PROVIDENTISSIMUS DEUS. - Encyclical letter of Leo XIII (18 Nov. 1893) directed at promoting and regulating the study of Sacred Scripture (Acta Leonis XIII, 13 [1893], pp. 326-64; Acta Sanctae Sedis, 26 [1893-94], pp. 269-92; Enchiridion Biblicum, Rome 1927, nos. 66-119).
The prologue, having presented Scripture as a source of supernatural revelation, declares that the purpose of the letter is to defend the heritage of that revelation and to increase its study. The 1st part demonstrates the excellence of Sacred Scripture and the importance of its study from the use that Christ and the Apostles made of it, from the richness of its dogmatic and moral teachings, and from the affirmations and the practice of the Fathers and of the Church (Ench. Bibl., nos. 66-84). The 2nd part, having rapidly indicated the positions of the adversaries of the Bible, sets out the norms to be followed in the teaching of it, beginning with the preparation of the teacher, whose tasks are outlined, for introduction and for exegesis. In this he will take the Vulgate as his foundation, without neglecting the original texts and the other versions, and will follow the commonly accepted rules of interpretation: a careful examination of the words in themselves, of the context and of parallel passages, with the aid of all knowledge, even profane, that helps to understand the sacred text (ibid., nos. 85-92). In order to understand the sense, at times quite recondite, of the Scriptures, the exegete must never lose sight of the magisterium of the Church, depositary of those same Scriptures and authorized interpreter, of the analogy of faith and of the interpretation of the Fathers. The Catholic interpreter may also profit from the studies of the heterodox, but bearing in mind that these cannot reach the marrow of the Scriptures. The Bible must be studied in function of theology, of which it must be the soul. In turn, a solid theological formation and attachment to the magisterium of the Church will make the interpreter capable of defending the heritage of the sacred books (ibid., nos. 93-102). In order to fulfill this defensive task more effectively, let him be furnished with knowledge of the ancient languages, particularly those in which the Bible was written, as well as with a sound criticism, never forgetting, moreover, that the Bible, having no scientific intentions, often makes use of current and popular language, even where it touches, or seems to touch, the sciences. No contrast can exist between the notices given by the Bible and those of profane history that are well accepted (ibid., nos. 103-109). The supreme canon for the right interpretation and the defense of Scripture is the fact of its divine inspiration and of the consequent immunity from error (ibid., nos. 110-12). The encyclical closes with an exhortation (ibid., nos. 113-19) to all Catholics to deepen biblical studies or to cooperate, in some way, in their progress. Let the bishops promote them first of all, and let all the clergy devote themselves « to studying the sacred letters with the highest affection of reverence and piety » (ibid., no. 119).
The P. D. marked a decided reflowering of biblical studies among Catholics and a defense against the incipient modernist crisis. Once this was overcome through the energetic intervention of Bl. Pius X (encyclical Pascendi), Benedict XV (v. SPIRITUS PARACLITUS) would take up and apply the teachings and specify certain controversial points of the Leonine encyclical; to which, forty years later (30 Sept. 1943), the Divino afflante Spiritu (v.) of Pius XII would link itself, in order to cast a glance at the path traveled by Catholic exegesis after the historic document of Leo XIII and to take a position in the face of new problems that had matured in the meantime.
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Teodorico da Castel San Pietro