What is the people of God according to 'Lumen gentium'?'

In this catechesis dedicated to the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen gentium, Pope Leo XIV once again places at the center the understanding of the Church as the People of God, a living community in which all the baptized share the same dignity and mission. Far from a passive vision, the Holy Father emphasizes that every Christian actively participates in the salvific work of Christ, thanks to the Baptism and the Confirmation, The priesthood, prophecy and kingship are incorporated into it.

This participation is not symbolic, but concrete: it is expressed in the sacramental life, especially in the Eucharist, The Pope also emphasizes the role of the Church in prayer, in daily witness and in commitment to the faith. In addition, Leo XIV emphasizes the role of the sensus fidei, that supernatural sense of faith which, guided by the Holy Spirit, The Church's teaching, which is the basis for the whole People of God, enables the whole of the People of God to recognize and live the revealed truth in communion with the Magisterium.

In this context, the Pope recalls that the whole Church - from pastors to lay faithful - is called to be an active subject of evangelization. The different charisms and vocations, including the consecrated life and associative realities, manifest the richness and vitality of this priestly and prophetic people, called to give a coherent witness to Christ in the world.

Text of the audience of Pope Leo XIV

«Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

Today I would like to dwell once again on the second chapter of the Conciliar Constitution. Lumen gentium (LG), dedicated to the Church as the people of God.

The messianic people (LG, 9) receive from Christ the participation in the priestly, prophetic and royal work in which his salvific mission is carried out. The Council Fathers teach that the Lord Jesus has instituted through the new and everlasting covenant a kingdom of priests, He constituted his disciples into a «royal priesthood» (1Pt 2:9; cf. 1Pt 2:5; Rev 1:6). This common priesthood of the faithful is given to us through Baptism, which enables us to worship God in spirit and in truth and to «confess before men the faith which they have received from God through the Church» (LG, 11).

Moreover, through the sacrament of Confirmation, all the baptized «become more closely bound to the Church, are enriched with a special power of the Holy Spirit, and are thereby more strictly bound to spread and defend the faith, as true witnesses of Christ, by word together with works» (ibid.). This consecration is at the root of the common mission that unites the ordained ministers and the lay faithful.

In this regard, Pope Francis observed: «To look at the People of God is to remember that we all enter the Church as lay people. The first sacrament, the one that forever seals our identity and of which we should always be proud, is that of Baptism. Through it and with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, (the faithful) “are consecrated as a spiritual house and a holy priesthood” (LG 10), then we all form the Holy and faithful People of God» (letter to the President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, March 19, 2016).

pueblo de dios iglesia constitución lumen gentium papa León XIV

The exercise of the royal priesthood takes place in many ways, all of them aimed at our sanctification, above all by participating in the offering of the Eucharist. Through prayer, asceticism and active charity they bear witness to a life renewed by the grace of God (cf. LG, 10). As the Council summarizes, «the sacred and organically structured character of the priestly community is actualized by the sacraments and by the virtues» (LG, 11).

The Council Fathers also teach that the holy people of God also participates in the prophetic mission of Christ (cf. LG, 12). In this context they introduce the important theme of the meaning of faith and the consensus of the faithful.

The Doctrinal Commission of the Council specified that this sensus fidei «it is like a faculty of the whole Church, thanks to which in her faith she recognizes the transmitted revelation, distinguishing between the true and the false in matters of faith, and at the same time penetrates more deeply into it and applies it more fully in life» (cf. Acta Synodalia, III/1, 199). The sense of faith belongs therefore to each member of the faithful, not as individuals, but as members of the People of God as a whole.

Lumen gentium concentrates attention on this last aspect and relates it to the infallibility of the Church, to which the infallibility of the Roman Pontiff, in serving her, belongs. «The totality of the faithful, who have the anointing of the Holy One (cf. 1 Jn 2:20 and 27), cannot err when they believe, and this peculiar prerogative of his is manifested by the supernatural sense of the faith of the whole people when from the Bishops down to the last lay faithful gives universal consent in matters of faith and morals» (LG, 12).

