Second Vatican Council

American  

noun

1. the twenty-first Roman Catholic ecumenical council (1962–65) convened by Pope John XXIII. Its 16 documents redefined the nature of the church, gave bishops greater influence in church affairs, and increased lay participation in liturgy.

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Example Sentences

“Converts” begins in the 1890s and ends with the Second Vatican Council in the early ’60s, when marquee conversions almost stopped.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Citing the teachings of the modernizing Second Vatican Council, he urged the assembled prelates to listen to one another, discern decisions and then journey forward, without being tied to preconceived prejudices.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 21, 2023

Critics saw his papacy as a concerted drive to turn back the clock on reforms of the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council, which modernised the Church in sometimes turbulent ways.

From Reuters • Dec. 31, 2022

Archbishop Weakland was the author or co-author of a dozen books on topics including Catholic education and the church since the liberalizing Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.

From New York Times • Aug. 22, 2022

Following that Second Vatican Council, Catholics were allowed to celebrate Mass in the local, or “vernacular” language of a given community.

From Washington Times • Jul. 22, 2022