Vatican Council II and the Modern Era of the Church

1. The Modern Era
of the Church
VATICAN COUNCIL II

2. • There have been 218 Church councils; Vatican
Council II was the most recent ecumenical council
• Convened by Pope John XXIII in 1962
• Called to address the unfinished issues of Vatican I:
- the role of bishops in the Church
- the need for renewal in the Church

3. • Pope John XXIII died on
June 3, 1963, during the course
of Vatican II
• Pope Paul VI was elected
on June 21, and continued
the council, bringing it to a
close on December 8, 1965

4. • Vatican II touched on all areas of Christian life
• 16 Documents were produced during this council

5. Second Vatican Council's 16 Documents
• 1. Sacrosanctum concilium, Constitution on the
Sacred Liturgy, 1963.
• 2. Inter Mirifica, Decree On the Means of Social
Communication, 1963.
• 3. Lumen Gentium, Dogmatic Constitution On
the Church, 1964.
• 4. Orientalium Ecclesiarum, Decree On the
Catholic Churches of the Eastern Rite,
1964.

6. • 5. Unitatis Redintegratio, Decree on
Ecumenism, 1964.
• 6. Christus Dominus, Decree Concerning the
Pastoral Office of Bishops In the Church,
1965.
• 7. Perfectae Caritatis, Decree On Renewal of
Religious Life, 1965.
• 8. Optatam Totius, Decree On Priestly Training,
1965.

7. • 9. Gravissimum Educationis, Declaration On
Christian Education, 1965.
• 10. Nostra Aetate, Declaration On the Relation Of
the Church to Non-Christian
Religions, 1965.
• 11. Dei Verbum, Dogmatic Constitution On Divine
Revelation, 1965.
• 12. Apostolicam Actuositatem, Decree On the
Apostolate of the Laity, 1965

8. • 13. Dignitatis Humanae, Declaration On
Religious Freedom, 1965.
• 14. Ad Gentes, Decree On the Mission Activity
of the Church, 1965.
• 15. Presbyterorum Ordinis, Decree On the
Ministry and Life of Priests, 1965.
• 16. Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution On
the Church In the Modern World,
1965.

9. The messages and results of Vatican II:
- The Second Vatican Council affirmed that the
Church is the People of God. Everyone is called to
holiness.
- The council pointed out a need for collegiality,
shared decision-making. The pope now consults
with the bishops.
- Latin was replaced by the language of the people (in
the U.S., for example, mass was now said in English).
This encouraged participation in liturgy.

10. - Promoted Christian unity; the Church encourages
discussion and unity with other Christian traditions.
- The importance of reading Scripture was
emphasized at the Council
- Every member of the Church is responsible for
sharing the faith and standing up for the dignity of
every human being.

11. • Vatican II called upon the laity to take an active
role in the Church

13. • For 456 years, the Seat of Peter was filled by an
Italian.
• This changed in 1978, when the College of
Cardinals selected a Polish cardinal to be Pope.
• Karol Wojtyla took the name John Paul II; he was
the 264th pope.

14. • Pope John Paul II was Pope for over 26 years,
from October 16, 1978 until April 2, 2005; his is
the second longest papacy in history. (Pius IX =31
years)
• Pope John Paul II chose his name in honor of the
preceding pope, John Paul I, who had one of the
shortest papacies – 33 days.
• Because of the untimely death of John Paul I,
1978 was a rare “Year of Three Popes”

15. • Because of the untimely death of John Paul I,
1978 was a rare “Year of Three Popes”:
• Paul VI, who was elected in 1963 and died on
August 6, 1978.
• John Paul I, who was elected on August 26, 1978
and died thirty-three days later on September
28, 1978.
• John Paul II, who was elected on October 16,
1978 and held the position until his death about
27 years later in 2005.

16. • Pope John Paul II was known as the pilgrim pope
because he traveled to over 100 countries
during his papacy.
• He emphasized a universal call to holiness

17. • Pope John Paul II called Catholics to a New
Evangelization, using that term in many of his
writings.
- This was a response to the new challenges
that the contemporary world created for the
mission of the Church

18. • Pope John Paul II was beatified on May 1, 2011;
this was the first step to being declared a saint
• He was canonized, along with Pope John XXIII, on
April 27, 2014
• His feast day is October 22

19. • Pope John Paul II was
succeeded by a German
cardinal who took the
name Benedict XVI
• Pope Benedict XVI retired from the papacy in
May, 2013

20. • Pope Francis was elected on March 13, 2013

21. • In September, 2015, Pope Francis visited the
United States, spending 2 days in Philadelphia