The Church, Therefore, as a communion of the faithful, which obviously includes pastors, it cannot err in the faith: the organ of its ownership, founded on the anointing of the Holy Spirit, is the supernatural sense of the faith of the whole people of God, which is manifested in the consensus of the faithful. From this unity, which the Church's Magisterium safeguards, it follows that every baptized person is an active subject of evangelization, called to give a coherent witness to Christ according to the prophetic gift which the Lord infuses into his whole Church.

The Holy Spirit, who comes to us from Resurrected Jesus, The charismatic vitality of the consecrated life is in fact dispensed «among the faithful of every condition, distributing to each as he wills (1 Cor 12:11) his gifts, making them fit and ready to carry out the various works and duties that are useful for the renewal and greater edification of the Church» (LG, 12). A particular demonstration of such charismatic vitality is offered by the consecrated life, which continually springs forth and flourishes by the work of grace. Also ecclesiastical associative forms are a luminous example of the variety and fruitfulness of the spiritual fruits for the edification of the People of God.

Beloved, let us awaken in ourselves the awareness and gratitude of having received the gift of being part of God's people; and also the responsibility that this entails».

What is the Lumen gentium, where to read it and main keys

Lumen gentium is one of the central dogmatic constitutions of the Vatican Council II, promulgated in 1964 and signed by Pope Paul VI. It explains what the Church is and what her mission in the world is, presenting her as a mystery of communion and as the People of God walking in history.

The full text can be read on the official Vatican website in English: read Lumen gentium in full. It is organized in eight chapters that develop the essential aspects of the Church, from its nature to its mission and universal vocation to holiness.

Structure of the Lumen gentium

The document is divided into eight chapters that progressively address the reality of the Church: its mystery, the People of God, the hierarchical constitution, the laity, the call to holiness, the consecrated life and the role of the Virgin Mary.

The chapters of the document

Among the most relevant key points, three stand out: first, the centrality of the People of God, where all the baptized participate in the mission of Christ. universal call to the holiness, Third, the understanding of the Church as a reality both visible and spiritual, guided by the Holy Spirit in history.

Key ideas of the people of God

One of the main axes of the text is the centrality of the People of God, where all the baptized share the same dignity and participate in the mission of Christ. To this is added the universal call to holiness and the understanding of the Church as a visible and spiritual reality, guided by the Holy Spirit.

The shared mission of all the faithful

From this perspective, every Christian is an active subject of evangelization. The mission of the Church does not correspond only to pastors, but to the entire People of God, who are called to bear witness to Christ in ordinary life, in communion and unity.

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A legacy of solidarity that will give the Church a future

Thinking about the future of the Church means asking the simple question: who will support all this when we are gone? To think of the Church in this way is an act of love. that you can shore up with your will or with a joint and several bequest.

During our life we received much more than we usually remember. We received a faith passed on in the family, priests who accompanied us at important moments, parishes that were open when we needed them. None of this came out of the blue. Behind it were people who cared for the future of our children. the Church, so that it would remain alive, well-structured and present in every generation.

Ana and Álvaro's generosity

In the documentary Witnesses, Álvaro and Ana tell how they learned about the CARF Foundation. through a relative who decided to include it in his will. That decision surprised them at first, but it led them to learn more about it and understand what was behind it.

They found that the CARF Foundation helps finance the integral formation of seminarians and diocesan priests from all over the world in academic institutions in Rome and Pamplona (the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and the Ecclesiastical Faculties of the University of Navarra).

The aim is to support young people who, in many cases, come from dioceses with very few financial resources and who need solid support in order to be well trained before returning to serve their communities.

Both Ana and Álvaro understood that including the CARF Foundation in a will or legacy of solidarity was not a symbolic gesture, but a real way to ensure that this work would continue to be perpetuated over time.

