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1967-2007: forty years since the publication of Paul VI’s encyclical, Populorum progressio. This anniversary provides an occasion to resituate the encyclical in its context, i.e. the emergence of the development problematic at the turning point of the fifties and the sixties, and the second Vatican council. Father Lebret’s contribution of the reflection on development is well-known, as is his commitment when representing the Holy See at major conferences during those years. We gain a broader perception of his reflection on the economy and, in conclusion, of how the question of the “fair price” is viewed by the economist and in the development encyclical. But placing this major encyclical – a witness of the Catholic Church’s social thinking – in its context, naturally leads us to question the Church’s position at the beginning of the 21st century.