From biblical mountaintops to Ethiopia’s cliff churches, mountain regions hold deep spiritual and ecological significance, now threatened by rapid glacier loss and and a warming planet.

Read all

 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christian archaeology seeks to see, hear and touch the Word made flesh, Pope Leo XIV said, inviting the world's bishops and others to encourage young people, lay people and priests to study archaeology.

Ancient relics, catacombs, artifacts and ruins from the early Christian communities help the faithful "rediscover the roots of their faith," and they speak "to those who are distant, to nonbelievers and to those who question the meaning of life, because they find an echo of eternity in the silence of the tombs and in the beauty of the early Christian basilicas," the pope wrote in a new document.

"Moreover, archaeology speaks to young people, who often seek authenticity and significance; to scholars, who view faith as a historically documented reality rather than an abstraction; to pilgrims, who find in the catacombs and shrines a sense of purpose and an invitation to pray for the Church," he wrote.

The Vatican released Pope Leo's apostolic letter "on the importance of archaeology," Dec. 11, "on the occasion of the centenary of the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology," which was founded by Pope Pius XI in 1925. The pope also met with members of the institute in an audience at the Vatican the same day.

The institute is a graduate-level research and teaching institution that offers degrees in Christian archaeology and has trained hundreds of archaeologists who specialize in ancient Christianity.

In the six-page letter, Pope Leo reaffirmed "the essential role of archaeology in understanding Christianity and, consequently, its application within catechetical and theological formation."

"This is not about reducing ecclesial life to a cult of the past," he wrote. True Christian archaeology is about making "the past speak to the present" and recognizing "the role of the Holy Spirit in guiding history."

"In today's fast-paced world, there is a tendency to forget and to consume images and words without reflecting on their meaning," Pope Leo wrote. "The Church, on the other hand, is called to educate people in memory, and Christian archaeology is one of its most noble tools for doing so."

Archaeology is "a ministry of hope, for it shows that faith has already survived difficult times and resisted persecution, crises and changes," he wrote. "Those who study the origins of Christianity discover that the Gospel has always had a generative force, that the Church is always reborn," and that the faith "has been renewed and regenerated, taking root in new peoples and flourishing in new forms."

"We live in an age in which misuse and overconsumption have taken precedence over preservation and respect," he wrote. "Archaeology, on the other hand, teaches us that even the smallest piece of evidence deserves attention, that every detail has value and that nothing can be discarded."

Archaeologists, he wrote, "do not destroy, but decipher," identifying "the spirit of an era, the meaning of faith and the silence of prayer on a piece of pottery, a corroded coin or a faded engraving." This kind of attitude and approach of respect "can teach us a great deal about pastoral care and catechesis today."

"Christian communities safeguarded not only Jesus' words, but also the places, objects and signs of his presence," he wrote. "The empty tomb, Peter's house in Capernaum, the tombs of the martyrs and the Roman catacombs all testify that God has truly entered history, and that faith is not a mere philosophy, but a tangible path within the reality of the world."

"In an era when culture often loses sight of its roots, archaeology becomes a valuable instrument" for evangelization, he said in the new document.

Christian archaeology does not simply look at the past, he wrote, but it also speaks to all people in the present day: the faithful, those who are distant, nonbelievers, young people and even scholars.

"It is still the mission of Christian archaeology to help the Church remember its origins, preserve the memory of its beginnings and recount the history of salvation not only through words, but also through images, forms and spaces," he wrote. 

Christian archaeology "seeks to touch, see and hear the Word made flesh," he wrote. "By concentrating on the physical traces of faith, archeology educates us in a theology of the senses: a theology that knows how to see, touch, smell and listen."

"Do we too believe in the power of study, formation and memory? Are we willing to invest in culture despite today's crises, to promote knowledge despite indifference and to defend beauty even when it seems irrelevant?" Pope Leo asked.

He invited "bishops, as well as leaders and guides in the areas of culture and education, to encourage young people, lay people and priests to study archaeology."

"Christian archaeology is a service, a vocation and a form of love for the Church and for humanity," he wrote, encouraging the pontifical institute to "continue your excavations. Continue to study, teach and recount history" to others as well as to "make visible the Word of life, bearing witness that God became flesh, that salvation has left its mark, and that this Mystery has become a historical narrative."

The Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology was founded to complement the work of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, which oversees the protection, conservation and administration of Christian catacombs and other sacred archaeological sites in Italy; the Pontifical Roman Academy of Archaeology, which promotes scholarly lectures and study on archaeology spanning from ancient Roman to Medieval times; and the Pontifical Academy "Cultorum Martyrum," which promotes the veneration, historical study and liturgical memory of Christian martyrs.

Pope Leo urged the different bodies to cooperate, communicate and mutually support one another.

Christian archaeology is "a resource for everyone," he wrote, by promoting culture and inspiring "respect for diversity."

122 refugees arrive in Italy from Libya thanks to humanitarian corridors.

Read all

 

All lovers of Scripture have reason to celebrate this day. Damasus was the pope who commissioned Saint Jerome to translate the Scriptures into Latin, the Vulgate version of the Bible. Damasus was a sixty-year-old deacon when he was elected bishop of Rome in 366. His reign was marked by violence from the start when another group decided to elect a different pope. Both sides tried to enforce their selections through violence. Though the physical fighting stopped, Damasus had to struggle with ...

In a new Apostolic Letter commemorating the centenary of the foundation of the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology, Pope Leo XIV highlights the importance of archaeology, noting that this academic discipline bears witness to the fact that God became flesh.

Read all

 

Marking the 100th anniversary of the Pontifical Institute for Christian Archaeology, Pope Leo XIV invites students and faculty to engage in cultural diplomacy, serve as a tool for ecumenism through their work and be a reminder of Europe’s Christian roots.

Read all

 

Speaking to organizers of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, Pope Leo XIV reflects on the need to be witnesses of kindness and charity in a world marked by division, whilst also taking concrete steps towards achieving fraternity.

Read all

 

The Catholic Church in Guinea-Bissau has solemnly consecrated the nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The celebration was marked by calls for peace and prayers for reconciliation and the reinstitution of democracy after a military coup d'état.

Read all

 

Two months after the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took effect, UNRWA's Communications Director describes the ongoing humanitarian emergency and the need for a lasting political solution.

Read all

 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The secret to living an authentic life is praying to understand what is truly beneficial according to God's plan and letting go of the superfluous, Pope Leo XIV said.

In fact, death "can be a great teacher of life. To know that it exists, and above all to reflect on it, teaches us to choose what we really want to make of our existence," the pope said Dec. 10 at his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

"Praying, in order to understand what is beneficial in view of the kingdom of heaven, and letting go of the superfluous that instead binds us to ephemeral things, is the secret to living authentically, in the awareness that our passage on earth prepares us for eternity," he said.

It was the pope's first general audience after returning from his first apostolic trip, a visit to Turkey and Lebanon Nov. 27-Dec. 2. An 82-foot-tall Christmas tree, which arrived Nov. 27 and will be fully decorated and unveiled with the Nativity scene Dec. 15, could be seen near the obelisk in the square. 

Instead of using his general audience talk to recap his trip as had been the custom of his immediate predecessors, the pope did so after reciting the Angelus Dec. 7. At the audience, he continued his series of talks on the Jubilee theme of "Jesus our hope," focusing on "death in the light of the Resurrection."

"Our present culture tends to fear death and seeks to avoid thinking about it, even turning to medicine and science in search of immortality," Pope Leo said in his English-language remarks.

However, Jesus' victory of passing from death to life with his Resurrection "illuminates our own mortality, reminding us that death is not the end, but a passing from this life into eternity," he said. "Therefore, death is not something to be feared, but rather a moment to prepare for."

"It is an invitation to examine our lives and so live in such a way that we may one day share not only in the death of Christ, but also in the joy of eternal life," the pope said.

"The event of the Resurrection of Christ reveals to us that death is not opposed to life, but rather is a constitutive part of it, as the passage to eternal life," he said in his main catechesis in Italian.

"He has prepared for us the place of eternal rest, the home where we are awaited; he has given us the fullness of life in which there are no longer any shadows and contradictions," Pope Leo said.

Awaiting death "with the sure hope of the Resurrection preserves us from the fear of disappearing forever and prepares us for the joy of life without end," he said.