Turning one life's effort into a future for others

As Alvaro says in the documentary: «It is a brilliant opportunity to prepare a home for yourself in heaven; to think that, with your patrimony and the effort of a lifetime, you can help to train so many priests».

Beyond the spiritual expression, the idea is very practical. After years of work, savings and effort, part of this heritage can continue to make an impact after we are gone. It can become integral formation for priests who will attend parishes, accompany families and be present at key moments in the lives of many people.

A decision compatible with love for the family

Include the CARF Foundation in the will. does not mean neglecting and disregarding the loved ones. In the case of Spanish law, it is allowed to allocate a part of the inheritance (that of free disposal) to a solidary cause, always respecting the legitimate part of the heirs.

It is a decision that can be taken with advice and serenity. It does not require large assets or unassuming commitments. For many benefactors it is simply the natural continuation of a life in which they have already collaborated with the Church in various ways.

Many people who have collaborated during their lifetime with donations or occasional support see in the a natural continuation of this vital commitment.

iglesia futuro legados testamentos solidarios — Seminarians attend a theology class at the University of Navarra's Ecclesiastical Faculties.

Your legacy of solidarity looks beyond today

Each generation has the opportunity to renew the generosity of the last. Through the CARF Foundation, your legacy becomes a direct support to seminarians and diocesan priests around the world: young people who wish to give themselves to God and serve the universal Church, but who need concrete help in order to be formed.

Just as in the past there were people who ensured the continuity of the Church's mission, patrons and major donors, today you can do the same. Convert a portion of the your life's effort to consolidate the integral formation of seminarians and diocesan priests in order to bring the Gospel to every corner of the world.

A Christian (and a non-believer, too) takes nothing to heaven, but can leave much good on earth. Your legacy can become formation, service and continuity. It can be the most valuable inheritance: the one that sustains the Church and the Church itself. allows many people to continue to encounter God through well-formed priests who strive to be saints and to help others.

Your life sustains and edifies the Church

Divine Mercy: the call to God's love and forgiveness

Every year, on the second Sunday of Easter, we celebrate Divine MercyThis is a holiday that highlights God's unconditional love and infinite compassion towards humanity.

St. Faustina Kowalska: Apostle of Mercy

Saint Faustina Kowalskaborn as Helena Kowalska on August 25, 1905, in Głogowiec, Poland, is known as the apostle of the Divine Mercy.

From a very young age he felt an intense call to religious life, and after several obstacles -including the poverty of his family- he finally entered in 1925 to the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Warsaw, where she took the name of Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament.

A life marked by prayer and sacrifice

During her religious life, Faustina performed humble tasks as a cook, gardener and doorkeeper. But behind this outward simplicity, she lived a profoundly mystical life. Her union with Christ was such that, according to her spiritual diary, she received invisible stigmata, mystical ecstasies and visions of Jesus himself. She often offered her physical and spiritual sufferings for the salvation of souls.

Jesus began to communicate with her intensively in 1931. In a key vision, he asked her to paint an image of Him as she saw Him in the apparition: with two rays coming out of His heart - one white, symbolizing the water of Baptism, and the other red, representing the blood of the Eucharist - with the phrase. Jesus, in You I trust. This image became the central symbol of the devotion to the Divine Mercy.

Image of St. Peter's Square at the Vatican during the canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska.

The Diary: Divine Mercy in my soul

At the request of her confessor, Blessed Michael Sopoćko, Faustina. wrote his spiritual experiences in a diary which was later published under the title Divine Mercy in my soul. This text, now translated into dozens of languages, is considered a jewel of 20th century Christian spirituality.

In it, Jesus reveals not only the content of his merciful love, but also concrete practices to promote this devotion: the Feast of Mercythe Chaplet of Divine Mercythe prayer to the three in the afternoon (the Hour of Mercy), and the dissemination of the image mentioned above.

Some phrases that stand out from these revelations are:

- "Mankind will not find peace until he turns with confidence to My mercy."

