Redemptoris missio

Redemptoris missio (Latin: The Mission of the Redeemer) Encyclical letter of Pope John Paul II
Sollicitudo rei socialis ◄► Centesimus annus
Date	7 December 1990
Argument	On the permanent validity of the Church's missionary mandate
Encyclical number	8 of 14 of the pontificate
Text	in Latin in English

Redemptoris missio (Latin: The Mission of the Redeemer), subtitled On the permanent validity of the Church's missionary mandate, is an encyclical by Pope John Paul II published on 7 December 1990. It is devoted to the subject of "the urgency of missionary activity" and in it the pope wished "to invite the Church to renew her missionary commitment."

Table of contents

Blessing

John Paul II opens the encyclical with the words:

Venerable Brothers, Beloved Sons and Daughters,

Health and the Apostolic Blessing!

Introduction

In the introduction John Paul II expresses what he perceives to be as the urgency of evangelism.

I. Jesus Christ, the Only Savior

"Christ is the one Savior of all, the only one able to reveal God and lead to God." (#5.1)

II. The Kingdom of God

"The Kingdom of God is not a concept, a doctrine, or a program subject to free interpretation, but it is before all else a person with the face and name of Jesus of Nazareth, the image of the invisible God." (#18.2)

III. The Holy Spirit, the Principal Agent of Mission

"The Holy Spirit is indeed the principal agent of the whole of the Church's mission..as can be clearly seen in the early Church: in the conversion of Cornelius (cf. Acts 10), in the decisions made about emerging problems (cf. Acts 15) and in the choice of regions and peoples to be evangelized (cf Acts 16:6 ff) (Para 21)