Since October 11, 2012, the Catholic Church throughout the world has been observing a special Year of Faith. In his apostolic letter Porta Fidei (“The Door of Faith”), Pope Benedict XVI asked Catholics to experience a conversion — to turn back to Jesus and enter into a deeper relationship with him.
The pope noted that the “door of faith” is opened at Baptism, but during this Year of Faith Catholics were asked to open it again, to walk through it and rediscover and renew their relationship with Christ and his Church.
The first day of the Year of Faith coincided with the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the 20th anniversary of the publishing of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict asked Catholics to study and reflect on the documents of Vatican II and the Catechism to deepen their knowledge of the faith.