The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith releases a document entitled “Venite ad Me: Considerations on the Transmission of the Faith in an Epochal Change,” which explores how the Church should focus on evangelizing adults, as well as catechizing children and teenagers.
By Debora Donnini
In a time of epochal change marked by a crisis in passing on the faith, “believers should embark on a renewed period of proclaiming the Gospel,” placing the first proclamation, the kerygma, at its heart: “Jesus Christ loves you; He gave His life to save you; and now He is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you” (EG 164).
This is the central appeal of Venite ad Me: Considerations on the Transmission of the Faith in an Epochal Change, a document published on Thursday, October 22, by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The document comprises eight chapters, an introduction, and a conclusion. They draw extensively on the teaching of the Popes, particularly Pope Leo XIV and Pope Francis, the Second Vatican Council, and other documents.
The text also clarifies that it is a set of Considerations, rather than a Doctrinal Note. It therefore examines “a variety of points of view without, however, claiming to settle the matter, which remains open to further analysis and development.”
Its specific aim is thus to suggest “concrete paths for proclaiming the kerygma amid the epochal change we are experiencing.”
The document was approved by Pope Leo XIV on August 21, 2026, and bears the signatures of Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Msgr. Armando Matteo, Secretary for the Dicastery’s Doctrinal Section.
Many Bishops’ Conferences made valuable contributions to this work, as did the testimonies—submitted by the Bishops—of people who discovered or rediscovered the Lord Jesus. These accounts appear in the final chapter of the Considerations.
Bearing witness to a personal encounter with Christ
The document’s starting point is Jesus’ invitation in Matthew’s Gospel: “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest.”
As the conclusion explains, the document “calls the faithful to return to the heart of the heritage of Christian faith. The kerygma is, in fact, its central content,” which “illuminates all the contents of the depositum fidei, drawing people toward the experience of a personal and communal encounter with the living Christ.”
This appeal also takes account of the fact that, in some parts of the world, the transmission of the faith “has all but ceased.”
Proclaiming God’s love for everyone
The first chapter begins by emphasizing that “Jesus is indeed the true light that illuminates every person.” It continues: “This is the good news of the Gospel of the Son—that God is love, forever and for everyone.”
Faith, the document stresses, “is not transmitted primarily as a body of doctrinal content or religious information,” but “as a form of ecclesial life into which the believer is gradually introduced.”
Pastoral ministry for adults as well as children and adolescents
In examining how the faith is handed on, the document highlights that the Church “grows by attraction,” how the family is the “first and most essential place for the transmission of the faith,” and the importance of cooperation between the Church and the family is in this process.
It acknowledges, however, that the transmission of the faith within families “has been interrupted in many parts of the world.”
Consequently, “the handing on of the experience of the Christian faith to new generations no longer occurs, so to speak, ‘automatically.’”
“Only at this point, as a second stage, does the ecclesial community enter the process of transmitting the faith,” it adds.
The document acknowledges that “in countries with a long-standing Christian tradition, such a context for the transmission of the faith appears today to have been weakened, since it is increasingly characterized by the presence of ‘the baptized whose lives do not reflect the demands of Baptism,’ who lack a meaningful relationship to the Church and no longer experience the consolation born of faith.”
Faced with this reality, it notes that “the transmission of the faith today requires, in a particular way, the evangelization of adults and a move beyond pastoral ministry focused solely on the catechesis of children and adolescents.”
An epochal change
The third chapter focuses on the context: the epochal change we are experiencing.
In Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV expressed the urgency of addressing questions about where humanity is heading and which direction we should choose amid this change.
One characteristic feature, particularly in the West, is the “crisis in the intergenerational transmission of the Christian faith.”
The document observes that “ever fewer parents are fulfilling their responsibility to introduce their children to the living light of the Gospel message.”
Moreover, “It is precisely from such family settings that most of the young men and women come who, despite having been part of Catholic parish communities, eventually enter adulthood in a state of substantial religious indifference.”
A new culture that confines faith to the private sphere
“The crisis of modernity, which is the hallmark of this epochal change, has thus contributed to the emergence of a new culture that has come into competition with the traditional structures through which the faith has been transmitted,” the document notes.
The prevailing tendency of this culture appears to be the exaltation of the “sovereignty of the self.” This is one of the clearest manifestations of the process of secularization, which tends to confine faith and the Church to the private and personal sphere.
Challenge is anthropological, not technological
Another sign of this epochal change is the spread of digital technologies. Artificial intelligence not only interferes with information ecosystems but also encroaches on human relationships.
“The challenge, therefore, is not technological, but anthropological,” Pope Leo XIV wrote in his message for the 2026 World Communications Day.
As conversions increase, so does the challenge of perseverance
It is true that conversions and people returning to the Church are increasing in some highly secularized parts of the world. Yet “there is also a parallel difficulty concerning the perseverance of neophytes, who often, shortly after receiving baptism, return to a state of practical indifference.”
The situation described therefore “calls for a rediscovery of the importance of the community in welcoming and accompanying new members of the faithful.”
Centrality of the kerygma
The document therefore stresses the need for “a profound kerygmatic renewal of catechesis.” This also requires attention to language, which must be characterized by “an appeal from the heart,” and to an engaging interpersonal relationship.
Proclamation of the kerygma must “be capable of presenting the good news of God’s love and mercy in such a way that those who receive it can truly understand that it is precisely to them that this love and mercy are directed.”
Community, the Word of God, liturgy, and witness
The fifth chapter centers on the importance of the Christian community in relation to the Word of God, the liturgy, and witness.
The document stresses that “it is absolutely urgent—especially in countries with a long history of evangelization—to emphasize the importance of promoting, in every ecclesial community, groups dedicated to listening to, meditating on, sharing, and praying with the Word, with regular times set aside for their meetings, complementing the celebration of the Sunday Eucharist.”
The second consideration concerns the liturgy. “If the heart of the Christian proclamation is the encounter with God’s saving love in Christ, the liturgy constitutes the privileged place in which this mystery is celebrated and communicated sacramentally.”
The third essential aspect is the witness of believers, which has three dimensions: “the witness of holiness, that of closeness, and that of the preferential option for the poor.”
A fourth observation concerns art and beauty, with particular attention given to music.
Faith and culture
The text also addresses the inculturation of the faith, which “constitutes a necessary step in its transmission.”
The Church’s social doctrine offers a particularly significant example to draw on in developing a reasoned presentation of the faith.
Specific areas of attention
The first specific area of attention involves popular piety, which “remains an important means of transmitting the faith today.” Both longstanding and more recent forms of pilgrimage are also important, as is the desire to belong to a confraternity.
The document then highlights the role of the homily and discussed volunteer work as an opportunity to draw closer to the life of the Church.
It also stresses the “need to expand opportunities for women to participate in the leadership of ecclesial processes.”
Conclusions
These Considerations seek to reaffirm that Christ is the true light. “It is now up to us to pass on this same gift to the men and women of our time,” the document urges.
They too await the “possibility of kindling their lives from that same source of every grace, the light that shines in the world.”
