On the Apostolic Church

Here is the English-language translation of the catechesis given by His Holiness, Pope Francis during the General Audience held in Saint Peter's Square on Wednesday, October 16 of this year.

Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

for the General Audience

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

When we recite the Creed, we say: I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I don’t know if you have ever reflected on the meaning of the expression the Church is Apostolic. Perhaps never, or perhaps some time, coming to Rome, you thought of the importance of the Apostles Peter and Paul, who gave their life here to bring the Gospel and witness to it.

But it is more. To profess that the Church is Apostolic means to stress the profound, constitutive bond that she has with the Apostles, with that small group of twelve men that one day Jesus called to himself; He called them by name, so that they would stay with Him and to send them to preach (cf. Mark 3:13-19). Apostle, in fact, is a Greek work which means sent. An apostle is a person who is sent, he is sent forth to do something and the Apostles were chosen, called and sent by Jesus, to continue his work, that is, to pray - it is the first job of an apostle - and second, to announce the Gospel. This is important, because when we think of the Apostles we may think that they are only sent to announce the Gospel, to do so many works. But in the first moments of the Church there was a problem because the Apostles had so much to do so they formed deacons, so that there would be more time for the Apostles to pray and announce the Word of God. When we think of the successors of the Apostles, the Bishops, including the Pope because he is also a Bishop, we should ask ourselves if this successor of the Apostles first prays and then announces the Gospel: this is being an Apostles and for this the Church is apostolic. All of us, if we want to be apostles as I will explain now, we must ask ourselves: do I pray for the salvation of the world? Do I announce the Gospel? This is the apostolic Church! It is an associative bond we have with the Apostles.

Beginning, precisely, from this I would like to underline briefly three meanings of the adjective Apostolic applied to the Church.

The Church is Apostolic because she was founded on the preaching and prayer of the Apostles, on the authority that was given to them by Christ himself. Saint Paul wrote to the Christians of Ephesus: You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, (2:19-20) he therefore compares Christians with the living stones that make up the building that is the Church, and this building is founded upon the apostles, as columns, and the rock that holds everything is Jesus Himself. Without Jesus the Church cannot exist! Jesus is the very basis of the Church, the foundation! The Apostles lived with Jesus, they listened to his words, they shared his life. Above all they were witnesses of his Death and Resurrection. Our faith, the Church that Christ desired, is not founded on an idea, on a philosophy, but on Christ himself. And the Church is like a plant that has grown in the course of the centuries; she has developed, borne fruit, but her roots are well planted in Him and the fundamental experience of Christ that the Apostles had, chosen and sent by Jesus, reaching down to us. From that small plant to our times: that is how the Church is in the whole world.

But let’s ask ourselves: how is it possible for us to connect with that witness, how can what the Apostles lived with Jesus, what they heard from him, reach us? Consider a second meaning of the term apostolicity. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the Church is Apostolic because with the help of the Spirit dwelling in her, the Church keeps and hands on the teaching, the ‘good deposit’,’ the salutary words she has heard from the Apostles (no. 857). The Church keeps, throughout the centuries, this precious treasure, which is the Sacred Scripture, the Doctrine, the Sacraments, the ministry of Pastors, so that we can be faithful to Christ and participate in his very life. It is as a river that runs in history, it develops, irrigates, but the running water is always that which comes from the source, from Christ himself: He is the Risen One, the Living One, and his words do not pass away, because He does not pass away, He is alive, He is here with us today, He hears and we speak with Him, He is in our hearts. Jesus is with us, today! This is the beauty of the Church: the presence of Jesus Christ among us. Do we ever think of how important this gift is that Christ has given us, the gift of the Church, where we can encounter Him?  Do we ever think how it is precisely the Church in her long journey throughout these centuries – despite the difficulties, the problems, the weaknesses, our sins – that transmits to us the authentic message of Christ? That she gives us the certainty that what we believe in is really what Christ has communicated to us?

The last thought: the Church is Apostolic because she is sent to take the Gospel to the whole world. The same mission that Jesus entrusted to the Apostles continues in the journey of history: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age (Matthew 28:19-20). This is what Jesus told us to do! I insist on this aspect of missionary activity, because Christ invites all of us to go and meet others, he sends us, he asks us to move out, to take the joy of the Gospel! Once again we ask ourselves: are we missionaries with our words and above all with our Christian life, with our witness? Or are we Christians that are closed in our hearts and in our churches, sacristy Christians? Christians only by word but who live like pagans? We should ask ourselves these questions, which are not a rebuke. I too tell myself the same: how am I a Christian, with a true witness?

The Church has her roots  in the teaching of the Apostles, authentic witnesses of Christ, but she always looks to the future, she has the firm awareness of being sent - sent by Jesus - of being missionary, carrying the name of Jesus with prayer, announcement and witness. A Church that is shut-in on herself and in the past, a Church that looks only at the small rules of habit, of attitude, is a Church that betrays her own identity; a closed Church betrays its own identity! Now then, let us rediscover today all the beauty and the responsibility of being an Apostolic Church! And remember: we are an apostolic Church because we pray - our first task - and because we announce the Gospel with our life and with our words.