POPE Francis will publish his next encyclical, his third, next month.
It will be called Fratelli tutti - which can be translated as 'All Brothers', 'Brethren' or 'Brothers and sisters all' - and will deal with themes of fraternity, economics and social friendship.
Said to have been written during lockdown, it is expected to set out the Pope's vision for a post-pandemic world - a preoccupation of his homilies and addresses in the Covid-19 period.
In Pope Francis's thinking, care for each other - particularly the poorest and most marginalised in society - cannot be divided from care for creation.
This makes Fratelli tutti consistent with the ideas developed in his 'creation' encyclical, Laudato Si', which is heavily laced with the influence of St Francis of Assisi.
The Pope wants to make the link between the two encyclicals explicit. He is going to Assisi on October 3 to sign the encyclical, which he will do immediately after celebrating Mass at the tomb of St Francis.
That is also the eve of St Francis's feast day, which marks the close of the Laudato Si'-inspired 'Season of Creation' - Bishop Larry Duffy expands on this elsewhere in Faith matters.
The encyclical's title, Fratelli tutti, is drawn from the Admonitions of St Francis of Assisi and a passage which reads in Italian as "Guardiamo con attenzione, fratelli tutti, il buon pastore che per salvare le sue pecore sostenne la passione della croce". This can be translated as: "Consider, brethren, the good shepherd - to save his sheep, he suffered the Passion and the Cross."
The text of Fratelli tutti is expected to be published during the first week of October.