Event · 1962

Second Vatican Council

The twenty-first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held in Rome from 1962 to 1965. Pope John XXIII opened it and Paul VI closed it.

It allowed the liturgy in local languages, described the church as the people of God, encouraged Catholics to read Scripture, and opened dialogue with other Christians and other religions. Its documents include constitutions on the church, revelation and the liturgy, and a decree on ecumenism. It followed the First Vatican Council and is the backdrop for many later Catholic debates, including over Liberation Theology and how far the council changed the church.