List of Encyclicals of Pope John Paul II

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This article contains a list of Encyclicals of Pope John Paul II. Pope John Paul II issued 14 Papal Encyclicals during his reign as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church for over 26 years, from his election on 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005.

An encyclical (from Latin encyclia, from the Greek "en kyklo, ἐν κύκλῳ", meaning "general" or "encircling") was a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Christian church. For the modern Roman Catholic Church, a Papal Encyclical, in the strictest sense, is a letter sent by the Pope which is explicitly addressed to Roman Catholic bishops of a particular area or to the world, usually treating some aspect of Catholic doctrine. A Papal Encyclical is generally used for significant issues, and is second in importance only to the highest ranking document now issued by popes, an Apostolic Constitution.

The title of a Papal Encyclical is usually taken from its first few words.

No.	Title (Latin)	Title (English translation)	Subject	Date
1.	Redemptor Hominis	"The Redeemer of Man"	On Jesus' Redemption of the world; the central importance of the human person; the Pope's plan of governance	March 4, 1979
2.	Dives in Misericordia	"Rich in Mercy"	On God's mercy given to the Church and the world	November 30, 1980
3.	Laborem Exercens	"On Human Work"	On the 90th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum Novarum; the conflict of labour and capital, and the rights of workers	September 14, 1981
4.	Slavorum Apostoli	"The Apostles of the Slavs"	In commemoration of Saints Cyril and Methodius	June 2, 1985
5.	Dominum et Vivificantem	"The Lord and Giver of Life"	On the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church and the world	May 18, 1986
6.	Redemptoris Mater	"Mother of the Redeemer"	On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of the Pilgrim Church	March 25, 1987
7.	Sollicitudo Rei Socialis	"On Social Concerns"	On the 20th anniversary of Pope Paul VI's encyclical Populorum Progressio; on the social concerns and teachings of the Church	December 30, 1987
8.	Redemptoris Missio	"Mission of the Redeemer"	On the permanent validity of the Church's missionary mandate	December 7, 1990
9.	Centesimus Annus	"The Hundredth Year"	On the 100th anniversary of Rerum Novarum; on capital and labour; and on Catholic social teaching	May 1, 1991
10.	Veritatis Splendor	"The Splendor of Truth"	On fundamental questions of the Church's moral teaching	August 6, 1993
11.	Evangelium Vitae	"The Gospel of Life"	On the value and inviolability of human life	March 25, 1995
12.	Ut Unum Sint	"That They May Be One"	On commitment to ecumenism	May 25, 1995
13.	Fides et Ratio	"Faith and Reason"	On the relationship between faith and reason; condemning both atheism and faith unsupported by reason; affirming the place of reason and philosophy in religion	September 14, 1998
14.	Ecclesia de Eucharistia	"The Church of the Eucharist"	On the Eucharist in its relationship to the Church	April 17, 2003

[edit] Reference

Pope John Paul II Encyclicals, with Study Tool (most in English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish; one also in Arabic and Latin) - from the Papal Archive at the internet site of the Holy See. Retrieved 13 December 2006.