WikipediaExtracts:Second Vatican Council
Extracted from Wikipedia --
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the Second Vatican Council or Vatican II, was the twenty-first and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. It met in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City from 11 October 1962 to 8 December 1965, during the pontificates of Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI.
John XXIII convoked the council as part of a programme of renewal often associated with the term aggiornamento, meaning "bringing up to date". The council addressed the Church's internal life, its relationship with other Christians and non-Christian religions, and its engagement with the modern world.
Vatican II produced sixteen documents: four constitutions, nine decrees, and three declarations. These included Sacrosanctum Concilium on the liturgy, Lumen gentium on the Church, Dei verbum on divine revelation, and Gaudium et spes on the Church in the modern world. The council was followed by changes in Catholic liturgical practice, ecclesiology, ecumenical relations, and the Church's approach to religious freedom.
