Pope Benedict XVI has announced that the Catholic Church will celebrate a “year of faith” to mark the opening of the Second Vatican Council. The pope said the year, which began officially on October 12, will not be a “celebrative” but rather a “missionary” initiative, and that an Apostolic Letter that sets out the goals and themes of the year-long event would be forthcoming. The announcement came as Pope Benedict celebrated the closing Mass of the first gathering of evangelizers organized by the new Pontifical Council for the Promotion of New Evangelization. The pontiff recalled that Pope Paul VI called for a similar “year of faith” in 1976 during a period of “significant cultural change.” “Half a century after the opening of the Council, I deem it right to recall the beauty and central role of the faith, the need to reinforce it and to deepen it on a personal and community level,” Pope Benedict said during his weekly Angelus prayer in St Peter’s Square.
