Redemptoris missio (Latin for The Mission of the Redeemer), subtitled On the permanent validity of the Church's missionary mandate, is an encyclical by Pope John Paul II published on 7 December 1990. The release coincided with the twenty-fifth anniversary of Vatican II's Decree on the Church's Missionary Activity, Ad gentes. It is devoted to the subject of "the urgency of missionary activity" and in it the pope wished "to invite the Church to renew her missionary commitment." The encyclical differentiated three spheres of evangelization (Para 33-34):

Context

The encyclical is an important elaboration on the theme of New Evangelization cited often by Pope John Paul II. The most striking part of the document is the fourth chapter where the Pope details what is involved in the mission Ad gentes to the non-Christian world. The encyclical is a successor to Vatican II documents including Lumen gentium and Ad gentes. It is a successor to Pope Paul VI's document on evangelism, Evangelii nuntiandi, and is a predecessor to Pope Francis' Evangelii gaudium.

Table of contents

Blessing

John Paul II opens the encyclical with the words:

Introduction (1-3)

In the introduction John Paul II expresses what he perceives to be as the urgency of evangelism.

I. Jesus Christ, the Only Savior (4-11)

II. The Kingdom of God (12-20)

III. The Holy Spirit, the Principal Agent of Mission (21-30)

IV. The Vast Horizons of the Mission Ad Gentes (31-40)

V. The Paths of Mission (41-60)

VI. Leaders and Workers in the Missionary Apostolate (61-76)

VII. Cooperation in Missionary Activity (77-86)

VIII. Missionary Spirituality (87-91)

Conclusion (92)

"Like the apostles after Christ’s Ascension, the Church must gather... in order to pray for the Spirit and to gain strength and courage to carry out the missionary mandate." (Para. 92)