Pope, in audience on Vatican II, reflects on the Church’s mission in the contemporary world

October 08, 2026

Continuing his series of Wednesday general audiences on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Pope Leo XIV devoted his October 7 audience (video) to the mission of the Church in the contemporary world.

The audience, which took place in St. Peter’s Square, was the twenty-eighth audience in the series and the fifth devoted to the Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (1965). The audience was devoted to the pastoral constitution’s fourth chapter, “The Role of the Church in the Modern World” (nos. 40-45).

Following the reading of Matthew 5:13-16, Pope Leo commented on each of the paragraphs of the fourth chapter:

• On n. 40: “First of all, the Council recalls that the Church is not ‘above’ or ‘beside’ the world, but is, as it were, grafted into it ... Just as the Son of God was incarnated to give life to the world and to reconcile it with the Father, so the Church dwells in the world as a sign of the incarnation of God, in order to manifest His plan to make us all His children in one great human family.”
• On n. 41: “The first mission of the Church is to help people be attentive to the profound questions of life: those concerning our origin and our destiny, as well as those concerning the meaning of love and suffering The logic of profit at all costs and the manipulation of information risk exerting undue pressure on people to conform to a lifestyle centered on the consumption of material goods, but our hearts are made to look upwards”.
• On n. 42: “The Council Fathers remind us that the Church’s mission is fulfilled also in contributing to the construction of the earthly city. However, her methods and aims are not primarily of a political order; rather, they consist in bearing witness to faith and charity, together with commitment for justice, peace, and fraternity. By worshipping Christ, the Righteous One who died for the unrighteous, the believer cannot accept the oppression of the weak and the poor, nor the unjust structures that perpetuate conditions of dependence and injustice.”
• On n. 43: “To fulfil the Gospel mission effectively, it is necessary for every baptized person to commit to cooperating with the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that their faith may be living and expressed in consistent behavior.”
• On n. 44: “Finally, the Church is always attentive to what is taking place and developing in society. It is the task of the whole People of God, especially pastors and theologians, to discern what in the cultures of our time is worthy of consideration, always taking the Word of God and the Tradition of the Church as the supreme criteria for discernment. This requires a balanced mind, free from cultural trends, capable of viewing the world in a positive light whilst remaining steadfast in preserving and presenting the Gospel message in its entirety.”

Turning to n. 45, the Pontiff concluded:

Dear friends, as she journeys through history, “the Church has a single intention: that God’s kingdom may come, and that the salvation of the whole human race may come to pass” (GS, 45). She strives towards this end above all through personal holiness and fraternal love.

Saint Paul VI wrote: “Without this mark of holiness, our word will have difficulty in touching the heart of modern man. It risks being vain and sterile.” Let us therefore be open to the action of the Holy Spirit, that He may help us to live in holiness and charity, so that the world may believe and hope.

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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)

On Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (1964):

• The mystery of the Church, sacrament of the union with God, and the unity of all humanity (2/18/26)
• No audience on 2/25 (Pope, Roman Curia on retreat)
• The Church, a Visible and Spiritual Reality (3/4/26)
• The Church, people of God (3/11/26)
• The Church, a Priestly and Prophetic People (3/18/26)
• On the foundation of the Apostles: The Church in her hierarchical dimension (3/25/26)
• Living stones in the Church and witnesses in the world: The laity in the People of God (4/1/26)
• Holiness and evangelical counsels in the Church (4/8/26)
• No audience on 4/15 and 4/22 (in Africa), followed by a special general audience on his apostolic journey to Africa (4/29/26)
• The Church, pilgrim in history towards the heavenly homeland (5/6/26)
• The Virgin Mary, model of the Church (5/13/26)

On Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (1963):

• The liturgy in the mystery of the Church (5/20/26)
• The reform of the liturgy: tradition and development (5/27/26)
• Rite, sign, and symbol (6/3/26)
• No audience on 6/10 (in Spain), followed by a special general audience on his apostolic journey to Spain (6/17/26)
• The mystery of the Eucharist (6/24/26)
• No audiences in July
• The prayer of the Church (8/5/26)
• The liturgical year (8/12/26)
• Sacred music (8/19/26)
• Motivations for liturgical reform (8/26/26)

On Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (1965):

• The Church: Listening to and Serving the World (9/2/26)
• Human dignity: gift and responsibility (9/9/26)
• The human community (9/16/26)
• The meaning of man’s activity throughout the world (9/23/26), followed by special general audience on his apostolic journey to France (9/30/26)

 

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Further information:

• General Audience (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 10/7/26)
• General Audience (Holy See Press Office, 10/7/26)
• Pope at Audience: Church’s mission is to help people look at profound questions of life (Vatican News, 10/7/26)