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Apostolicam Actuositatem

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Second Vatican Ecumenical Council
Concilium Oecumenicum Vaticanum Secundum (Latin)
Saint Peter's Basilica
Venue of the Second Vatican Council
DateOctober 11, 1962 (1962-10-11) – December 8, 1965 (1965-12-08)
Accepted byCatholic Church
Previous council
First Vatican Council
Convoked byPope John XXIII
PresidentPope John XXIII
Pope Paul VI
Attendanceup to 2,625[1]
TopicsThe Church in itself, its sole salvific role as the one, true and complete Christian faith, also in relation to ecumenism among other religions, in relation to the modern world, renewal of consecrated life, liturgical disciplines, etc.
Documents and statements
Four Constitutions:

Three Declarations:

Nine Decrees:

Chronological list of ecumenical councils

Apostolicam Actuositatem (Apostolic Activity), also known as the "Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity", is one of the 16 magisterial documents of the Second Vatican Council. The purpose of the decree was to encourage and guide lay Catholics in their Christian service. In this decree the Council sought "to describe the nature, character, and diversity of the lay apostolate or ministry, to state its basic principles, and to give pastoral directives for its more effective exercise".[2]: Introduction  The spirituality of lay people focusses essentially on union with Christ, and the specific objectives of lay ministry are evangelization and sanctification, renewal of the "temporal order", and charitable works and social aid.[3] The decree quotes Colossians 3:17: "Whatever you do in word or work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him".[4]

Background

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Apostolicam Actuositatem follows upon Lumen gentium, the "Dogmatic Constitution on the Church", of 21 November 1964, which discusses the laity, by which the Council fathers mean all the faithful except those in Holy Orders or religious institutes, in chapter IV:

"They live in the ordinary circumstances of family and social life, from which the very web of their existence is woven. ...led by the spirit of the Gospel they may work for the sanctification of the world from within as a leaven. In this way they may make Christ known to others, especially by the testimony of a life resplendent in faith, hope and charity."[5]

The decree notes that the Council's Decree on Instruments of Social Communication, Decree on Ecumenism, Decree on the Pastoral Duties of Bishops, the Declaration on Christian Education, the Decree on the Missionary Activity of Church and the Decree on Priestly Life and Ministry have already touched in the roles of lay people to some extent.[2]: Introduction: Note 2 

It had already been determined that the church's canon law would need to be revised after the Council,[6] and so the decree looked ahead to revised provisions on the lay apostolate emerging in due course.[2]: Introduction 

Adoption by the Council

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The final text was approved on 10 November 1965 by a vote of 2,201 to 2. On 18 November 1965, it was promulgated by Pope Paul VI, after another vote, this time of 2,340 to 2.[7]

Contents

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In its introduction, the decree refers to the earliest days of the Church and what it calls "our own times", advising that "no less zeal" (Latin: zelum laicorum)[8]: Prooemium  is needed now than was characteristic of the early church.[2]: Introduction:1 

Two reasons are set out for promoting the role of lay people:

  • the breadth, progress and autonomy of modern life, including "fields ... for the most part open to the laity alone", and
  • in many places, ... priests are very few [and], in some instances, deprived of due freedom for priestly work"; in these places "the Church could scarcely exist and function without the activity of the laity".[2]: Introduction:1 

Chapter 1 covers "the vocation of the laity to the apostolate", chapter 2 covers the apostolate's objectives, and chapter 3 concerns "the various fields of the apostolate", listing "church communities, the family, youth, the social milieu, and national and international levels" as "the more important fields" and embracing the active participation of women in the apostolate. Chapter 4 covers individual and collective expressions of the apostolate, and chapter 5 covers "external relationships". Chapter 6 covers "formation for the apostolate" and the document concludes with an "exhortation" calling upon "all the laity in the Lord to answer gladly, nobly, and promptly the more urgent invitation of Christ in this hour and the impulse of the Holy Spirit".[2]

In outlining the objectives of the lay apostolate, the decree makes frequent reference to the renewal of the "temporal order" (ordinis temporalis instaurationem):[8] the term is used 19 times in the decree. Pope John Paul II explains that "there is an order of reality - institutions, values, activities - which we are used to describing as "temporal" insofar as it directly concerns things that belong to the context of the present life, although they are also destined to eternal life".[9]

Subsequent developments

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The Pontifical Council for the Laity had its foundation in section 26 of the decree. This body was created in January 1967 by Pope Paul VI's motu proprio Catholicam Christi Ecclesiam. In December 1976, the council was included as a permanent fixture of the Roman Curia. In September 2016, its functions were transferred to the new Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Cheney, David M. "Second Vatican Council". Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved 18 May 2011.[self-published source]
  2. ^ a b c d e f Holy See, Apostolicam Actuositatem, pubished on 18 November 1965, accessed on 9 April 2026
  3. ^ Rachal, Dianne, "Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People", Catholic Connection, Diocese of Shreveport, published on 3 May 2013, archived on 25 November 2015, accessed on 8 April 2026
  4. ^ Colossians 3:17
  5. ^ Holy See, Lumen gentium, Chapter IV, §31, published on 21 November 1964, Archived 2014-09-06 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Pope John XXIII, Allocuzione del Santo Padre Giovanni XXIII con la quale Annuncia il Sinodo Romano, il Concilio Ecumenico e l'Aggiornamento del Codice di Diritto Canonico, in Italian, delivered on 25 January 1959, accessed on 21 August 2025
  7. ^ John W. O'Malley, What Happened at Vatican II, Harvard University Press, p. 282
  8. ^ a b Holy See, Latin text of Apostolicam Actuositatem, accessed on 9 April 2026
  9. ^ Pope John Paul II, The laity are called to renew the temporal order: General Audience of 13 April 1994, accessed on 22 April 2026

Further reading

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