The Second Vatican Council

This year we celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of Pope John XXIII opening the Second Vatican Council.  It was actually the 21^st Ecumenical, or worldwide, Council of the Church, the second to be held at the Vatican.  Today, it is most commonly referred to as “Vatican Two.”  Why was there a Council?

While it may sound like a flip answer, there was a Second Vatican Council because there was a First Vatican Council.  The First Council met in 1869 to begin addressing the Church in the modern world, but ended abruptly in 1870 when a civil war broke out in Italy.  As early as the 1920’s Pope Pius XI considered calling a council to resume the work that had been begun, but not completed.  The rise of Fascism in the 20’s in Italy and tensions throughout Europe which led to the Spanish Civil War and World War II pushed these thoughts to the back burner.  During the 1950’s Pope Pius XII again considered a council.  However Pope John XXIII, now Blessed John XXIII, took the idea to reality in 1959 when he called for a council.

After two years of planning and preliminary work, the council convened October 11, 1962 with the largest body of bishops ever assembled, with some 2,100 in attendance for the opening Mass.  

The scope of the issues the Council addressed is almost breathtaking.  It dealt with: the use of the organ in Mass, stockpiling nuclear weapons, the place of Thomas Aquinas in seminary curricula, how priests are to be compensated, the purposes of marriage, translations of the Bible, the role of conscience in moral decision-making, worshipping with non-Catholics, and so much more.

Of the 70 documents which the preliminary work had recommended, the Council, meeting in 4 separate sessions, finally agreed on 16.  They included the four “Divine Constitutions” which deal with Liturgy, the Church, Divine Revelation, and the Church in the Modern World.  The nine “Decrees” dealt with the Communication Media, Eastern Catholic Churches, Ecumenism, Bishops, Religious Orders, Training of Priests, the Life and Ministry of Priests, Missionary Activity, and the Role of the Laity.  Finally, there were three “Declarations” which dealt with Christian Education, non-Christian Religions, and Religious Liberty.  

Some of these documents were written after much argument and discussion by the bishops and passed by the skin-of-their-teeth.  Other documents, like Sacrosanctum Concilium [sac-ro-sank-tum  con-sill-e-um] that simplified our worship and put Mass into the language of the people, passed by overwhelming majorities.  

Together, these documents form a turning point in the history of the Church.  They bring about what Blessed John XXIII called Aggiornamento [ӑj-gee-or-nӑ-men-to], bringing the Church up-to-date and out of the Middle Ages and Counter-Reformation.

During this Year of Faith we are all challenged by the Holy Father to study these 16 documents and enter into Aggiornamento ourselves.