Lumen dei

Lumen dei (English: The Light of Faith) is the name

of the rst encyclical of Pope Francis, which was signed
on 29 June 2013, on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and
Paul, and which was published on 5 July 2013, almost
four months after his election to the papacy.
The encyclical focuses its theme on faith, and completes
what his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI had previously
written about charity and hope, the other two theological
virtues, in his encyclicals Deus caritas est and Spe Salvi.[1]
Francis took, in fact, the work of Benedict, who before
his resignation of the papacy had completed a rst draft of
the text, to which the new pope made additions.[1] Francis explicitly expresses in paragraph 7 of the encyclical:
These considerations on faith in continuity with all
that the Churchs magisterium has pronounced on this
theological virtue are meant to supplement what Benedict XVI had written in his encyclical letters on charity
and hope. He himself had almost completed a rst draft
of an encyclical on faith. For this I am deeply grateful to
him, and as his brother in Christ I have taken up his ne
work and added a few contributions of my own.
The text presents faith as a light that dispels the darkness
and illuminates the way the human being is. It is divided
into four chapters, to which are added an introduction and
a conclusion. The encyclical traces the history of the faith
of the Church (from the call of God to Abraham and the
people of Israel, to the resurrection of Jesus), discusses
the relationship between reason and faith, the Churchs
role in the transmission of the faith, and the role faith
plays in the building of societies in search of the common good. The text concludes with a prayer to the Virgin
Mary, who is presented as a model of faith.[1]

References

[1] Speciale, Alessandro (4 July 2013). The light of faith:

origin, history and horizon of the christianism. La
Stampa (Turin). Retrieved 19 October 2013.

External links
Full text of the encyclical in English (PDF) from vatican.va
Full text of the encyclical in other languages from
vatican.va
Presentation of the encyclical
1

3 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

3.1

Text

Lumen dei Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumen%20fidei?oldid=651136224 Contributors: Piotrus, Koavf, BlueMoonlet, Jimp,

Tony1, Cyrus Grisham, Rwammang, Jac16888, Mangwanani, Clayisajedi444, Yobot, Mauro Lanari, Anonymous from the 21st century,
Omnipaedista, Esoglou, SporkBot, Robert Laymont, Mogism, Phantummm, Olivier LPB and Anonymous: 6

3.2

Images

File:BXVI_CoA_like_gfx_PioM.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/BXVI_CoA_like_gfx_PioM.svg

License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo a designed the coat of arms of
Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.
File:Cercle_jaune_50%.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Cercle_jaune_50%25.svg License: Public
domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg License: Cc-bysa-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Insigne_Francisci.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Insigne_Francisci.svg License: CC BY-SA
3.0 Contributors: wasna praca na podstawie: Stemma del Santo Padre Francesco Original artist: Copyist:Poznaniak
File:Pope,_13_march_2007.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Pope%2C_13_march_2007.jpg License: CC BY 3.0 Contributors: http://www.kremlin.ru/events/photos/2007/03/119396.shtml Original artist: Presidential Press and Information Oce
File:Portal-puzzle.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fd/Portal-puzzle.svg License: Public domain Contributors: ?
Original artist: ?
File:Symbol_book_class2.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Symbol_book_class2.svg License: CC
BY-SA 2.5 Contributors: Mad by Lokal_Prol by combining: Original artist: Lokal_Prol

3.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0