Word of God Sunday was established by Pope Francis in 2019 and is observed annually on the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time to focus on celebrating, studying, and spreading Scripture in the Catholic Church. It is an opportunity to deepen our connections with Sacred Scripture, encourage reading of the Bible, promote Christian unity, and to recognize Jesus as the Word of God.
For the past several years, we have displayed various editions of the Bible in our sanctuary. This year we are pleased to display a facsimile volume of the famed Gutenberg Bible, the first major book printed in the West using moveable metal type. Also known as the 42-line Bible, it was produced by Johannes Gutenberg and his partner Johann Fust in Mainz, Germany, around 1455. Their revolutionary method marked a turning point in history by transitioning Europe from a manuscript-based culture to the age of the printed book.
The Gutenberg Bible is an edition of the Vulgate, a Latin translation of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the Greek New Testament by St Jerome.
Today, out of the 180 originally printed, there are 49 copies of the Bible known to exist in varying states of completeness, with only 21 of those being entirely complete. The facsimile of the Bible on display is a reproduction of the copy held in Berlin. Other copies can be seen in the Beinecke Library at Yale, Harvard University, the Library of Congress in Washington, and several other locations. The Morgan Library in New York owns three complete copies in both paper and vellum.
Incidentally, Gutenberg printed only the text in black ink; those who purchased the bible were required to have the colored initials and titles, as well as any painted decorations added by other artists.
As we celebrate the Word of God in the Bible, let us be thankful for the genius of people like Johannes Gutenberg who gave the world greater access to the Scriptures, including the bibles we read from today. Gutenberg started it all, over 570 years ago!