Pope John XXIII leads the opening session of the Second Vatican Council in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Oct. 11, 1962. The Second Vatican Council continues to have an enduring impact on the Church and on the papacy of Pope Francis, according to the Vatican’s top diplomat, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
That gathering of bishops from around the world presented a new paradigm of a “world Church – a Church with a global dimension”, said the cardinal, who is the Vatican’s Secretary of State.
During a visit to the United States that included celebrating a Mass in Baltimore to mark the centenary of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Parolin stopped in Washington to deliver an address at The Catholic University of America.
He said that although Vatican II occurred more than 50 years ago (1962-65), “it certainly retains for the Church a prophetic character”.
Cardinal Parolin said the main consequences of the council included the introduction of local languages in the liturgy.