Centre for the Study of the Second Vatican Council - Activities

On March 3, 2011, the Centre for the Study of Vatican II was officially re-opened at its new quarters, featuring better and more spatious archive storage facilities, as well as a large consultation room for researchers. The opening was accompanied by speeches from the faculty dean, Prof. Lieven Boeve, the Centre's director, Prof. Mathijs Lamberigts, as well as one of the Centre's "founding fathers", Em. Prof. Jan Grootaers. 

In a collaboration of two Leuven church historians, Dr. J. Mettepenningen and Dr. K. Schelkens have published a volume on the history of the church from Vatican I to Vatican II, highlighting the theological developments in the interval period, and making clear that much of the Vatican II aggiornamento was well prepared in the preconciliar era.

The book was published in Dutch, and has the following reference: J. Mettepenningen & K. Schelkens, Van Concilie tot Concilie. Hoofdlijnen en fragmenten van de geschiedenis van kerk en theologie van Vaticanum I tot Vaticanum II, Halewijn, Antwerpen, 2010.ISBN 978-90-8528-163-4.

In recent literature on the history of the Second Vatican Council, the schema De fontibus revelationis is a constant point of reference. In most cases, its utter rejection during the conciliar debate on revelation, biblical exegesis, and the nature of Scripture and Tradition, is regarded as a milestone for the council's development. This book is devoted to the background, genesis, and evolution of that very document, and offers a critical revision of the way in which the document has been received in conciliar historiography, based upon a study of archival material. The result is a new approach, not only of the conciliar revelation debate, but also of the way in which the conciliar preparation period has been regarded up until the present day.

The reference of this monograph is K. Schelkens, Catholic Theology of Revelation on the Eve of Vatican II. A Redaction History of the Schema De Fontibus Revelationis (1960-1962) (Series in Church History, 41), Brill, Leiden & Boston, 2010. ISBN 978 90 0418 105 2.

This vast volume offers a broad survey of studies devoted to the "Squadra belga" and their role, activities, and influences at Vatican II. An international team of scholars has collaborated, making the volume into one of the best overviews of Belgian Council participation up to the present day.

The full bibliographical reference to this volume is: D. Donnelly - J. Famerée - M. Lamberigts - K. Schelkens (eds.), The Belgian Contribution to the Second Vatican Council. International Research Conference at Mechelen, Leuven, and Louvain-la-Neuve (September 12-16, 2005) (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium, 216), Leuven, Peeters, 2009. ISBN 978-90-429-2101-6.

From October 15 to 16, 2010, an international research conference took place on the theme of ‘Vatican II in Canada’. This colloquium, organised at St. Paul’s University, Ottawa, constituted the closing panel of a triptych of academic conferences held at various locations in Canada, and organised on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of John XXIII’s announcement of the Second Vatican Council (January 25, 1959). That occasion elicited a team of scholars from three Canadian faculties of theology and religious studies, in part supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SHRC/CRSH), to invite international and Canadian Vatican II scholars to attend these conferences. The first conference in the programme was organised at the Faculté de théologie et de sciences religieuses, of the Université Laval (Québec), under the auspicies of Prof. Dr. Gilles Routhier, from February 2 to 3. The second part of the triptych took place from May 4-6 at the University of St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto, and was led by Prof. Dr. Michael Attridge. And finally, the aforementioned Ottawa conference at St. Paul’s was carefully organised by Prof. Dr. Catherine Clifford. at the latter conference both the founder of the Centre for the Study of Vatican II, Prof. Jan Grootaers, and one of its members, Dr. Karim Schelkens, were invited to offer lectures.

From September 2-5, 2009, an international conference was held at Utrecht, the Netherlands, devoted to the study of the late Cardinal J.G.M. Willebrands. During this conference, special attention was devoted to Willebrands' life as an ecumenist before and during the Second Vatican Council, and to Willebrands' role in the Jewish-Christian dialogue. The conference also provided the occasion for the presentation of the Willebrands diaries, editied in collaboration with the Leuven Centre.