Fathers Of The Church

Between March 2007 and June 2008, Pope Benedict XVI devoted thirty-six catecheses at his Wednesday audiences to the Fathers of the Church, from St. Clement of Rome to St. Augustine of Hippo. He devoted talks not only to the saints of the church, but also to writers not venerated – one subject, Tertullian, even died outside the Catholic communion.

Pope Benedict’s catecheses often begin with some historical information about his subject, setting the writer in the context of his time. He pays attention to the teaching of the Father, but often in unexpected ways – his concern is not only with Christian doctrine, but also with care for the poor and with the relation of the Church to the state. He sometimes applies the teaching of his subject to some contemporary situation. Finally at the end of several catecheses, he quotes a prayer written by his subject.

These catecheses are distinctive. The Pope is not giving academic lectures, nor is he giving sermons. Rather, he is instructing those who are coming to the Church and those who want to have their faith confirmed and strengthened. Pope Benedict clearly believes that the Fathers of the Church speak to Christians today, and he presents the Fathers in a way that makes them accessible to every reader. That accessibility often makes that reader eager to look further into the writings of these great early Christians.