Brotherhood: The Mission of Evangelization in the Post-COVID-19 World

Abstract

This paper explores the renewed significance of evangelization in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis’s encyclical on human fraternity and social friendship. It argues that the pandemic has revealed the fragility of modern civilization and the urgent need to build a more compassionate, inclusive, and dialogical world. Drawing on theological reflections, the paper identifies universal brotherhood not only as a moral ideal but as a central challenge for the Church's missionary activity today. Evangelization, it asserts, must shift from power and proselytization to dialogue and solidarity, especially with the poor and marginalized. The mission of the Church in the post-pandemic world thus involves fostering a culture of encounter, rebuilding human relationships based on love and humility, and embracing a preferential option for the poor. Ultimately, fraternity becomes both the message and method of evangelization in our contemporary context.