Leo XIV commemorates 60th anniversary of ‘Nostra Aetate’ Held In Paul VI Hall Rome
Nostra Aetate is widely regarded as a pivotal moment in the Catholic Church’s history, reflecting a significant shift in attitude toward other religions and their followers. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI referred to it as the Magna Carta of the Church’s renewed approach to interfaith engagement. Additionally, Pope Francis undertook important initiatives to foster interfaith dialogue.
Pope Leo XIV demonstrates a commitment to building bridges and promoting understanding from the beginning of his papacy. Nostra Aetate continues to serve as an inspiring and guiding document for Catholics striving to develop relationships based on mutual respect and cooperation.
The Latin title, Nostra Aetate derived from the opening words of the declaration, translates to “in our time.” As we observe the 60th anniversary, it offers an opportunity to revisit the Declaration, recognise its importance, celebrate its positive outcomes, and, most importantly, to apply its principles to the diverse, multi-religious contexts present globally, “in our time.”
“Sixty years ago”, with the publication of Nostra Aetate, the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on the relation of the Church to non-Christian Religions, “a seed of hope for interreligious dialogue was planted”, Pope Leo XIV said on Tuesday evening, 28 October 2025.
“Today, your presence bears witness that this seed has grown into a mighty tree, its branches reaching far and wide, offering shelter and bearing the rich fruits of understanding, friendship, cooperation and peace”.
Pope Leo XVIV delivered his remarks to distinguished representatives of various world faiths, members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, and officials of the Vatican and the wider Church engaged in interreligious dialogue. They individuals had convened in the Paul VI Hall to observe the anniversary of the Council’s significant Declaration.
Nostra Aetate is part of Vatican II’s updating the Catholic Church to bring it into relationship with the modern world. Its genesis was in the mind and heart of Pope John XXIII, who had witnessed first-hand the tribulation of the Jewish people during the Second World War and had used his then office as Apostolic Delegate to Turkey to provide them safe passage.
After a meeting with the Jewish historian, Jules Isaac, who presented him with a document showing how Church teaching had contributed to the antisemitism which had helped fuel the Shoah/Holocaust. The good Pope John XXIII directed that changing this situation was to be included in the preparations for the Council. Originally it was to be a statement on the Jews only included in the document on the Church.
Cardinal Augustine Bea guided the document through multiple revisions during the Second Vatican Council.
Amid the complex political and social climate of that period, particularly following the establishment of the State of Israel, the bishops from the Middle East advised that a statement solely addressing the Jewish community might be perceived as taking a political stance and could adversely affect Christian minorities in the region.
Consequently, a section was included to address Islam and interfaith relations with Muslims. Subsequently, bishops from Asia highlighted that their unique circumstances as religious minorities living among followers of different faiths were not adequately represented, prompting the addition of further sections.
Nostra Aetate, a foundational document, articulates the Catholic Church’s perspective on interfaith relations. It underscores the common human heritage and spiritual patrimony shared among all peoples, advocates for respectful dialogue, and explicitly rejects anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination.
1. In our time, when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger, the Church examines more closely her relationship to non-Christian religions. In her task of promoting unity and love among men, indeed among nations, she considers above all in this declaration what men have in common and what draws them to fellowship.
One is the community of all peoples, one their origin, for God made the whole human race to live over the face of the earth.(1) One also is their final goal, God. His providence, His manifestations of goodness, His saving design extend to all men,(2) until that time when the elect will be united in the Holy City, the city ablaze with the glory of God, where the nations will walk in His light.(3)
Pope Paul VI was elected on June 21, 1963, during a papal conclave following the death of Pope John XXIII in 1963. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini, who was the Archbishop of Milan, was chosen on the sixth ballot. He took the name Paul VI, indicating a mission to spread the Gospel, and was the last pope to have a formal coronation.
The issuance of Nostra Aetate initiated a series of initiatives aimed at promoting this updated approach. As early as May 1964, Pope Paul VI established the Secretariat for Non-Christians, which was later renamed the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue by Pope John Paul II in 1998, and most recently restructured by Pope Francis in 2022 as the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.
Pope Paul VI promulgated key documents and reforms, most notably the revised Roman Missal (the “Mass of Paul VI”) in 1969 and the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, in 1964. He also issued the apostolic letter Mysterii Paschalis in 1969, which revised the General Roman Calendar, and the declaration Nostra Aetate in 1965, which defined the Church’s relationship with non-Christian religions
Throughout this process, Nostra Aetate evolved to become a standalone statement. On October 28, 1965, during the council’s final session, the draft was approved with an overwhelming majority of 2,221 votes in favor and 88 against. This consensus led to the adoption of Nostra Aetate as the official Catholic teaching on relations with adherents of other religions.
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV CELEBRATING THE SIXTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF NOSTRA AETATE “WALKING TOGETHER IN HOPE”
Audience Hall Tuesday, 28 October 2025 [Multimedia]
Respected Heads and Representatives of World Religions, Distinguished Members of the Diplomatic Corps Accredited to the Holy See, Dear Brothers and Sisters, Peace be with you!
It is with joy and deep gratitude that I extend my cordial greetings and express my sincere thanks for your presence at this commemoration of the ground-breaking document Nostra Aetate.
The theme of this evening’s gathering is “Walking Together in Hope.”
