Pope Francis Issues Apostolic Letter Reflecting on the Word of God

"'He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures' (Lk 24:45). This was one of the final acts of the risen Lord before his Ascension. Jesus appeared to the assembled disciples, broke bread with them and opened their minds to the understanding of the sacred Scriptures. To them, amid their fear and bewilderment, he unveiled the meaning of the paschal mystery: that in accordance with the Father's eternal plan he had to suffer and rise from the dead, in order to bring repentance and the forgiveness of sins (cf. Lk 24:26.46-47). He then promised to send the Holy Spirit, who would give them strength to be witnesses of this saving mystery (cf. Lk 24:49).

"The relationship between the Risen Lord, the community of believers and sacred Scripture is essential to our identity as Christians. Without the Lord who opens our minds to them, it is impossible to understand the Scriptures in depth. Yet the contrary is equally true: without the Scriptures, the events of the mission of Jesus and of his Church in this world would remain incomprehensible. Hence, Saint Jerome could rightly claim: 'Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ' (Commentary on the Book of Isaiah, Prologue: PL 24,17B)."

On Monday, 30 September (the 1600th anniversary of his death of Saint Jerome), Pope Francis issued an Apostolic letter reflecting on the Word of God and instituting the Sunday of the Word of God to be celebrated each year on the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time.

To access a copy of Poe Francis' Apostolic Letter, please visit:

The Vatican: Pope Francis: Apostolic Letter in the form of a Motu Proprio of the Holy Father Francis, "Aperuit illis", instituting the Sunday of the Word of God

Related comment from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:

President of U.S. Bishops' Conference Issues Statement on Holy Father's Apostolic Letter Reflecting on the Word of God (30 SEP 19)