8vo. Original red roan with gilt Papal arms on upper cover (a few minor bumps).

 

SIGNED BY POPE FRANCIS (“Francesco”) on the title-page, and with the Papal blindstamp of the Segreteria Particolare di Sua Santita below. Lumen fidei (The Light of Faith) is the first encyclical of Pope Francis, issued on 29 June 2013, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, and published on 5 July 2013, less than four months after his election to the papacy. It was the first encyclical in the history of the Catholic Church written by two popes, being begun by Pope Benedict XVI and finished by Pope Francis. The encyclical traces the history of the faith of the Church (from the call of God to Abraham and the people of Israel, to the resurrection of Jesus), discusses the relationship between reason and faith, the Church's role in the transmission of the faith, and the role faith plays in the building of societies in search of the common good. The text concludes with a prayer to the Virgin Mary, who is presented as a model of faith. Accompanied by a typed letter signed from Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Segretario di Stato di Sua Santita, 15 December 2014.