(OSV News) — The following is the full text of Pope Leo XIV’s general audience address given Oct. 7 in St. Peter’s Square.

The Documents of the Second Vatican Council. IV. Constitution Gaudium et Spes. 5. The mission of the Church in the contemporary world.

Brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

Resuming our reflection on the Conciliar Constitution Gaudium et Spes (GS), today we will consider the fourth chapter of the first part, dedicated to the Church’s mission in the contemporary world.

First of all, the Council recalls that the Church is not “above” or “beside” the world, but is, as it were, grafted into it. “Mundus reconciliatus Ecclesia”, wrote Saint Augustine (Sermon 96): the Church is the world already reconciled with God; we are pilgrims on earth and share in this world’s fragility and beauty (cf. GS, 40).

Just as the Son of God was incarnated to give life to the world and to reconcile it with the Father, so the Church dwells in the world as a sign of the incarnation of God, in order to manifest His plan to make us all His children in one great human family. Therefore, the Church journeys through history in the midst of peoples and cultures, and “this involvement in people’s lives helps the Church understand ever more clearly that her mission has a historical scope and entails a responsibility for the way in which social relations are built” (Encyclical Letter Magnifica Humanitas, 19).

The first mission of the Church is to help people be attentive to the profound questions of life: those concerning our origin and our destiny, as well as those concerning the meaning of love and suffering (cf. GS, 41). The logic of profit at all costs and the manipulation of information risk exerting undue pressure on people to conform to a lifestyle centred on the consumption of material goods, but our hearts are made to look upwards.

The Council Fathers remind us that the Church’s mission is fulfilled also in contributing to the construction of the earthly city. However, her methods and aims are not primarily of a political order; rather, they consist in bearing witness to faith and charity, together with commitment for justice, peace, and fraternity. By worshipping Christ, the Righteous One who died for the unrighteous, the believer cannot accept the oppression of the weak and the poor, nor the unjust structures that perpetuate conditions of dependence and injustice. The social doctrine of the Church guides the actions of Christians, who collaborate with all people of good will in promoting the common good. The Church, therefore, “has no fiercer desire than that in pursuit of the welfare of all she may be able to develop herself freely under any kind of government which grants recognition to the basic rights of person and family, to the demands of the common good” (GS, 42).

To fulfil the Gospel mission effectively, it is necessary for every baptized person to commit to cooperating with the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that their faith may be living and expressed in consistent behaviour. Indeed, as the Council Fathers reiterate, the discrepancy between professed faith and daily life “deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age” (GS, 43).

Gaudium et Spes reserves special mention (cf. ibid.) for the mission of the lay faithful who, by virtue of their Baptism, are called to enliven the world with the Christian spirit and the vision of the Gospel. The principal settings for this activity, which may well be described as priestly, are undoubtedly the family and the workplace, but it extends to every sphere of life.

Finally, the Church is always attentive to what is taking place and developing in society (cf. GS, 44). It is the task of the whole People of God, especially pastors and theologians, to discern what in the cultures of our time is worthy of consideration, always taking the Word of God and the Tradition of the Church as the supreme criteria for discernment. This requires a balanced mind, free from cultural trends, capable of viewing the world in a positive light whilst remaining steadfast in preserving and presenting the Gospel message in its entirety. Indeed, “it is certainly not by watering down the content or softening the demands that Christianity can be made attractive” (Address to the Plenary Assembly of the Dicastery for Evangelization – Section on Fundamental Questions regarding Evangelization in the World, 28 May 2026).

Dear friends, as she journeys through history, “the Church has a single intention: that God’s kingdom may come, and that the salvation of the whole human race may come to pass” (GS, 45). She strives towards this end above all through personal holiness and fraternal love. Saint Paul VI wrote: “Without this mark of holiness, our word will have difficulty in touching the heart of modern man. It risks being vain and sterile” (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, 76). Let us therefore be open to the action of the Holy Spirit, that He may help us to live in holiness and charity, so that the world may believe and hope.

Special Greetings:

I extend a warm welcome to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from England, Scotland, Ireland, Uganda, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Canada and the United States of America. Upon each of you and your families, I invoke the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you all!

Summary of the Holy Father’s words:

Dear brothers and sisters, we return this morning to our reflection on Gaudium et Spes, considering the Church’s mission in the contemporary world. As the Son of God became incarnate to fulfill his redemptive mission, so the Church dwells in the world as a living sign of God’s plan to reconcile the world to himself.  By discerning the signs of the times through the lens of the Gospel, she carries out this task by helping people respond to the profound questions of life and contributing to society through her witness of faith and charity. To be effective in this mission, the Church depends on every baptized person cooperating with the grace of the Holy Spirit and seeking holiness. The lay faithful, in particular, are called to animate the culture in which they live with a Christian spirit. In our call to build up the Kingdom of God, may we renew our efforts toward personal sanctification, justice and fraternal love, and thus be signs of hope for all people.