The event that changed the Church in the modern world

On Christmas Day 1961, Pope John XXIII formally called for the convocation of the Second Vatican Council. It was a decision that would change the Church “in the modern world.”

“Today, the Church is witnessing a crisis underway within society,” the Holy Father wrote in his Apostolic constitution Humanae Salutis. A world, the pope said, that boasted of “technical and scientific conquests” but wanted to exclude God; a world “characterized by great material progress” but lacking a moral compass; a world that gave rise to a “militant atheism.”

The Church, however, was up to task of addressing these challenges. The Church, Pope John explained, had a “lively desire to fortify her faith” and a duty to “give greater effectiveness to her healthy vitality;” to advance the “sanctification of its members;” to “spread the revealed truth;” and to consolidate her structures.

The Second Vatican Council, the first having been held nearly 100 years earlier and the 21st Council held by the Church, also sought to provide “doctrinal clarity” and provide all men of goodwill the opportunity to “turn their thoughts and proposals toward peace.”

The pope forthrightly told the world that the work of the council would be comprehensive and challenging. It would address “the doctrinal and practical problems which correspond more to the requirements of perfect conformity to Christian teaching, to the up building and to the service of the Mystical Body, and to its supernatural mission: that is, the Scriptures, the venerable tradition, the sacraments, prayer, Church discipline, charitable and relief activities, the lay apostolate, the horizon of the missions.”

The call went out to every corner of the world. In the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Bishop Mariano S. Garriga responded quickly by calling for his own convocation. Less than two months after the pope issued Humanae Salutis, On Feb. 11, 1962, Bishop Garriga announced that he had called for the First Diocesan Synod for later that summer.

The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reported that the synod was “Called for the same year as the Ecumenical Council of Pope John XXIII, which will consider the church universal, the diocesan synod will legislate on problems and needs of the Diocese of Corpus Christi.”

There was a great deal of preparation needed for the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, commonly referred to as Vatican II. A month before the convening of the council, Bishop Garriga announced that he, Auxiliary Bishop Adolph Marx and Msgr. William H. Oberste of Our Lady of Refuge in Refugio would attend the council in Rome.

On Sept. 24, 1962, one week before his scheduled departure for Rome, Bishop Marx spoke to the Catholics Speak Up Forum about the various topics that would be covered at Vatican II.  The Forum was sponsored by the Corpus Christi Parish Post, which reported that Bishop Marx spoke on such topics as the “vernacular in the liturgy,” the role of the laity, “the theology of the episcopate” and other issues.

“It was a tremendous act of courage on the part of the Holy Father to call this Council. The Council will be concerned with internal renovation, cleaning our own house,” Bishop Marx said to some 300 participants.

Bishop Marx emphasized that the Council would address concerns and changes in the discipline in the Church not the Dogma of the Church.

“Many things have crept into the liturgy of the Church which are absolutely foreign to the modern mind. We are just at the beginning of a liturgical movement. We must bring liturgy to the level of the common man. If liturgical celebrations can be understood only after long preparation, then they have lost their meaning,” Bishop Marx said.

The bishop said Latin was important in the formation of priests but that it should not be forced on the people. He said that language “does not reflect the unity of the Church” which is expressed in “one faith, one organization” and not “in gestures, which are hard to understand.”

Bishop Marx also spoke on the role of the laity, the authority and responsibility of bishops and the training and role of priests.

From before its inception on Oct. 11, 1962, expectations were high that “pivotal” changes would be made in the Church. The pope often referred to these changes as “aggriornamento,” or “bringing the Church up to date.” The Holy See was quick to point out that this did not involve changes in basic beliefs or Church Dogma, but merely clarification and a fuller explanation of some doctrine and the restyling of some policies and practices.

At the opening of the Council, the 80-year-old pontiff called for Christian unity in truth. “The Catholic Church…considers it her duty to work actively so that there may be fulfilled the great mystery of that unity, which Jesus Christ invoked with fervent prayer from His heavenly Father on the eve of His sacrifice,” Pope John said.

In the ensuing weeks, the Corpus Christ Caller-Times peppered its readers with headlines from the Vatican, such as “Christian Unity Is Pope’s Plea As Council Opens;” “Council May Approve ‘Priesthood of Laity’;” “Catholic Council Discusses Liturgy;” “Vatican Council Debates Modern Language for Mass;” and “How to Make Worshipers Part of Mass Discussed.”

Two weeks after the start of the session, Bishop Garriga returned to Corpus Christi to tend to pressing business in the diocese. Bishop Marx remained until the end of the first session on Dec. 8, 1962. Both men planned to return for the start of the second session on September 1963.

“I am optimistic of great results from the council. At least I know how much it did for me and I cannot help but believe it will do the same for others,” Bishop Garriga said.
Upon the return of Bishop Marx, both he and Bishop Garriga appeared on the television program Catholic Report aired over KRIS Channel 6 on Jan. 5, 1963 to report on the council sessions.

Vatican II continued for three years until its conclusion on Dec. 8, 1965. Before it ended, the aging John XXIII died on June 3, 1963 and Pope Paul VI was elevated to the papacy on June 21, 1963.  The Diocese of Corpus Christi experienced a similar fate with Bishop Garriga passing to his eternal rest on Feb. 2, 1965 and his successor, Bishop Thomas Joseph Drury, installed on July 19, 1965. Bishop Marx too did not see the fruition of Vatican II, having been named bishop of the new Diocese of Brownsville on Sept. 2, 1965 and dying less than two months later on Nov. 1, 1965.

The Second Vatican Council produced 16 documents, including the Constitution on Divine Revelation, the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World; three declarations on Christian education, relations with non-Christians and religious freedom; and nine decrees on various topics, from role of the laity to social communications.

It would be up to Bishop Drury to carry out the mandates of Vatican II in the diocese baring Christ’s name.

(Editor’s note: In coming issues we will be exploring these documents and the impact they have had in the Church over the past half-century.)