Universal Call to Holiness and Apostolate is a teaching of the Roman Catholic Church that all people are called to be holy. It derives from the Gospel exhortation to "...be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect," found in Matthew 5:48.

The call to holiness is found in Matthew 5:48, "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."^[1] The universal call to holiness has always been a teaching of the Church. An example can be found in the Introduction to the Devout Life of Francis de Sales. Written in the 17th century, it describes a method to approach holiness in everyday life.^[2]

Chapter V of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen gentium discusses the Universal Call to Holiness:

...all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity; ...They must follow in His footsteps and conform themselves to His image seeking the will of the Father in all things. They must devote themselves with all their being to the glory of God and the service of their neighbor.^[3]

At a General Audience on November 19, 2014, Pope Frances explained,

Holiness is not the prerogative of only a few: holiness is a gift that is offered to all, without exception, so that it constitutes the distinctive character of every Christian. ...Some people think that holiness is closing your eyes and putting on a pious face... No! ...When the Lord calls us to be saints, he does not call us to something hard or sad... Not at all! It is an invitation to share His joy, to live and offer every moment of our lives with joy, at the same time making it a gift of love for the people around us.^[4]

The universal call to holiness is rooted in baptism, which configures a person to Jesus Christ who is God and man, thus uniting a person with the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, bringing him in communion with intra-trinitarian life.

John Paul II states in his apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte,^[5] his apostolic letter for the new millennium, a "program for all times", that holiness is not only a state but a task, whereby Christians should strive for a full Christian life, imitating Christ, the Son of God, who gave his life for God and for his neighbor. This entails a "training in the art of prayer". According to the Pope, all pastoral initiatives have to be set in relation to holiness, as this has to be the topmost priority of the Church. The universal call to holiness is explained as more fundamental than the vocational discernment to particular ways of life such as priesthood, marriage, or virginity.

At the very core of the spirituality of a Catholic is this call to perfection. In more modern times it is also exemplified in the important role it plays in the spirituality of both Opus Dei and The Legion of Mary, which were founded before the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) and yet emphasize strongly the call to sanctity for lay people.

• Apostolates
• Prayer, meditation and contemplation in Christianity

v t e Catholic laity
Organizations of lay members of the Catholic Church who are neither in holy orders nor members of religious institutes
Personal ordinariates, prelatures, and apostolic administrations	Military ordinariates Ordinariate for Eastern Catholic faithful Opus Dei Anglican Use: Chair of Saint Peter, Our Lady of the Southern Cross, Our Lady of Walsingham Saint John Mary Vianney
Third orders	Order of Augustinian Recollects Order of Saint Augustine Oblates of Saint Benedict Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites Order of Saint Dominic Order of Saint Francis Secular Franciscan Order Order of Mercy Order of Minims Order Secular of the Most Holy Trinity Order of Saint Norbert Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Association of Salesian Cooperators Order of Servites
Confraternities	Archconfraternities Archconfraternity of the Holy Family Archconfraternity of the Most Precious Blood Types Confraternities of the Cord Confraternity of Penitents Flagellant confraternities Purgatorial society Individual Confraternity of Christian Doctrine Confraternity of Catholic Saints Confraternity of the Rosary Bona Mors Confraternity Children of Mary of the Sacred Heart Hospitalité Notre Dame de Lourdes Illustrious Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady Penitentes Penitential Brotherhood of the Holy Eucharist Society of the Holy Name Ven. Arc. Misericordia di Florence RVISSM
International associations of the faithful	Catenian Association Chemin Neuf Community Christian Life Community Christian Life Movement Cooperators of Opus Dei Couples for Christ Cursillo Communion and Liberation Emmanuel Community FIMCAP Focolare Movement Heralds of the Gospel International Alliance of Catholic Knights International Catholic Conference of Scouting International Federation of Catholic Universities International Kolping Society International Union of Catholic Esperantists Lay Claretian Movement L'Arche Legion of Mary Militia Christi Militia of the Immaculata Neocatechumenal Way Pax Romana Priests for Life Regnum Christi Sant'Egidio Community SIGNIS Schoenstatt Movement Teams of Our Lady Teresian Association UIGSE Union of Catholic Apostolate
Other associations of the faithful	Apostolate for Family Consecration Association of Vatican Lay Workers Catholic Charismatic Renewal (Canção Nova) (Shalom Catholic Community) Catholic Christian Outreach Catholic Worker Movement Fellowship of Catholic University Students Madonna House Maryknoll Lay Missioners NET Ministries Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network Queen of Angels Foundation Saint Paul's Outreach Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
Movements	Catholic Marian movements and societies Catholic Action Azione Cattolica Catholic Women's League Catholic Worker Movement World Movement of Christian Workers Young Christian Workers Christian Family Movement Courage International El Shaddai Family Rosary Crusade Fidesco International Notre-Dame de Chrétienté Theology on Tap Voice of the Faithful Young Men's Institute We Are Church
See also	Catholic catechesis Catholic Congress Catholic Extension Catholic higher education Catholic youth work Catholic campus ministry Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas Lists of Catholics Pontifical Council for the Laity Taizé Community Universal call to holiness Charities Aid to the Church in Need Caritas Catholic Charities Home Missions CNEWA Relief Services CIDSE Pax Christi Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
Catholic Church portal Index