Pope at Audience: Faith enriches every culture with its positive outlook

By Devin Watkins Pope Leo XIV continued his catechesis series on Gaudium et Spes of the Second Vatican Council, as he held his Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square. The Pope reflected on the relationship between culture and the Christian faith, as presented in the Apostolic Constitution’s second chapter. In every age, he said, the Catholic Church has sought to accompany the proclamation of the Gospel with the establishment of educational institutions, in an effort to advance cultural, human, and spiritual formation. He pointed to the impact that medieval universities had on the formation of Western civilization, recognizing that critical thought prompts believers to provide “a reason for their faith.” At the same time, every culture expresses its own drive for people to open their minds to humanity’s inherent spiritual dimension.

By expressing humanity’s search for meaning, every culture thus prepares people to receive the Gospel of Christ, said the Pope. “The relationship between faith and culture finds its primary foundation in the Incarnation,” he said. “As the divine Word became flesh and came to dwell in our midst, so too is faith an incarnate reality, interwoven with the culture in which it is immersed.” Faith, said Pope Leo, is embodied in every culture but is not identified with any specific expression. “Faith dwells within them,” he said, “shaping