Salvifici doloris

Salvifici doloris ("redemptive suffering") is a February 1984 Apostolic letter by Pope John Paul II.

Its foundational Bible text was taken from the words of the Apostle Paul where he said: "In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church".

[1] The meditation flows from Pope John Paul II's own experience of bereavement, illness and pain including his recovery from the assassination attempt of 1981.

The experience of this evil determined the incomparable extent of Christ's suffering, which became the price of the Redemption.

In such a concept, to suffer means to become particularly susceptible, particularly open to the working of the salvific powers of God, offered to humanity in Christ.