I extend a warm welcome this morning to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from England, Ireland, Australia, Canada and the United States of America. To all of you and your families, I offer my prayerful good wishes for a blessed Christmas season and a new year filled with joy and peace. God bless you all! 

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Dear brothers and sisters, we begin today a new series of catecheses dedicated to the Second Vatican Council and to reflecting on its documents. The work of the Council Fathers paved the way for a new ecclesial season, placing at its center the mystery of salvation and the unity between God and his people. At the same time, it opened the Church to seek dialogue with the people of good will for a more just and fraternal world. We see that the documents have lost none of their relevance and are pertinent to the demands and challenges of today. Closely studying the Council documents will help us to be attentive interpreters of the signs of the times, and to proclaim the Gospel to all. As we make our journey of rediscovering the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, let us welcome the past with its rich tradition; let us consider the present with its joys and sorrows; and let’s look towards the future with an urgent appeal for greater justice, love and peace.