A Council, a New Pentecost, a New Evangelization
It is not at all difficult to demonstrate that since Pope Saint John XXIII all of our Holy Fathers have promoted the theological connection between these realities.
Pope John XXIII
New Pentecost was not simply a theme for Pope John as evidenced in letters to that effect preceding his papacy. As Cardinal Roncalli patriarch of Venice he wrote to Msgr. Piazzi, Bishop of Bergamo, on the eve of the conclave that made him pope: “A quick note as I enter the conclave…my soul finds comfort in the confidence that a New Pentecost can blow through the Church, renewing its head, leading to an new ordering of the ecclesiastical body and bringing fresh vigour in progress towards the victory of truth, goodness and peace.” Leon-Joseph Suenens, Memories and Hopes, 110.
Once elected pope, he then called an ecumenical council by the Spirit’s inspiration, as noted in Allocutio: In Sollemni SS. Concilii Inauguratione, October 11, 1962, 786-796. Pope John writes, "As regards the immediate cause for this great event, which gathers you here together at Our bidding, it is sufficient for Us to put on record once more something which, though trifling in itself, made a deep impression on Us personally. The decision to hold an ecumenical council came to Us in the first instance in a sudden flash of inspiration. . . It was as though some ray of supernatural light had entered the minds of all present: it was reflected in their faces; it shone from their eyes. At once the world was swept by a wave of enthusiasm, and men everywhere began to wait eagerly for the celebration of this Council.
Pope Paul VI
Remarking on the growing charismatic renewal: "Assuredly we have here a work of the Spirit, a gift of Pentecost. One must also recognize a prophetic intuition on the part of our predecessor John XXIII, who envisaged a kind of new Pentecost as a fruit of the Council. We too have wished to place ourself in the same perspective and in the same attitude of expectation. Not that Pentecost has ever ceased to be an actuality during the whole history of the Church, but so great are the needs and the perils of the present age, so vast the horizon of mankind drawn towards world coexistence and powerless to achieve it, that there is no salvation for it except in a new outpouring of the gift of God.[1]
[1] Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete in domino (On Christian Joy), May 9, 1975, chap. 7. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19750509_gaudete-in-domino_en.html (accessed November 3, 2009). See Ralph Martin, A New Pentecost? Catholic Theology and “Baptism in the Spirit” Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought & Culture. 14:3 summer 2011
Pope John Paul I
Hadn't much time to say anything. God rest his soul.
Pope John Paul II
John Paul II obeyed a “sense” and called the entire Church to a new Evangelization fueled by the ardour of a new Pentecost, “Over the years, I have often repeated the summons to the new evangelization. I do so again now, especially in order to insist that we must rekindle in ourselves the impetus of the beginnings and allow ourselves to be filled with the ardour of the apostolic preaching which followed Pentecost.” NMI, III,40.
Pope Benedict XVI
We could say that the New Evangelization began in fact with the Council, that Blessed John XXIII saw it as a new Pentecost that would make the Church blossom in her inner richness and extend herself maternally to all the fields of human activity (cf. Address at the Closing of the First Period of the Council, December 8, 1962). The effects of that new Pentecost, despite the difficulties of the times, were extended, reaching the life of the Church in every one of her expressions: from the institutional to the spiritual, from participation of the lay faithful in the Church to charismatic flowering and holiness.[1]
[1] Papal Address to Recently Ordained Prelates, "Evangelization is not the work of some specialists, but of the whole People of God" VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 21, 2012. http://www.zenit.org/article-35580?l=english
Pope Francis
From the fire of Pentecost, from the action of the Holy Spirit, ever new missionary energies are released, new ways in which to proclaim the message of salvation, new courage to evangelize. Never be closed to this action! May we live the Gospel with humility and courage! May we witness the novelty, the hope, the joy that the Lord brings to life. Let us feel within us "the delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing" (Paul VI, Evangelii nuntiandi, 80) Because evangelizing, announcing Jesus, evangelizing brings us joy! It energizes us. Being closed up within ourselves brings bitterness. Proclaiming the joy and hope that the Lord brings to world lifts us up!
General Audience catechesis on Wednesday, May 22, 2013