- "I desire to grant unimaginable graces to the souls who trust in My mercy."

- "The fountain of My mercy was opened wide by the lance on the Cross for all souls. I have excluded no one."

Institution of the feast by St. John Paul II

Pope St. John Paul II, deeply influenced by devotion to Divine Mercy, canonized St. Faustina on April 30, 2000. During the ceremony, he officially proclaimed the second Sunday of Easter to be the feast of St. Faustina. Divine Mercy Sunday for the whole Church.

In 2002, the Pope established that those who participated in this feast could obtain plenary indulgences, even those who, for justified reasons, could not physically attend the celebrations.

The image of the Divine Mercy

One of the most recognized manifestations of this devotion is the image of the Merciful Jesus, based on a vision of St. Faustina Kowalska. In it, Jesus appears with one hand raised as a sign of blessing and the other touching his chest, from which emanate two rays: one red, symbolizing blood, and the other white, representing water. This image bears the inscription: Jesus, in You I trust and has spread all over the planet.

jesus-divina-misericordia-kowalska — Image of the merciful Jesus. Source: Wikipedia

Associated devotional practices

The faithful are encouraged to participate in various practices during this festivity:

a) Confession and CommunionTo prepare oneself spiritually through the sacrament of reconciliation and to receive the Eucharist.

b) Prayer of the Chaplet of Divine MercyA special prayer that is prayed using a common rosary, focused on imploring God's mercy.

c) Meditation at 3 p.m.The Hour of Mercy: known as the Hour of Mercy, it commemorates the hour of Jesus' death on the cross, a propitious moment for prayer and reflection.

d) Novena to the Divine MercyThe prayers are a series of prayers that begin on Good Friday and culminate on Divine Mercy Sunday.

Global impact and current events

Since its institution, Divine Mercy Sunday has gained significant relevance in the life of Catholics around the world. Numerous parishes and religious communities organize special masses, processions and charity activities in honor of this feast.

Pope Francis continued to promote this devotion, stressing the importance of mercy in Christian life and in the mission of the Church. On several occasions, he urged the faithful to be instruments of God's mercy in their communities.

Divine Mercy Sunday is an invitation to all believers to trust fully in God's love and forgiveness.

Through the teachings of St. Faustina Kowalska and the support of the Church, this feast reminds us that, no matter our faults, we can always turn to the infinite mercy of Jesus.

As Jesus said to St. Faustina: "the greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy".

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Legacy of Solidarity turns your inheritance into integral formation for priests

Talking about leaving part of a will and making a solidarity bequest to a foundation or non-profit organization is never easy. It confronts us with profound, transcendent decisions that invite us to think about the future, when we are no longer around. However, more and more generous people are discovering that making a solidarity will is a concrete way of continue to do good in this world, when earthly life is over.

The generous life of a maiden aunt

That is precisely what Álvaro and Ana experienced fifteen years ago. They learned about the CARF Foundation through a maiden aunt who decided to make a solidarity will in favor of the foundation, which surprised the family. Why did their aunt decide to include the foundation in her inheritance? Moved by interest and curiosity, they began to inquire.

They found that the CARF Foundation support for the integral formation of seminarians and diocesan priests and religious men and women, They understood that this decision was neither improvised nor symbolic: it was a concrete and effective way of sustaining the Church in the future, beyond their own lives. They understood that this decision was neither improvised nor symbolic: it was a concrete and effective way of sustaining the Church in the future, beyond their own lives.

This experience marked them both. Today they explain it clearly in this video: «a legacy or a solidarity will is a serene and conscious way of to give continuity to all the effort of a lifetime; To transform heritage into vocations; to turn an inheritance into a better future for the Church in needy countries. It is a brilliant opportunity to prepare a home in heaven.

His words summarize the profound meaning of this decision: the legacy of solidarity does not subtract from the family, it adds to the world.

