In order to know the meaning of the term encyclical, it is necessary, first of all, to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we can emphasize that it derives from Greek, exactly from “enkyklios”, which means “letter written by the Pope for his religious environment” and that it is the result of the sum of the following components:
-The prefix “en-”, which can be translated as “within”.
-The noun “kyklos”, which is synonymous with “circle”.
The term is used to refer to a solemn communication that the Pope makes to the bishops and Catholics in general.
Originally, encyclicals were letters that a bishop sent to the various churches in a region. Currently, within the framework of the Catholic Church , the concept is usually associated with a writing released by the pope to present a vision or a thought on some important matter.
There is, however, no exact definition of papal encyclicals , since the pope's letters and communications can be classified differently. In general, an encyclical deals with a priority issue at a given time.
Pope Francis , for example, presented his first encyclical in July 2013: “Lumun fidei” , translated as “The light of faith” . In it he reflects on faith , structuring the content into an introduction, four chapters and a conclusion.
Francis ' second encyclical was “Laudato si'” (or “Praise You” ), presented in May 2015. In this six-chapter letter, the pope calls to protect the environment and life, criticizing consumerism.
Among the popes who wrote the most encyclicals are Pius XII (author of 41 encyclicals), Pius XI (30 encyclicals), John Paul II (14 encyclicals) and Benedict XV (13 encyclicals). It should be noted that the encyclicals are published by the Librería Editora Vaticana , although they can currently also be read through the Internet .
In addition to everything stated above, there is another important series of interesting data about the encyclicals, such as the following:
-The first recorded encyclical was written in the 18th century. Specifically, it was written in 1766 by the then Pope, Benedict XIV.
-They are considered to be the most important documents made by the Supreme Pontiff.
-They have their origin in the well-known epistles of the “New Testament”.
-As a general rule, they are usually written in Latin, since it is the official language of the Holy See. However, that does not mean that they cannot be translated into other languages later.
-The Pope who did not write any encyclical was John Paul I, since 33 days after being named Supreme Pontiff he died.
-Although the Catholic Church mentions them to refer to the documents made by the Pope, the truth is that in both the Anglican and the Eastern Orthodox the term is used with the meaning it had in its origins. That is, they use it as a synonym for a letter or circular sent to all the churches in a specific area.