¹ O'Hanlon, Gerard F., “Ireland and the Quiet Revolution in the Catholic Church,” The Furrow 68, no. 5 (2017), p. 261Google Scholar.

² See: Mannion, Gerard, “Pope Francis's Agenda for the Church - Evangelii Gaudium as Papal Manifesto,” in Pope Francis and the future of Catholicism: Evangelii Gaudium and the papal agenda, ed. Mannion, Gerard (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017), p. 2CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

³ Pope John XXIII was elected on 28 October 1958. On 25 January 1959 he announced: ‘We propose to call a diocesan synod for Rome, and an ecumenical Council for the Universal Church [leading] to the desired and long awaited modernisation of the Code of Canon Law, which is expected to accompany and to crown these two efforts in the practical application of the rules of ecclesiastical discipline, applications the Spirit of the Lord will surely suggest to Us as We proceed.’ The Encyclicals and Other Messages of John XXIII, (Washington D.C.: TPS Press, 1964), p. 21Google Scholar.

⁴ Questa festiva: AAS 51 (1959), pp. 65-69, at p. 68. Later in the encyclical Ad Petri cathedram: AAS 51 (1959), pp. 497-531, n. 3.

⁵ Ad Petri cathedram, nn. 61-62.

⁶ Alberigo, Giuseppe, “John XXIII,” in The Papacy: An Encyclopedia, ed. Levillain, Philippe and O'Malley, John W. (New York: Routledge, 2002), p. 854Google Scholar.

⁷ The Encyclicals and Other Messages of John XXIII, p. 4. Synodal texts were promulgated 25-27 January 1960. See Pope John XXIII's Apostolic Constitution, Sollicitudo omnium Ecclesiarum (1960). An address of 24 November, 1960 to the Clergy of Rome entitled ‘The Roman Synod and the Priest’ may be found in: ibid., pp. 112-128. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI commented on the Roman Synod: ‘I remember that [it] was thought of as a negative model. It was said - I don't know whether this was true - that they had read out prepared texts in the Basilica of Saint John, and that the members of the Synod had acclaimed, approved with applause, and that the Synod had been conducted thus. The [conciliar] bishops said: no, let's not do that.’ Pope Benedict XVI, “Meeting with the Parish Priests and Clergy of Rome,” Papal Address, (2013).

⁸ See: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_xxiii/speeches/1960/index_en.htm. The proceedings were published in: Prima Romana Synodus A.D. MDCCCCLX (Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1960).

⁹ O'Malley, John W., Tradition and Transition: Historical Perspectives on Vatican II, Theology and Life series (Wilmington, Del.: Michael Glazier, 1989), p. 12Google Scholar.

¹⁰ Abbott, Walter M., Twelve Council Fathers: Exclusive Interviews with Twelve of the Most Important Figures Guiding the Vatican Council (New York/London: The Macmillan Company/Collier-Macmillan Limited, 1963), p. 23Google Scholar.

¹¹ His preparations included ‘two programmatic speeches […] on September 11^th (radio message) and on October 11^th (opening speech).’ Lamberigts, Mathijs and Greiler, Alois, “"Concilium episcoporum est”: The Interventions of Liénart and Frings Revisited, October 13th, 1962," Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses 73, no. 1 (1997), p. 56Google Scholar.

¹² John, Pope XXIII, “Towards the Ecumenical Council,” The Pope Speaks 1960, pp. 376-385Google Scholar. Delivered 14 November 1960 in St. Peter's to around five hundred members of the commissions and secretariats.

¹³ Ibid., p. 378.

¹⁴ For their responses (vota) see: Acta et documenta Concilio Vaticano II apparando. Series prima (Antepraeparatoria). For a discussion of the vota see: Fouilloux, Étienne, “The Antepreparatory Phase: The Slow Emergence from Inertia (January, 1959 – October 1962),” in History of Vatican II: Announcing and Preparing Vatican Council II, ed. Alberigo, Giuseppe and Komonchak, Joseph A. (Maryknoll, N.Y./Leuven: Orbis/Peeters, 1995), pp. 91-149Google Scholar. For an overview see: Alberigo, Giuseppe, A Brief History of Vatican II, trans. Sherry, Matthew (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2006), pp. 12-13Google Scholar. Subjects for conciliar discussion were also sought, for example, from Catholic universities. For details of a letter from the president of the Antepreparatory Committee, Cardinal Tardini, to the Rector of the Catholic University of Leuven, Mgr. Henri van Waeyenberg, in 1959, and the response from the University, the Belgian bishops and Religious see: Borgman, Erik, “Introduction,” in Catholic Theology of Revelation on the Eve of Vatican II: a Redaction History of the Schema De fontibus revelationis (1960-1962), ed. Schelkens, Karim (Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklikje Brill NV, 2012), pp. 10-24Google Scholar.

¹⁵ John XXIII, “Towards the Ecumenical Council,” p. 381.

¹⁶ Ibid., p. 384.

¹⁷ 25 December, 1961 in: “The Documents of Vatican II,” ed. Walter M. Abbott (London/Dublin: Geoffrey Chapman, 1966), pp. 703-709.

¹⁸ Ibid., p. 704.

¹⁹ Capovillia, Loris F., “Reflections on the Twentieth Anniversary,” in Vatican II Revisited: By Those Who Were There, ed. Stacpoole, Alberic (Minneapolis, Mn.: Winston Press, 1986), p. 118Google Scholar.

²⁰ “The Documents of Vatican II,” p. 710.