The world needs well-trained priests

G.P.M. and M.M. are a married couple who learned about the CARF Foundation 25 years ago through priest friends. «What strikes us most is the work of fundraising, their difficulties and perseverance and the miracles that God performs when money is needed to complete study grants for so many seminarians, priests and religious,» they say.

And it is that, for them, the world needs well-trained priests. «For this reason, we have decided to make a solidarity will in favor of the CARF Foundation. because we see the need for priests in the world and so that no vocation is lost for economic reasons,» they explain.

We could have looked for a notary on our own, but through the CARF Foundation, everything was made easier.

Finally, they encourage other people to make a solidarity will to «collaborate with this good, providential and faith-filled work of some people, for the good of all humanity. Any other bequest would have seemed vain to us. And, in addition, pray for the living and deceased benefactors every day, which we need.

Of the same opinion is J.M., retired engineer. He got to know the CARF Foundation more closely in 2014 during a trip to the Holy Land and «I became interested in its work when I was struck by the enthusiasm of its collaborators,» he says.

He explains that his will is in favor of the CARF Foundation for the following reasons «the worldwide impact of the people trained in Pamplona and in Rome. In addition, I have friends who collaborate financially to help poor people with a vocation to the priesthood to improve their formation and study, because they need financial help. Other more generous people even donate houses to the CARF foundation,” he says.

J.M. encourages more people to make a solidarity will or a financial contribution in favor of the CARF Foundation since their contribution «helps vocations to the priesthood to study in Europe and then return to their countries and give back the formation received».

Testamento solidario, figuras clave para hacer un legado a favor de la Fundación CARF

What is a legacy or joint and several will?

Making a joint and several will is a simple, accessible and inexpensive procedure that allows you to decide how your assets will be distributed. Any person can can include a non-profit entity as an heir or legatee, allocating a specific part of its estate to a cause it considers valuable.

In the case of the CARF Foundation, this legacy of solidarity will keep alive the effort to achieve a better world for Christians and non-believers alike, because the priest is no respecter of persons or creeds when it comes to helping another human being anywhere in the world.

Many of these seminarians and priests come from dioceses in Africa, Asia or Latin America that do not have sufficient resources for their studies. But the life of each Christian sustains and edifies the church.

A joint and several bequest can take different forms: a specific amount of money, a percentage of the inheritance, real estate, securities or investment funds or movable property. It is a free and flexible decision, which can be modified at any time while the person is alive.

On the other hand, entities such as the CARF Foundation are exempt from inheritance tax, which means that one hundred percent of the bequest goes entirely to the chosen purpose.

An inheritance that becomes a mission

Alvaro and Ana express it with emotion: «to think that you can help form priests who will take the faith and the sacraments to so many places... it is worth it».

Many generous people find that this decision does not compete with their love for their children or relatives. On the contrary, it complements it.

Each vocation accompanied, each well-trained priest, has an impact for decades on tens of thousands of people: rural communities, parishes in poor neighborhoods, missions in isolated territories... To include the CARF Foundation in the solidarity will is to bet on this silent chain of favors and good. It is to trust that the work of a lifetime - savings, patrimony and effort - can continue to bear fruit in the form of sacraments, spiritual accompaniment, education in the faith and hope for entire communities.

It is not about large fortunes

Today, Alvaro and Ana invite others to reflect with serenity. «It's not about great fortunes, but about great decisions. It's about asking yourself: what do I want to remain when I'm gone? What footprint do I wish to leave?».

Therefore, the CARF Foundation (click on the link) offers personalized and confidential information for those who wish to learn more about how this type of donation and assistance works, resolve legal doubts or receive practical guidance.

Transforming a legacy of solidarity into hope is within anyone's reach. And as Ana and Álvaro remind us, «it's worth it».

Letter to a baptized 'atheist'

Dear... atheist:

Allow me to write a few lines, after having read an article of yours published in a parish magazine. And allow me to express myself freely, after a good number of years of priestly work, and after years, during my university studies, of having lived in a “God-seeking atheism”.

