Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome! When the Second Vatican Council, to whose documents we are dedicating the catecheses, wanted to describe the Church, it was concerned first and foremost with explaining where its origins lie. In order to do so, in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, approved on 21 November 1964, it drew the term “mystery” from the Letters of Saint Paul. By choosing this word, he did not mean to say that the Church is something obscure or incomprehensible, as is commonly thought when the word “mystery” is heard. It is exactly the opposite: indeed, when Saint Paul uses the word, especially in the Letter to the Ephesians, he wishes to indicate a reality that was previously hidden and is now revealed. It refers to God’s plan, which has a purpose: to unify all creatures thanks to the reconciliatory action of Jesus Christ, an action that was accomplished in his death on the cross. This is experienced first of all in the assembly gathered for the liturgical celebration: there, differences are relativized, and what counts is being together because we are drawn by the Love of Christ, who broke down the wall of separation between people and social groups (cf. Eph 2:14). For Saint Paul, mystery is the manifestation of what God wanted to achieve for the whole of humanity, and is made known in local experiences, which gradually widen to include all human beings and even the cosmos. The condition of humanity is one of fragmentation that human beings are unable to repair, even though the tendency towards unity dwells in their heart. The action of Jesus Christ enters into this condition through the power of the Holy Spirit, and overcomes the powers of division and the Divider himself. Gathering together to celebrate, having believed in the proclamation of the Gospel, is experienced as an attraction exerted by the cross of Christ, which is the supreme manifestation of God’s love. It is feeling called together by God: this is why the term ekklesía is used, that is, an assembly of people who recognise that they have been summoned together. So, there is a certain coincidence between this mystery and the Church: the Church is the mystery made perceptible. This convocation, precisely because it is brought about by God, cannot however be limited to a group of people, but rather is destined to become the experience of all human beings. Therefore, t WISDOM OF Pope Leo XIV GENERAL AUDIENCE FEBRUARY 18, 2026 Catechesis. The Documents of Vatican Council II. II. Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium. 1. The mystery of the Church, sacrament of the union with God, and the unity of
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