Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization

Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization
Name	Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization
Formation	2010
Founder	Pope Benedict XVI
Dissolution	2016 (merged)
Headquarters	Vatican City
Leader title	President
Leader name	Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella
Parent organization	Roman Curia

Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization was a dicastery of the Roman Curia established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 to address evangelization in former Christendom and secularized societies, responding to shifts noted after the Second Vatican Council and during the pontificates of Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II. It operated in close coordination with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and the Secretariat of State before being integrated into the Dicastery for Evangelization under Pope Francis reforms. The council engaged with episcopal conferences such as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Conference of European Churches, and the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar.

History

The council was announced in a motu proprio by Pope Benedict XVI on 21 June 2010, following themes from Evangelii Nuntiandi authored during the Pontificate of Paul VI and the renewal urged by Redemptoris Missio of Pope John Paul II, while echoing calls from the Second Vatican Council documents such as Ad Gentes and Lumen Gentium. Its founding reflected demographic concerns reported by the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae and analyses by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the Pontifical Academy for Life about secularization in regions like Western Europe, North America, and Oceania. Over its tenure the council collaborated with the Synod of Bishops for Europe and the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization, and its work culminated in integration into the Dicastery for Evangelization during the curial reform initiated by Pope Francis in 2016–2022.

Mission and Mandate

The council's mandate, set out by Pope Benedict XVI in its constituting motu proprio, emphasized promoting renewed missionary activity in traditionally Christian cultures, referencing pastoral priorities from Evangelii Gaudium and doctrinal guidance from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, while liaising with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Pontifical Council for Culture. It sought to mobilize dioceses like the Archdiocese of Milan, the Archdiocese of Westminster, and the Archdiocese of Boston alongside religious orders including the Jesuits, the Franciscans, and the Dominicans to address baptismal practice, catechesis, and sacramental life in the context of societal change studied by institutions such as the Vatican Observatory and the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Organizational Structure

Headquartered in Vatican City, the council adopted a curial model similar to the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, with a president, secretary, and under-secretary collaborating with consultors drawn from episcopal conferences including the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Brazilian Episcopal Conference, universities such as the Pontifical Lateran University, and institutes like the Institut Catholique de Paris. It maintained working groups on catechesis, media, and digital evangelization that connected to the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, and academic centers including the John Paul II Institute.

Major Initiatives and Documents

The council published pastoral guidelines and facilitated events such as the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy preparatory discussions and contributed to the New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith discourse, producing documents and conferences resonant with themes in Evangelii Nuntiandi, Redemptoris Missio, and Evangelii Gaudium. Initiatives included formation programs with the Pontifical Lateran University, collaboration on pilgrimages to Lourdes and Santiago de Compostela, and promotion of digital catechesis in partnership with the Vatican Radio, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, and Catholic media outlets like EWTN and Vatican News.

Leadership

The first and principal president was Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI, with secretaries and consultors drawn from figures associated with the Roman Curia, the Episcopal Conferences of Latin America (CELAM), and prominent theologians from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum). Leadership engaged with global church figures including Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio prior to his election as Pope Francis, synodal fathers, and presidents of national episcopal conferences such as Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Cardinal Angelo Scola.

Relations with Other Vatican Bodies

The council worked in coordination and sometimes tension with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on doctrinal clarity, cooperated with the Congregation for Catholic Education on catechetical curricula, and partnered with the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue on outreach in pluralistic contexts like Paris and London. It engaged ecumenically with the World Council of Churches and interfaith dialogues with bodies including the Aga Khan Development Network in contexts where cultural and religious change intersected.

Reception and Impact

Reception among scholars and church leaders—such as commentators from the Catholic University of America, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, and the Pontifical Gregorian University—included praise for refocusing missionary attention and critiques about redundancy with existing dicasteries like the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Its impact can be traced in renewed pastoral initiatives in dioceses including Milan, Buenos Aires, and Dublin, in formation programs at institutions like the Pontifical North American College, and in contributions to the development of Pope Francis's later curial reforms culminating in the formation of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

Category:Roman Curia