What Does “Encyclical” Mean in the Bible?
A letter from the Pope to the whole Church about an important subject.
It can mean
- Examples: by Pope Francis: Lumen fidei (2013), Laudato si’ (2015), Fratelli tutti (2020) and Dilexit nos (2024).
- What authority: it is part of the Pope’s ordinary teaching. Catholics receive it with religious respect.
- Its name: it is known by its first words in Latin.
Today
Encyclicals can be read for free at vatican.va.
Source: RAE, “encíclica”; vatican.va, Pope Francis’s “Encyclicals”; Catechism 892