St Bernards High School - Bernardian Yearbook (Fitchburg, MA)

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1743 Pope ancient basilica of have been built Emperor Cor relics of the Cross ‘ces a7, . a b ie Sone

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Pope John XXIII, three months after his election to the papacy, on January 25, 1959, startled the world by announcing his intention to call an ecumenical council, a gigantic undertaking. The purpose of the Second Va- tican Council, according to our Holy Father is to promote the increase of the Catholic faith; to renew the morals of Christian people; and to bring Church discipline up to date. The Pontiff hopes that as a result the Church “may strengthen still more her divine energies and ext end her beneficial influence in still greater measure to the minds of men.” Pope John has appealed to us for prayers for the success of this Council. October 11, 1962 is the date set by His Holiness for the opening of the Council “because it links us with the memory of the great Council of Ephe- sus which was of extreme importance in the history of the Church.” This Council met in the year 431; it declared that Mary is truly the Mother of God. The Pope is the head of an ecumenical council. It is he who prescribes and assigns the matter to be treated and the order in which it is to be taken up. The decrees of the Council must be ratified by the Pope before they be- come binding. The Second Vatican Council of 1962 appears to be directed more to a reform and renewal of the Church so that the spiritual life of the faithful may be enriched and the Church better equipped to meet the challenges of the age. Among other desires, the loving heart of Pope John XXIII glows with a great yearning for Christian unity, which it has been said is a more important development in this age than the conquest of space. Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council

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1 and to the triumph of Christianity . . . the humble be- f ' = of the Church in the Catattiinbe and. the coming of St. ‘Peter in 42 A. D. .. « countless places hallowed by mar- : 1s, saints, and holy pontiffs . . . the thronging’ of countless ns from, all nations through her streets ... the treasures antiquity and the finest in Christian architecture, paint: