Fifty years since the Council
On October 11, 2012, the Church celebrates the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Second Vatican Council.
Fifty years ago, Pope John XXIII inaugurated a Council that would change the face of the Church. Ecumenical Councils are gatherings of all the bishops who convene in order to examine the state of the Church and deal with the issues of the day. Pope John saw this Council as the occasion to examine the place of the Church in the modern world.
The Pope said to the Cardinals: “The Church is not a museum to be preserved but a flourishing garden of life to be cultivated”.
To other Christians he said; “Let us look for what unites us not what divides us”.
To the Jews, persecuted and marginalized, he said: “I hear your groaning all around me”.
Pope John did not live to see the end of what he had inaugurated. He was succeeded by Pope Paul VI, who brought the Council to completion.
We give thanks for all the Council Fathers whose love of the Church brought the Church fully into our times.
View a video clip about the 50th anniversary here
View a video clip in Italian with footage from the Council here
