What was Pope John Paul II's first encyclical?
Pope John Paul II bibliography
The title of a Papal Encyclical is usually taken from its first few words. Pope John Paul II issued his first encyclical, Redemptor hominis, on 4 March 1979. Ecclesia de Eucharistia, his last encyclical, was issued on 17 April 2003.[7]
Rosarium Virginis Mariae
Rosarium Virginis Mariae ("Rosary of the Virgin Mary") is an Apostolic Letter by Pope John Paul II, issued on October 16, 2002, which declared October 2002 to October 2003 the "Year of the Rosary". It was published by Pope John Paul II in 2002 at the beginning of the twenty-fifth year of his pontificate.
This Apostlic Letter deals with the Holy Rosary and follows Pope Paul VI in viewing it as compendium of the Gospel message:
The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium. ...Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.