"THE JOURNEY OF FAITH"

Ever since the start of my ministry as Successor of Peter, I have spoken of the need to rediscover the journey of faith so as to shed ever clearer light on the joy and renewed enthusiasm of the encounter with Christ.

"REDISCOVER A TASTE"

We must rediscover a taste for feeding ourselves on the word of God, faithfully handed down by the Church, and on the bread of life, offered as sustenance for His disciples (cf. Jn 6:51).

"FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY"

...I have decided to announce a Year of Faith. It will begin on October 11, 2012, the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, and it will end on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King, on November 24, 2013.

"A GOOD OPPORTUNITY"

It seemed to me that timing the launch of the Year of Faith to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council would provide a good opportunity to help people understand that the texts bequeathed by the Council Fathers, in the words of Blessed John Paul II, "have lost nothing of their value or brilliance."

AUTHENTIC CONVERSION

The Year of Faith...is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Savior of the world.

"RENEWED CONVICTION"

We want this year to arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, with confidence and hope.

A TASK FOR ALL

To rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived and prayed, and to reflect on the act of faith, is a task that every believer must make his own, especially in the course of this Year.

(Source: Apostolic letter, Porta Fidei. issued October 11, 2011)