Vatican Council II in session in St. Peter's Basilica
Being elected Pope on October 28, 1958, Pope St. John
XXIII waited only three months to shock the Roman Curia when he announced that
he will convene the 21st Ecumenical Council in the history of the
Church. It has been 92 years since the last one was held in 1870, and
preparations started immediately for the Vatican to be transformed into a huge
meeting hall for the arrival of all the Bishops and Cardinals. Cardinal Montini
remarked to a friend that "this holy old boy doesn't realize what a
hornet's nest he's stirring up". From the Second Vatican Council came
changes that reshaped the face of Catholicism: a comprehensively revised
liturgy, a stronger emphasis on ecumenism, and a new approach to the world.
Probably the most visible and tangible change was the way we celebrate Mass
nowadays, from the former Latin to the vernacular.
Pope St. John XXIII, and Bishops in procession.
Succeeding St. John XXIII, St. Paul VI fostered improved
ecumenical relations with Orthodox, Anglicans and Protestants, which resulted
in a number of historic meetings and agreements. Paul VI was the Pope of
Vatican II and the reforms emanating from it. Four future Popes would also be present at the
Council, St. Paul VI, Blessed John Paul I, St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI,
who were either Cardinals, Bishops or special invitees to the Council. 16
Documents were promulgated during the Council, between Constitutions, Decrees,
or Declarations, all of which are today considered important Documents. Four
major sessions were held, usually between October and December of 4 successive
years, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965, when the Council ended in December. As many as
2,200 bishops attended, seated inside the Basilica in specially arranged
platforms on each side, with a main aisle in the center.
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