Rediscovering VATICAN II: Pope Leo XIV begins catechesis on documents of the Second Vatican Council

By Linda Oppelt

On Jan. 7, Pope Leo XIV announced that his topic for upcoming general audience catechesis is the re-reading of the Vatican II documents.

“It is a valuable opportunity to rediscover the beauty and the importance of this ecclesial event,” he said. “The generation of bishops, theologians and believers of Vatican II is no longer with us. Therefore, while we hear the call not to let its prophecy fade, and to continue to seek ways and means to implement its insights, it will be important to get to know it again closely, and to do so not through ‘hearsay’ or interpretations that have been given, but by rereading its documents and reflecting on their content. Indeed, it is the Magisterium that still constitutes the guiding star of the Church’s journey today.”

This development is particularly timely for the Diocese of Colorado Springs, and beyond, as Professor Lucas Pollice has recently wrapped up taping of a nine-part series on the actual teachings of Vatican II.

The impetus for the effort was Bishop James Golka’s Pastoral Letter for the 2025 Jubilee Year, “Christ Our Hope” in which he wrote:

“Vatican II was the greatest intervention of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church since the Council of Trent. Just as the Holy Spirit prepared the Church after the Council of Trent for the renewal of the Counter-Reformation, the Holy Spirit has, through Vatican II, renewed the Church in her mission to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our post-Christian and secular culture through a New Evangelization. For this New Evangelization to fully flourish, the true teaching and spirit of Vatican II must be rediscovered.

“I encourage all the faithful of the diocese, through prayerful reading and study, to rediscover the beautiful and inspiring teachings of Vatican II.” (Christ Our Hope, Part II: Reasons for Hope Today, Page 10)

In the Feb. 21, 2025 issue of The Colorado Catholic Herald, Pollice explained his approach to presenting the Vatican II video series.

“There have been many misinterpretations or so-called ‘spirits’ of the council that have taken hold in the Church in the past 60 years that claim authority apart from the actual teachings of the council documents. This is why Bishop Golka, as well as Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope St. John Paul II, have insisted that there needs to be a rediscovery of the true spirit of the council by the reading of the documents themselves, as interpreted and implemented in the life of the Church by the Magisterium. I will talk more about what happened after the council and the source of these various misinterpretations, as well as how we can rediscover the true teaching and vision of the council for the New Evangelization.”

In the video series, Pollice highlights the four major constitutions of Vatican II: “Lumen Gentium” (On the Church), “Dei Verbum” (On Divine Revelation), “Sacrosanctum Concilium” (On Sacred Litury), and “Gaudium et Spes” (On the Church in the Modern World). These “have a certain primacy and carry the overarching vision of the council” according to the study guide for Episode 3 of the series.

In May, 2025, the Papal Conclave elected a new pope, Leo XIV. In episode 4 of his video series, which discusses “Lumen Gentium,” Pollice quotes from the new pope’s first speech given to the College of Cardinals on May 10: 

“In this regard, I would like us to renew together today our complete commitment to the path that the universal Church has now followed for decades in the wake of the Second Vatican Council,” Pope Leo said.

Therefore it is not surprising that the pope is now addressing his Wednesday catechesis to the documents of Vatican II. He began the first catechesis on Jan. 14 speaking about the Dogmatic Constitution “Dei Verbum,” saying, “It is one of the most beautiful and important of the Council.”

In his commentary on the document, Pope Leo emphasized how it elucidates the friendship between God and man.

“This is a fundamental point of Christian faith, which ‘Dei Verbum’ reminds us of: Jesus Christ radically transforms man’s relationship with God, which is henceforth a relationship of friendship.”

“Dei Verbum” also figures into the pope’s January’s prayer intention: “Let us pray that praying with the Word of God be nourishment for our lives and a source of hope in our communities, helping us to build a more fraternal and missionary Church.”

A group at Holy Apostles Parish followed the video series during the last several months and were invited to comment on their main takeaways from the series.

“My favorite Vatican document was ‘Lumen Gentium,’” said Pat Lynch. “It is a masterpiece explaining the Catholic Church, its relation to God, its mission, and my role in that mission.”

Debbie Hankins “appreciated the Vatican series for the insight into ‘apparent’ disconnects with tradition and how to read the documents in context with each other which reinforces the basics of our beliefs.”

“The part that struck me most was the segment on the liturgy,” said Mary Waechter. “I’m planning on getting and reading that document cover to cover now.”

Commenting on the video series, Bishop Golka said, “When I listen to Lucas’ presentations — it created a desire within me to want to sit down and read the original documents of Vatican II. In doing so I was again reminded that many people speak about the ‘Spirit of Vatican II’ without ever actually reading the documents. The actual documents do much to preserve the beauty of our Catholic faith while also assuring us that the Church is equipped for the pressing issues of today.”

Bible study groups and other groups within the diocese are encouraged to study these documents with the help of the video series. Downloadable study guides include discussion questions. Each video is between 50-60 minutes in length. A two-hour session allows time for watching the video followed by discussion. Another option is to break each video into two sessions, for those who have less time per meeting.

The videos, study guides, and slides are available at the following webpage: https://www.diocs.org/About/Vatican-II. For Spanish subtitles and study guides, visit: https://www.diocs.org/About/Vatican-II-Spanish.

To access Pope Leo XIV's general audience catechesis, visit: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/audiences/2026.index.html

(Linda Oppelt is administrative assistant for The Herald.)