Vatican City, Jul 5, 2013 / 06:04 am
The first encyclical of Pope Francis – which had been started by the former Pope, Benedict XVI – has been released today to help strengthen the faith of Catholics worldwide.
"We welcome with great joy and gratitude this integral profession of faith, in the form of catechesis written by four hands of the successors of Peter," said Cardinal Marc Ouellet at the Vatican's press office on July 5.
"Together they show forth the Church's faith in its beauty, the faith that is confessed within the body of Christ as the concrete communion of believers," he added.
The encyclical – called "Lumen Fidei" or "The Light of Faith" – was presented at a Holy See press conference with the participation of Cardinal Ouellet, Archbishop Gerhard L. Mueller and Archbishop Rino Fisichella.