''Gaudete et exsultate'' (''Rejoice and Be Glad'') is the third apostolic exhortation of

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

, dated (the

Solemnity of Saint Joseph Saint Joseph's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Joseph or the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, is in Western Christianity the principal feast day of Saint Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary and legal father of Jesus Christ, celebrated on 19 March. ...

) and published on , subtitled "on the call to holiness in today's world". It addresses the

universal call to holiness The universal call to holiness is a teaching of the Roman Catholic Church that all people are called to be holy, and is based on Matthew 5:48: "Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect" (). In the first book of the Bible, th ...

, with a focus "to repropose the call to holiness in a practical way for our own time".

Background

A few weeks before the apostolic exhortation's publication, the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible f ...

released a letter to Catholic bishops, titled ''Placuit Deo'' (''It pleased God''), "on certain aspects of Christian salvation", which anticipated a central theme of ''Gaudete et exsultate'', describing the modern forms of

Pelagianism Pelagianism is a Christian theological position that holds that the original sin did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius ( – AD), an ascetic and philosopher from t ...

and of

Gnosticism Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized per ...

. Francis sees these two ancient heresies in the current notion of holiness based on following certain abstract rules, "an obsession with the law, ... a punctilious concern for the Church’s liturgy", while ignoring the messiness of real life and the suffering of people at the margins. If the Church does not open itself to change, it can become a "museum piece" out of touch with a lively charity which is the foundation of the Christian life: "Once we believe that everything depends on human effort as channeled by ecclesial rules and structures, we unconsciously complicate the Gospel and become enslaved to a blueprint that leaves few openings for the working of grace."

Publication

The document was released by the

Holy See Press Office The Holy See Press Office ( la, Sala Stampa Sanctae Sedis; it, Sala Stampa della Santa Sede, links=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/) publishes the official news of the activities of the Pope and of the various departments of the ...

at a press conference on , the Solemnity of the Annunciation, presented by then-Archbishop

Angelo De Donatis Angelo De Donatis (born 4 January 1954) is an Italian Catholic prelate who currently serves as Cardinal Vicar (officially Vicar General of His Holiness), Archpriest of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifica ...

, the

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

for

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

, Gianni Valente, a journalist and Paola Bignardi, of

Azione Cattolica The Azione Cattolica Italiana, or Azione Cattolica (Catholic Action) for short, is a widespread Roman Catholic lay association in Italy. History In Italy in 1905, Azione Cattolica was established as a non-political lay organization under the d ...

(Catholic Action). It was also published in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

, in French, in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...

, in Polish, in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

and in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, alongside English.

Content

The document is arranged in five chapters: on the universal call to perfection of charity; on the

heresies Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

and

, described as "false forms of holiness"; on the

Beatitudes The Beatitudes are sayings attributed to Jesus, and in particular eight blessings recounted by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, and four in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, followed by four woes which mir ...

as "worship most acceptable to God"; on five signs of holiness in the modern world (perseverance, patience, meekness, joy and a sense of humor, boldness and passionate commitment), and on life as constant spiritual combat against evil through the discernment of spirits. ''Gaudete et exsultate'' follows Francis's previous apostolic exhortations, '' Evangelii gaudium'' and ''

Amoris laetitia ''Amoris laetitia'' (''The Joy of Love'') is a post- synodal apostolic exhortation by Pope Francis addressing the pastoral care of families. Dated 19 March 2016, it was released on 8 April 2016. It follows the Synods on the Family held in 201 ...

''. It is shorter, being 44 pages in length, compared to the 256 of ''Amoris laetitia'' and not post-synodal (being related to a meeting of the Synod of Bishops).

References

External links

Text of the apostolic exhortation in English
{{Pope Francis Apostolic exhortations of Pope Francis 2018 in Vatican City 2018 in Christianity 21st-century Catholicism