Finding God by reading books

I congratulate you for the sincerity with which you express yourself, and I recommend that you continue to maintain the deep desire to find God by reading books like the one you now have in your hands, which has already done a lot of good to a good number of people.

His words: «I am an atheist as a curse and because I don't feel able to stop being one», lead me to think that has not given up his determination to one day receive faith in Jesus Christ, God and true man (I presume you are baptized). If so, I suggest you do not try to “rationalize” the concept you may have made of the God you are looking for.

He came to earth to be closer to us, to transmit to us the love of father and mother with which he created us, and to make it easier for us to meet him face to face. And to tell us that he will always accompany us in all the situations in which we do ourselves so much harm, because of our sins. For this reason I recommend that you read, step by step and without interruption, the Four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles.

And read them asking Jesus to increase your Faith, asking the Holy Spirit to accompany you in the reading. And read, letting what you read enter your intelligence and your heart drop by drop: the Grace of God will do its work and will open the eyes of the spirit to end up making an Act of Faith in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

Let me ask you a question: Do you go into a church from time to time and approach the tabernacle and ask the Lord to give you the faith to believe that He is there? Do not expect an immediate response, a strong or dazzling feeling. The Lord speaks slowly, in silence, in half-light, so that we may use freedom and love, and continue to seek Him and speak with Him.

I would like to add this prayer of a soldier in the second world war. He left it written before receiving the order to assault an enemy trench. After the assault, he died.

When man discovers God at the limit

"Listen, oh God! In my life I have never once spoken to You, but today I feel like having a party. Since I was a child I have always been told that You do not exist... And I, like an idiot, have believed it. I have never contemplated your works, but tonight I have seen from the crater of a pomegranate the sky full of stars and I have been fascinated by their brightness.

I do not know, O God, if You will give me Your hand, but I tell You that You understand me... Is it not a strange thing that in the midst of a dreadful hell the light has appeared to me and I have discovered You? I have nothing more to say to you. I am happy, for I have met you.

At midnight we have to attack, but I'm not afraid, You see us. They have given the signal! I have to go. How nice it was with you!

I want to tell you, and You know it, that the battle will be hard: perhaps tonight I will come knocking at your door. And though I have not been your friend until now, when I come, will you let me in? But what is the matter with me? shall I cry? My God, look what has happened to me. Only now have I begun to see clearly... My God, I'm leaving... It will be hard to come back. Strange, now I'm not afraid of death!".

The concrete path: prayer and reading of the Gospel

Such a cry can spring from the heart of any man who, walking on earth, has ever raised his gaze to Heaven. With his groans, with his smiles, with his weeping at the portal of Bethlehem, the Lord continues to knock at the doors of the hearts of all his children, of all his daughters, in the whole world, whether they have heard of him, or whether they have never heard the name by which the Archangel called him: Jesus.

I accompany you with my prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary., I will not fail to greet her from time to time, and with a special remembrance at Holy Mass, and I remain at your disposal if you see fit.

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Ernesto Juliá, (ernesto.julia@gmail.com) | Previously published in Religion Confidential.

Jesus of Nazareth: history's most influential figure

Did it really exist Jesus of NazarethWhat can we say about him from the historical point of view? Is it possible to distinguish between the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith?

These questions, which have traversed centuries of cultural and academic debate, constitute the starting point of the book Jesus of Nazareth: myth or history?, by Italian writer and researcher Gerardo Ferrara, recently available also in Spanish.

Far from proposing a complex academic treatise, the book invites the reader to walk along the path of historical research on the figure of the Nazarene, The book is an analysis of ancient sources, contemporary studies and the cultural context of Judaism in the first century.

libro Jesús de Nazaret historia de Gerardo Ferrara

Interpretations of the historical existence of Jesus of Nazareth

For centuries the historical existence of Jesus was not seriously questioned. It was from the Enlightenment onwards that new questions and critical methods emerged, giving rise to an intense historiographical debate. In this context, the French philosopher Jean Guitton proposed three possible answers to the historical problem of Jesus: the critical solution, which recognizes his existence but rejects the supernatural elements; the mythical solution, according to which Jesus would never have existed; and the solution of faith, which considers the testimony of the Gospels. The book examines these perspectives to situate the reader within the contemporary debate.

