The Conclusion of the Second Vatican Council

|By J. Robert Parks|

The Roman Catholic Church is one of the oldest institutions in the world. Like most such organizations, it can be slow to change. For example, there were zero non-Italian popes for 450 years until John Paul II, from Poland, was selected in 1978. Given its size and long-standing history, the Church has typically maintained many of its practices and traditions.

The Catholic Church has often relied on decisions that have been made at ecumenical councils over the centuries. Those have established the theology of the Church and many of its practices. December 8, 2025 marked the 60^th anniversary of the end of the Second Vatican Council, which occurred in 1965. The gathering led to some of the most significant changes the Church had experienced since the Reformation. Teachers and librarians who want to help students understand the Catholic Church and how it has changed (and not changed) will find numerous resources in Gale In Context: World History.

The Second Vatican Council was the first ecumenical council since the First Vatican Council in 1869. That council wrestled with the impact of science, rationalism, and liberalism on society. Discussions centered on whether the Church should fundamentally change based on the strong currents affecting the Western world. The overall outcome for the first council was minimal change, although it did establish the pope’s infallibility and absolute authority over the Catholic Church’s organizational structure, including bishops and priests. This only made secular Europeans more skeptical.

Vatican II, as the second council is often named, was different. Pope John XXIII was motivated, in part, by the belief that the Catholic Church needed to enter the modern era. In 1962, he convened a council of more than 2,400 male Catholic leaders, mostly bishops and archbishops, to consider ways the Catholic Church should adapt to changes in the world. Little happened initially, except for the formation of commissions that investigated various topics and made recommendations on what the entire council should do. Pope John XXIII died in 1963 and was succeeded by Pope Paul VI.

Pope Paul VI reconvened the council in September of that year, embracing Pope John XXIII’s dream of reconciliation among various sects of the Christian church. He began the reconvened council by apologizing to those who had been harmed by the Catholic Church. He also reframed the Church as a servant of the world, not a conqueror, which was how the Church had presented itself since the Counter-Reformation.

The deliberations of the council continued through 1965. Some of its most important documents involved other religions. It particularly emphasized the connection between Christianity and Judaism, strongly condemning antisemitism. It also acknowledged that non-Christian religions have value, something the Catholic Church had not explicitly stated in the past.

Most of the council’s decisions involved church practices. The most significant was likely changing the language of the mass. For centuries, ceremonial entreaties and responses had been recited in Latin, which few laypeople could understand. Vatican II stated that churches should conduct the mass in the vernacular of the people. It also encouraged laypeople and clergy to read the Bible in their native tongues. Priests were encouraged to be responsive to the people in their parish, and laypeople were allowed to take a greater role in church service and the celebration of the mass. The council also emphasized that while the Church would remain a hierarchical institution, the emphasis would be on collegiality and working together rather than mandating from above.

Many conservative Catholics opposed the council’s changes. For progressive Catholics, not every council decision appeased those hoping for reform. The council reaffirmed the celibacy of the priesthood and the Church’s prohibition against contraception. But for many Catholics and even those outside the Church, Vatican II felt like a major shift.