• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
The likeness of St. Irenaeus of Lyon is pictured in a stained-glass window at the Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate in Guelph, Ontario. During an Oct. 7, 2021, meeting with members of the St. Irenaeus Joint Orthodox-Catholic Working Group, Pope Francis said he will soon declare St. Irenaeus a doctor of the church. (CNS photo/The Crosiers)

Pope to name St. Irenaeus of Lyon a doctor of the church

October 7, 2021
By Junno Arocho Esteves
Catholic News Service
Filed Under: Feature, News, Saints, World News

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis said he intends to declare as a doctor of the church St. Irenaeus of Lyon, the second-century theologian known for his defense of orthodoxy amid the rise of gnostic sects.

During a meeting Oct. 7 with members of the St. Irenaeus Joint Orthodox-Catholic Working Group, the pope praised the group’s efforts in creating a space for dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox Christians, much like their namesake.

“Your patron, St. Irenaeus of Lyon –- whom I will soon declare a doctor of the church with the title, ‘doctor unitatis’ (‘doctor of unity’) — came from the East, exercised his episcopal ministry in the West, and was a great spiritual and theological bridge between Eastern and Western Christians,” he said.

According to its website, the purpose of the St. Irenaeus Joint Orthodox-Catholic Working Group is “to investigate the profound differences in mentality, ways of thinking and of doing theology which are related to current problems in Orthodox-Catholic dialogue, to understand their character, and to try to see how both traditions can enrich each other without losing their own identity.”

St. Irenaeus, the group’s website said, “is revered as a patristic father in both the Eastern and Western churches” and “thus represents an example of the spiritual connection between the churches in East and West, which the working group seeks to promote through its discussions.”

Born in Smyrna, Asia Minor — now modern-day Turkey — St. Irenaeus was known as a staunch defender of the faith.

Concerned about the rise of gnostic sects within the early Christian church, he wrote “Adversus haereses” (“Against Heresies”), a refutation of gnostic beliefs which emphasized personal spiritual knowledge over faith in Christian teachings and in ecclesiastical authority.

During their 2019 fall assembly, the U.S. bishops’ conference added their assent to a motion made by the Archdiocese of Lyon, France — the region where St. Irenaeus ministered — to have the second-century bishop declared a doctor of the church.

Once declared, St. Irenaeus would be the second doctor of the church named by Pope Francis after St. Gregory of Narek, who was given the designation in 2015. He would bring the total number of doctors of the church to 37.

Also see

Who is St. Augustine, the father of Pope Leo XIV’s order?

Pope Leo’s motto, coat of arms pay homage to St. Augustine

Besides Leo XIII, 12 other popes have shared that name with new pontiff; 5 are saints

French town near city with papal history to mark 100 years since Martyrs of Orange beatification

St. Thérèse of Lisieux and her trust in God’s merciful love still resonate with faithful

St. Carlo and timing

Copyright © 2021 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Junno Arocho Esteves

Click here to view all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • Chicago native Cardinal Prevost elected pope, takes name Leo XIV

  • Who was Pope Leo XIII, the father of social doctrine?

  • Full text of first public homily of Pope Leo XIV

  • Advocates of abuse victims are rooting for a Filipino pope — and it’s not Cardinal Tagle

  • Archbishop Lori surprised, heartened by selection of American pope

| Latest Local News |

Bankruptcy court judge gives victim-survivors temporary window to file civil suits

Radio Interview: Meet the Mount St. Mary’s graduate who served as a lector at papal funeral

At St. Mary’s School in Hagerstown, vision takes shape to save a school

Catholic school students ‘elect’ pope in their own ‘conclave’

Baltimore-area Catholics pray for new pope, express excitement for his leadership

| Latest World News |

Angelicum rector: Pope’s election ‘greatest mercy God has ever shown on Catholic Church in America’

Planned Parenthood annual report shows abortions, public funding up after Dobbs

Pope pledges strengthened dialogue with Jews

‘He’s always been a brother to us’: Villanova Augustinian prior reflects on future Pope Leo XIV

Who is St. Augustine, the father of Pope Leo XIV’s order?

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • El deseo del obispo Bruce Lewandowski, “Cuiden bien a los jóvenes.”
  • Angelicum rector: Pope’s election ‘greatest mercy God has ever shown on Catholic Church in America’
  • Planned Parenthood annual report shows abortions, public funding up after Dobbs
  • Pope pledges strengthened dialogue with Jews
  • ‘He’s always been a brother to us’: Villanova Augustinian prior reflects on future Pope Leo XIV
  • Who is St. Augustine, the father of Pope Leo XIV’s order?
  • Report: Catholic Church’s economic benefit to Minnesota is more than $5 billion annually
  • Catholic Charities tasked with Afrikaner refugees as Trump administration keeps others in limbo
  • Trump signs executive order demanding drug manufacturers lower U.S. prices

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED