50 years ago, on October 11th, 1962, clergy and lay leaders from all over the world met to discuss the social fabric of the Catholic Church. Stretching until December 8th, 1965, the four council sessions, collectively known as Vatican II, openly addressed how to better meet the needs of the laity. The outcomes were varied: Mass itself changed, switching from Latin to English and incorporating mainstream musical instruments, such as the guitar; priests clothes relaxed from a full-length robe, called a cassock, and hat-like berretta to a clerical collar and black short sleeve shirt; the laity became more involved, from offering Communion at Mass to women teaching in seminaries. Still felt today, these visual changes signaled deeper changes in how the church wanted to be seen, both by those in the ministry and the laity.
At home, the Vincentians approached the changes with care and sometimes confusion, with various communities implementing the principles differently. Surveys, letters and meeting minutes from this time show that most seminaries involved all levels in their decision-making, breaking down barriers between priests and seminarians. New-found liberties, such as the freedom to smoke, drink, drive, and listen to their own music, as well as an emphasis on community engagement, challenged the previously held notions of authority.
The DeAndries Seminary in Lemont, IL (1964-1984), was a direct result of aggiornamento, or renewal, and embodied the rich spirit of Vatican II. There, students worked in communities as part of their academic program, recording books for the blind, teaching catechism in parish churches, and running nuns retreats. A series of student essays also highlights one of the more extreme examples of community engagement; during the Plunge, seminarians spent three days on their own in Chicago with only $5, in an attempt to walk in someone else’s shoes. These activities were meant to reinforce a greater personal responsibility and overall connection with the larger lay communities where they worked.
The 50th Anniversary of Vatican II and how it revolutionized the Catholic Church and Vincentian lives is celebrated with an exhibit of photographs, artwork, a diary, and other materials from the DeAndreis-Rosati Memorial Archives, (DePaul’s Special Collections and Archives) on the 3rd floor of the Richardson Library.