Illustration: The Angel Hinders the Offering of Isaac, by Rembrandt, 1635 (Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg)
LEO XIV Catechesis – Documents of the Second Vatican Council.
Lumen gentium 3
The Church – God’s People
St Peter’s Square – Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 31:33
This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after these days, declares the Lord:
I will put my law in the depths of their being, and I will write it on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be My people.
Pope Leo’s Catechesis
Dear brothers and sisters,
In continuing our reflection on the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, today we will focus on the second chapter, which is dedicated to the People of God.
God, who created the world and humanity, and who desires to save every human being.
He carries out his plan of salvation in history by choosing a specific people and dwelling among them.
He called Abraham and promised him that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore (Gen 22:17-18).
After freeing Abraham’s children from slavery, God made a covenant with them.
He accompanied them, cared for them, and gathered them together whenever they strayed.
Therefore, this people’s identity is defined by God’s actions and by their faith in Him.
This people is called to become a light for other peoples, like a beacon that will draw all peoples, the whole of humanity, to itself
(Isaiah 2:1-5 – The word which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any mor. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Lumin Gentium states that “All these things, however, were done by way of preparation and as a figure of that new and perfect covenant, which was to be ratified in Christ, and of that fuller revelation which was to be given through the Word of God Himself made flesh” (LG, 9).
Christ unites this people in Himself and in a definitive way through the gift of His Body and Blood. This people is made up of individuals from every nation, united by faith in Christ. They belong to Him and live by His life, animated by the Risen Spirit.
This is the Church, the People of God. She derives her existence from the Body of Christ and is herself the Body of Christ. She is not like other peoples, but the People of God. She is called by Him and is made up of women and men from all peoples of the earth.
Its unifying principle is not language, culture, or ethnicity, but faith in Christ.
According to a splendid expression of the Council, the Church is therefore the assembly of “all those who in faith look upon Jesus.”
It is about the Messianic People, because Christ, the Messiah, is its head.
Its members do not boast of merits or titles, only of the gift of being children of God in Christ and through Him.
Therefore, before any task or function, what really matters in the Church is to be grafted into Christ and, by grace, become sons and daughters of God.
This is the only honorary title we should strive for as Christians.
We are in the Church to constantly receive life from the Father and live as his children, as well as brothers and sisters with one another.
The law that animates relationships in the Church is therefore love, as we receive and experience it in Jesus. Its goal is the Kingdom of God, towards which the Church walks with all of humanity.
Unified in Christ, the Lord and Saviour of every man and woman, the Church can never be closed in on herself but is open to everyone and exists for everyone.
The Council reminds us that if believers in Christ belong to it, “all men are called to belong to the new people of God.” Therefore, this people, remaining one and unique, must extend to the whole world and to all ages so that the intention of God’s will may be fulfilled. In the beginning, God created human nature as one, and he wants to gather his scattered children.”
Therefore, even those who have not yet received the Gospel are, in some way, directed by the people of God. The Church, collaborating in Christ’s mission, is called upon to spread the Gospel everywhere and to everyone so that everyone may have contact with Christ.
This means that everyone has a place in the Church, and every Christian is called to proclaim the Gospel and bear witness in every environment in which he or she lives and works.
Thus, the Church shows its catholicity by welcoming the wealth and resources of different cultures while offering them the newness of the Gospel to purify and elevate them.
In this sense, the Church is entity that encompasses everything
As a great theologian (Henri de Lubac) described it thus: “The unique Ark of Salvation must welcome all human diversity into its vast nave. It is the only banquet hall, the food it distributes is drawn from all of creation.
The seamless garment of Christ, it is also – and it is the same thing – the garment of Joseph, with its many colors”.
In our time marked by many conflicts and wars, it is a great sign of hope to know that the Church is a community of people of different nationalities, languages, and cultures who live together in faith. It is a sign placed in the very heart of humanity.
It reminds us of and prophesies the unity and peace to which God the Father calls all his children.
Summary of the Holy Father’s words
Dear brothers and sisters, in our ongoing catechesis on the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, we reflect on God’s salvific work in history as he chooses a people for himself.
He made a covenant with Abraham and called his people to be a light for other nations.
In this way, God foreshadows the new and perfect covenant in Jesus Christ.
Through his death and resurrection, Jesus gathers men and women of different nationalities, languages, and cultures into his bride, the church.
The Church is the new People of God. United by faith and animated by Christ’s love, we proclaim the Gospel to the whole world.
As members of the Church, we too are called to be signs of hope and spread the Father’s message that he desires to gather all his children to himself.
