Essay On The Second Vatican Council

The Second Vatican council which is also known as Vatican II was the 21st ecumenical council of the Catholic Church and addressed the relations between the Catholic Church and the modern world. The council formally commenced on the 11th of October 1962 under the leadership of Pope John XXIII and met for approximately three months in every year of for the next four years. The Council closed on 8 December 1965 (Feast of the Immaculate Conception) under the guidance of Pope Paul VI. Vatican II had the attendance of 2600 bishops from all around the globe, 63 observers from other christian churches and 52 lay men and women. The Second Vatican council was born out of the need to alter the church after the cultural change that occurred after World War 2 . The Vatican council drafted and established 16 documents that formed the foundations of modern day church. The prevalent themes established through all 16 documents was reconciliation. The Second Vatican Council was called to asses’s the church’s role in a rapidly changing world.As a result of the Second Vatican Council, Catholics were allowed to pray with other Christian denomination.This council also encouraged friendships with other non-Christian faiths. Due to Second Vatican Council for the first time ever other languages were used by priests other than Latin for the Holy Mass. The priests also started to face the congregation when celebrating the mass to
After the war many advances occurred in the human manner of thought. Due to this change in people’s mindsets Pope John called the council to establish a new church that concurrents with the modern world. The ways of the Church before the Vatican II can be considered as old and not understanding of the new mindset. However after the Second Vatican Council the Church reformed its’s ways of thinking in order to the understand the modern thought of its