Quo Vadis?

The Second Vatican Council (1962–65) was arguably the single most important event in the history of the Catholic Church in the twentieth century. It came as a bolt out of the blue to many Catholics when Pope John XXIII announced his intention to convene the Council. The unexpected impact of the Council has been compared to major surgery performed without anesthesia upon a patient who was unaware that he was ill. For example, Alan Ehrenhalt described Chicago Catholics on the eve of the Council as largely content with the status quo in the largest archdiocese in the United States.