Presentation of the post-synodal apostolic exhortation CHRISTUS VIVIT of Pope Francis
A call to live with Christ in friendship
Thus began the post-synodal apostolic exhortation of the Holy Father, Christus vivit, dedicated to the young people and to the entire people of God. This text, released publicly on April 2, 2019, – five months after the end of the Synod of Bishops on “Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment” which took place in Rome last October – is the fourth exhortation of this pontificate after Evangelii Gaudium, Amoris Laetitia and Gaudete et Exsultate. Originally written in Spanish in a very personal style – one can clearly recognize the pen of Pope Francis – this magisterial text is also the result of a whole synodal process. In the introduction, the Holy Father tells us that he was ” inspired by the wealth of reflections and conversations that emerged from last year’s Synod “. So the text quotes extensively from the Final Document of the Synod (FD) as well as from the Final Document of the Pre-Synod. But if this Letter particularly targets young people between 16 and 29 years of age, corresponding to the generation focused on by the latter synod, it is also addressed more broadly to all baptized at this particular time in history marked by the crisis of abuses. And it is delivered to all as a roadmap for a Church that strongly needs to be renewed and reformed. I propose you enter step by step into this post-synodal exhortation composed of nine chapters, which can be considered as a true little treatise on spiritual and pastoral life.
Sr Nathalie Becquart, xmcj
Auditor at the Synod and general coordinator of the Pre-Synod – nathalie.becquart@xavieres.org