In a new apostolic letter published on the occasion of the centenary of the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology, Pope Leo XIV has offered an in-depth reflection on the relationship between faith, history, and tradition, emphasizing that Christian archaeology is not an academic luxury, but an essential element for the life of the Church. The Pontiff warns that without contact with the concrete origins of the faith, theology runs the risk of becoming “disincarnate, abstract, ideological”.
The text is framed in the centenary of the Institute founded by Pius XI in 1925, in the context of the so-called “Jubilee of Peace” after the First World War, and now links to a new Jubilee in a world of wars and cultural crises. Leo XIV presents Christian archaeology as a service to the Church, to the memory of the martyrs, and to the faithful transmission of the faith in times of confusion.
Archaeology and Incarnate Faith
The Pope strongly affirms that «archaeology is an indispensable component of the interpretation of Christianity and, consequently, of catechetical and theological formation». It is not, he states, a discipline reserved for specialists, but a path of access to the historical incarnation of the faith: “Christianity was not born from an idea, but from flesh; not from an abstract concept, but from a womb, a body, a tomb”.
Drawing on the First Letter of Saint John (“what we have heard, seen, and touched”), Leo XIV presents Christian archaeology as a way of obeying that apostolic testimony: touching the traces of the first Christians, seeing their tombs, their houses, their churches, to rediscover that faith is not a theory, but a real event in history.
In this vein, he recalls that from its origins the Institute of Christian Archaeology—founded by Pius XI to train professors, excavation directors, and conservators of sacred monuments—has helped to know the Christian cemeteries, the shrines of the martyrs, and the places linked to the spread of Christianity.
Against Theology without Memory
One of the clearest passages in the letter is the warning against a theology disconnected from the real history of the Church. “A theology that ignores archaeology runs the risk of becoming disincarnate, abstract, ideological,” the Pope notes. On the contrary, integrating archaeology into theological reflection means listening to the body of the Church, its wounds, its signs, its visible roots.
Archaeology, he emphasizes, is part of the intelligence of Revelation: God has spoken in history, and therefore understanding his Word requires knowing the concrete contexts in which he has acted. The sites, inscriptions, catacombs, and remains of the first communities help to situate the texts, confirm traditions, correct idealizations, and accept the historical reality of the Church, with its mixture of holiness and fragility.
Leo XIV insists that this return to the origins should not become a “cult of the past,” but rather a criterion of authenticity: archaeology helps to distinguish the essential from the accessory, what is part of the core of the faith from what are later encrustations.
Martyrs, Catacombs, and Evangelization
The Pope devotes ample space to showing how archaeology serves evangelization. He recalls, in continuity with words of Francis, that the catacombs, graffiti, martyrs’ tombs, and early Christian symbols speak of hope, eternal life, and faith in the resurrection.
In a culture that has lost its roots, Christian archaeology becomes a living memory that can challenge both the faithful and those who are distant. To believers, it reminds them that they are not orphans, that they are part of a concrete genealogy of faith. To non-believers and those seeking meaning, it offers the silent and objective testimony of a faith that has left material traces in history: “Salvation has left traces, the Mystery has become historical narrative,” writes the Pope.
The letter emphasizes that archaeology does not only look to the past: it speaks to the present and guides toward the future. It shows how the Gospel has become incarnate in various cultures and encourages continuing a true inculturation, faithful to tradition, without rupture with the origins.
Conservation, Humility, and “Spiritual Ecology”
Leo XIV presents the archaeologist’s gaze as a correction to the consumerist spirit of the era. While the world tends to use and discard, the archaeologist “discards nothing, but preserves; does not consume, but contemplates; does not destroy, but deciphers.” Archaeology thus becomes a school of humility and of cultural sustainability, a “spiritual ecology” that teaches respect for matter, memory, and history.
Every fragment, every inscription, every mosaic has value because it refers to concrete persons, real communities, souls who have lived the faith. For this reason, the Pope affirms, Christian archaeology is also a form of charity: it gives voice to the forgotten, rescues anonymous holiness, and restores dignity to those who left no other trace than a tomb and a prayer.
Call to Bishops, Youth, and the Academic World
The letter concludes with a direct call to bishops, those responsible for culture and education, professors, and students. Leo XIV asks that young people, laity, and priests be encouraged to study Christian archaeology, recalling that it offers numerous perspectives of service both in the Church and in society: in universities, museums, heritage commissions, and ecclesial organizations.
The Pope highlights the importance of communion among the various institutions dedicated to Christian archaeology—Commissions, Academies, the Pontifical Institute—and sees in this field a fertile ground also for encounter with Eastern Christianity, where a shared heritage of martyrs, liturgies, and monuments is shared.
“Christian archaeology is a service, a vocation, a form of love for the Church and for humanity,” writes Leo XIV, encouraging scholars not to be discouraged, to continue excavating and teaching, and to be faithful to the mission of “making the Word of life visible” through the traces that faith has left in history.