

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Audiences in series “Vatican Council II through its Documents”

• Introductory catechesis (1/7/26)

On Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (1965):

• God speaks to men as to friends (1/14/26)
• Jesus Christ reveals the Father (1/21/26)
• A single sacred deposit: The relationship between Scripture and Tradition (1/28/26)
• The Sacred Scripture: the Word of God in human words (2/4/26)
• The Word of God in the life of the Church (2/11/26)

 

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Further information:

• General Audience (Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2/11/26)