“The joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the people of today, especially the poor and all those who suffer, are also the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the disciples of Christ, and there is nothing genuinely human that does not find an echo in their hearts”: these words, so relevant today, seem to have been spoken by Pope Francis, but they are more than fifty years old. They are the beginning of the pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes, approved by the Second Vatican Council on December 7, 1965, on the eve of its solemn closing.

These few words contain the entire journey of the Council, its development, and the overall significance of the vast renewal it had promoted. But above all, they convey the image of a “new” Church that declared itself ready to reconnect the threads of dialogue with the contemporary world. Ready, indeed, to be present in the world, among human beings, among all people.

It had never happened before that an ecumenical council addressed humanity's everyday problems so openly and declared itself “truly and intimately in solidarity” with the human race and its history.
The second part of the constitution is dedicated to marriage and the family, culture, and major social and political issues such as world hunger, the political responsibility of believers, and war… issues that until then had remained on the margins of the Church's reflection.

Gaudium et Spes, once the Council's experience had ended, began its journey through human history, and its words were translated into action. This is why those words remain relevant today: “The joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties,” capable of speaking to our present as well.
The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) produced a total of 16 documents: 4 constitutions, 9 decrees, and 3 declarations.
The next Jubilee, proclaimed by Pope Francis, will take place in 2025 and will have hope as its theme (“Pilgrims of Hope” is the title).
At the Holy Father's request, preparation for this great event of the Church will begin this year, and 2023 will be dedicated to rediscovering the fundamental themes of the four constitutions of the Second Vatican Council.
The Dicastery for Evangelization, in collaboration with Shalom Publishing House, has produced 34 short guides, written by experts in language accessible to everyone, to enable those who are not thoroughly familiar with the Council event to discover its teaching. 

Ten volumes of this valuable work are dedicated to an in-depth exploration of Gaudium et Spes.