THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL

2ND VATICAN COUNCIL

Vatican Council, Second, more commonly known as Vatican II. From 1962-

1965, the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church assembled

by Pope John XXIII and continued under Paul VI. A spiritual renewal for the

church and for Christians separated from Rome to join in search for

reunion. Preparatory Commissions appointed by the Pope created an

agenda and drafts of decrees on various topics. When the council opened

for the first time on October. 11th , 1962, the pope advised the council

fathers to try to meet the needs of the church. Those who were summoned

to the council included all Catholic Bishops and other church dignitaries.

INFORMATION

One of the big accomplishments of the council was the invitation

extended to Protestant and Orthodox Eastern churches to send

observers; meetings were attended by representatives from many of

those churches. Another evident feature was the diversity of cultural

origins shown among those who attended from all over the world. One

of the main goals of these conferences was to reform the liturgy, mostly

to bring the layman into greater participation in the church services,

which would ultimately encourage diversity in the language and

practice. Large emphasis was placed upon the pastoral duties of the

bishops.

POPE JOHN XXIII

Pope John XXIII, Born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli. Born November 25th,1881  lived to

June 3rd, 1963. He was the head of the Catholic Church from October 28th, 1958 to his

death in 1963. He was the third of thirteen children, born to a family of sharecroppers.

He became a priest in 1904 and served many posts. Roncalli became a Cardinal on

January 12th, 1953 and also was named the Patriarch of Venice by Pope Pius XII. Roncalli

was elected pope on October 28th, 1958. He became a pope at the age of 77. He believed

in equality and he was very passionate about the topic. His famous statement is support

of his beliefs of equality, 'We were all made in God's image, and thus, we are all Godly

alike.' John XXIII made many passionate speeches during his pontificate, one of which

was on the day that he announced the Second Vatican Council in the middle of the night

to the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square: "Dear children, returning home, you will

find children: give your children a caress and say: This is the caress of the Pope!"

POPE JOHN XXIII

FACTS

Predecessor: Pius XII

Successor: Paul VI

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• "Second Vatican Council (Roman Catholic History [1962-65])." Encyclopedia

Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Oct. 2013. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.

• See H. Küng, The Council, Reform, and Reunion (tr. 1962); H. Daniel-Rops, The

Second Vatican Council (tr. 1962); D. C. Pawley, An Anglican View of the Vatican

Council (1962, repr. 1973); W. M. Abbot, ed., Documents of Vatican II (1966); A.

Gilbert, The Vatican Council and the Jews (1968); X. Rynne, Vatican Council II

(1968); A. Flannery, ed., Vatican Council II: Constitutions, Decrees, Declarations

(repr. 1996) and Vatican Council II: Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents (2 vol.,

repr. 1996).

• "Vatican Council, Second." Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.

• "Biography of Pope John XXIII." Biography of Pope John XXIII. N.p., n.d. Web. 04

Nov. 2013.