Sixty years ago, a seed of hope for interreligious dialogue was planted.
Today, your presence bears witness that this seed has grown into a mighty tree, its branches reaching far and wide, offering shelter and bearing the rich fruits of understanding, friendship, cooperation and peace.
For sixty years, men and women have labored to bring Nostra Aetate to life. They watered the seed, tended the soil and protected it. Some even gave their lives — martyrs for dialogue, who stood against violence and hatred. Today, let us remember them with gratitude.
As Christians, together with our brothers and sisters of other religions, we are who we are because of their courage, their sweat and their sacrifice.
In this regard, I sincerely thank you for your collaboration with the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews at the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and with the Catholic Church in your home countries. Thank you for accepting our invitation, and for gracing this occasion with your presence.
My dear brothers and sisters, your friendship and esteem for the Catholic Church shone forth in a special way at the time of Pope Francis’s final illness and death — through the heartfelt messages of condolence you sent, the prayers offered in your countries, and the presence of those who were able to attend his funeral.
That same friendship shone again through your congratulatory messages upon my election as Pope and the presence of some of you at the Inaugural Mass. All these gestures testify to the deep and lasting bond we share; a bond I cherish profoundly.
If the Nostra Aetate Declaration has nourished the ties between us, I am convinced that its message remains highly relevant today. Let us, then, take a moment to reflect on some of its most significant teachings.
First, Nostra Aetate reminds us that humanity is drawing closer together, and that it is the task of the Church to promote unity and love among men and women, and among nations (cf. n.1).
Second, it points to what we all share in common. We belong to one human family — one in origin and one also in our final goal. Moreover, every person seeks answers to the great riddles of the human condition (cf. n.1).
Third, religions everywhere try to respond to the restlessness of the human heart. Each, in its own way, offers teachings, ways of life and sacred rites that help guide their followers toward peace and meaning (cf. n.2).
Fourth, the Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions, which “reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all people” (n. 2).
She regards them with sincere reverence and invites her sons and daughters, through dialogue and collaboration, to recognize, preserve and promote what is spiritually, morally and culturally good in all peoples.
Finally, we must not forget how Nostra Aetate actually developed. Initially, Pope John XXIII commissioned Cardinal Augustin Bea to present a treatise to the Council describing a new relationship between the Catholic Church and Judaism.
We can say, therefore, that the fourth chapter, dedicated to Judaism, is the heart and generative core of the entire Declaration.
For the first time in the history of the Church, we have a doctrinal text with an explicitly theological basis that illustrates the Jewish roots of Christianity in a well-founded biblical manner.
At the same time, Nostra Aetate (n. 4) takes a firm stand against all forms of antisemitism. Thus, in its following chapter, Nostra Aetate teaches that we cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly or sisterly way any man or woman created in the image of God.
Indeed, the Church rejects all forms of discrimination or harassment because of race, color, condition of life or religion (cf. n 5).
This historic document, therefore, opened our eyes to a simple yet profound principle: dialogue is not a tactic or a tool, but a way of life — a journey of the heart that transforms everyone involved, the one who listens and the one who speaks. What is more, we walk this journey not by abandoning our own faith, but by standing firmly within it. For authentic dialogue begins not in compromise, but in conviction — in the deep roots of our own belief that give us the strength to reach out to others in love.
Sixty years later, the message of Nostra Aetate remains as urgent as ever. During his Apostolic Journey to Singapore, at an interfaith meeting, Pope Francis encouraged young people in the following words: “God is for everyone, and therefore, we are all God’s children” (Interreligious Meeting with Young People, 13 September 2024).
This calls us to look beyond what separates us and to discover what unites us all. Yet today, we find ourselves in a world where that vision is often obscured.
We see walls rising again — between nations, between religions, even between neighbors.
The noise of conflict,
the wounds of poverty
and the cry of the earth
remind us how fragile our human family remains.
Many have grown weary of promises; many have forgotten how to hope.
As religious leaders, guided by the wisdom of our respective traditions, we share a sacred responsibility:
to help our people to break free from the chains of prejudice, anger and hatred;
to help them rise above egoism and self-centeredness; to help them overcome the greed that destroys both the human spirit and the earth.
In this way, we can lead our people to become prophets of our time — voices that denounce violence and injustice, heal division, and proclaim peace for all our brothers and sisters.
Both hope and pilgrimage are realities common to all our religious traditions. This is the journey that Nostra Aetateinvites us to continue — to walk together in hope. Then, when we do so, something beautiful happens: hearts open, bridges are built and new paths appear where none seemed possible.
This is not the work of one religion, one nation, or even one generation. It is a sacred task for all humanity — to keep hope alive, to keep dialogue alive and to keep love alive in the heart of the world. My dear brothers and sisters, at this crucial moment in history, we are entrusted with a great mission — to reawaken in all men and women their sense of humanity and of the sacred.
This, my friends, is precisely why we have come together in this place — bearing the great responsibility, as religious leaders, to bring hope to a humanity that is often tempted by despair. Let us remember that prayer has the power to transform our hearts, our words, our actions and our world. It renews us from within, rekindling in us the spirit of hope and love.
And so now, I invite each one of you to pause for a moment in silent prayer. May peace come down upon us and fill our hearts.
The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself.