The religious context of Judaism in the first century

From there, Ferrara proposes a journey through the world in which Jesus lived. The reader discovers the complex religious and social mosaic of first-century Judaism: Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots and Essenes; groups that represented the different ways of living the Law and the identity of Israel under Roman domination. Understanding this context is essential in order to interpret many of the tensions present in the Gospels.

The meaning of the name of Jesus

One of the most suggestive aspects of the book is the attention to linguistic and cultural details. For example, the very name of Jesus -Yehoshua in Hebrew - literally means God saves, which allows us to better understand the symbolic dimension that his figure acquired within the biblical tradition and the Judaism of his time.

Messianic expectation in the Jewish world

The author also examines the intense messianic expectation that characterized the Jewish world in the years immediately prior to the birth of Jesus. Various traditions and ancient texts spoke of the arrival of a liberator from Judea. Even Roman historians such as Publius Cornelius Tacitus or Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus mention that in the East there was a conviction that a ruler destined to dominate the world would emerge from that region.

The possible historical explanation of the star of Bethlehem

Among the most curious aspects of the essay is the historical analysis of the so-called star of the Nativity scene. Some astronomical studies, taking up an intuition of Johannes Kepler himself, have related this phenomenon to an extraordinary conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces in the year 7 B.C., an event that may have been interpreted in antiquity as a sign of the birth of a great king.

The book also addresses specific historical issues related to the Gospel accounts: the census ordered by Augustus, the reign of Herod the Great, the complex political situation in Judea under Roman rule, and the religious context in which Jesus' preaching arose.

Press articles

Throughout the essay there are numerous references to scholars who have marked modern research on the historical Jesus -among them David Flusser, Joachim Jeremias or Joseph Ratzinger- whose research has contributed to renew the dialogue between history, philology and biblical exegesis.

The volume is the result of the adaptation and reorganization of a series of articles published by the author in recent years in cultural and historical magazines, among them Omnes y Facts for history. Now collected in a single volume, these texts offer a clear and accessible synthesis of some of the most relevant debates on the historical figure of Jesus.

The Spanish edition is also published in stand-alone format through Amazon in order to facilitate its international dissemination and make this material available to a wider public interested in the historical study of Christianity.

The historical and cultural influence of Jesus

Beyond strictly religious issues, the figure of Jesus of Nazareth has profoundly marked the history of humanity. Even non-Christian thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Richard Rorty or Benedetto Croce have recognized the extraordinary cultural influence of Christianity in the formation of Western civilization.

At a time when public debate often oscillates between superficial skepticism and ideological simplification, Jesus of Nazareth: myth or history? invites us to rediscover the value of the historical method, the serious study of the sources and the dialogue between history, culture and faith to approach the most decisive figure in the history of mankind.

About the author, Gerardo Ferrara.

Born in Italy in 1978, he graduated in Political Science, with a specialization in the Middle East, at the prestigious Orientale University from Naples, and spent many years abroad (Spain, France, Argentina, Tunisia, Lebanon, Israel) for study and work.

His interests range from Music (he studied piano), Linguistics and Philology, to studies on Christianity, Judaism and Islam, the history and culture of the Jewish people, and the cultures and literatures of the Near East.

He published the novels My brother's murderer, in 2013, and The knitting school, in 2016.

He is also a lecturer, essayist and translator of different languages, in particular Spanish, French, English and Portuguese. He has collaborated with RAI, BBC and other Italian and international newspapers (Omnes, among others in Spain) as an expert in history and politics and for the translation of videos, articles and documentaries.

Gerardo Ferrara is also the responsible for students University of the Holy Cross in Rome.