²¹ Riccardi, Andrea, “The Tumultuous Days of the Council,” in History of Vatican II: Formation of the Council's Identity, First Period and Intersession, October 1962 - September 1963, ed. Alberigo, Giuseppe and Komonchak, Joseph A. (Maryknoll, N.Y./Leuven: Orbis/Peeters, 1997), p. 15Google Scholar.

²² “The Documents of Vatican II,” p. 712.

²³ Ibid.

²⁴ Ibid.

²⁵ In the ‘Introduction’ to: Congar, Yves, True and False Reform in the Church, trans. Philibert, Paul, Rev. ed. (Collegeville, Mn.: Liturgical Press, 2011), iiiGoogle Scholar. Congar identified four necessary conditions for the discernment and realisation of genuine reform - one that does not result in schism. First, it advocates the centrality of charity and pastoral care i.e. avoiding merely rational system-building. Second, it demonstrates a continuing commitment to communion with the entire Church, especially committed to by the bishops. Thirdly, while reform is a task requiring patience, the hierarchy avoids straining the patience of reformers through carelessness or pointless disruptions. Finally, reform reflects fidelity to Catholic tradition. Tradition does not consist merely of the accumulated treasury of the past, but is dynamic: ‘the continuity of development arising from the initial gift of the Church’. Ibid., p. 117. While Nuncio in Paris (1944 -53), Roncalli was reacquainted with his friend, Lambert Beauduin, while the latter was co-founding the Centre de Pastorale Liturgique, Paris (from 1943). See: Leggett, Richard G., “Lambert Beauduin,” in How Firm a Foundation: Leaders of the Liturgical Movement, ed. Tuzik, Robert L. (Chicago, Ill.: Liturgy Training Publications, 1990), p. 27Google Scholar.

²⁶ “The Documents of Vatican II,” p. 715.

²⁷ Ibid., p. 716.

²⁸ Riccardi, “The Tumultuous Days of the Council,” p. 18.

²⁹ “The Documents of Vatican II,” p. 718.

³⁰ Ibid., p. 719.

³¹ Komonchak, Joseph A., “The Significance of Vatican Council II for Ecclesiology,” in The Gift of the Church: A Textbook on Ecclesiology in Honor of Patrick Granfield, O.S.B., ed. Phan, Peter C. (Collegeville, Mn.: Liturgical Press, 2000), p. 73Google Scholar.

³² Ratzinger, Joseph, Theological Highlights of Vatican II (New York: Paulist Press, 2009), p. 22Google Scholar.

³³ Schelkens, Karim, The Council Notes of Edward Schillebeeckx 1962-1963 (Leuven: Peeters, 2011), p. 11Google Scholar.

³⁴ Alberigo, Giuseppe, “The Announcement of the Council from the Security of the Fortress to the Lure of the Quest,” in History of Vatican II: Announcing and Preparing Vatican Council II, ed. Alberigo, Giuseppe and Komonchak, Joseph A. (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis; Leuven: Peeters, 1995), p. 34Google Scholar.

³⁵ O'Malley, John W., What Happened at Vatican II (Cambridge, Massachusetts/London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2008), p. 103Google Scholar.

³⁶ The five volumes were published in 1936, 1937, 1938, 1946 and 1957.

³⁷ Borromeo's ‘work as Archbishop of Milan (1564-84) enormously influenced the implementation of the Council of Trent.’ Alberigo, Giuseppe, Jossua, Jean Pierre, and Komonchak, Joseph A., eds., The Reception of Vatican II (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1987), p. 6Google Scholar.

³⁸ Hebblethwaite, Peter, John XXIII: Pope of the Century (London: Continuum, 2000), p. 30Google Scholar. Jared Wicks notes the importance of Borromeo's Archivo and of Trent to John XXIII. See: Wicks, Jared, “Tridentine Motivations of Pope John XXIII before and during Vatican II,” Theological Studies 75, no. 4 (2014)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

³⁹ O'Malley, What Happened at Vatican II, p. 103.

⁴⁰ Jedin, Hubert, Repgen, Kongad, and Dolan, John Patrick, eds., History of the Church, 10 vols., vol. 10 (London: Burns & Oates, 1981), p. 99Google Scholar.

⁴¹ Faggioli also notes its importance for Pope John. Faggioli, Massimo, True Reform: Liturgy and Ecclesiology in Sacrosanctum Concilium (Collegeville, Mn.: Liturgical Press, 2012), p. 29Google Scholar.

⁴² Komonchak, Joseph A., “Convening Vatican II,” Commonweal 126, no. 3 (1999), p. 10Google Scholar.

⁴³ Heyndrikx, Marcel, Towards Another Future: On the Christian Faith and Its Shape between Yesterday and Tomorrow, Louvain Theological and Pastoral Monographs (Louvain: Peeters, 2006), p. 92Google Scholar.

⁴⁴ Ibid.

⁴⁵ Oakley, Francis, “Authoritative and Ignored: The Overlooked Council of Constance,” Doctrine and Life 64, no. 9 (2014), p. 31Google Scholar.

⁴⁶ Komonchak, Joseph A., “The Struggle for the Council During the Preparation of Vatican II (1960-1962),” in History of Vatican II: Announcing and Preparing Vatican Council II, ed. Alberigo, Giuseppe and Komonchak, Joseph A. (Maryknoll, N.Y./Leuven: Orbis/Peeters, 1995), p. 350Google Scholar.

⁴⁷ Riccardi, “The Tumultuous Days of the Council,” p. 66.

⁴⁸ Ibid., p. 67.

⁴⁹ See Riccardi: ‘In the view of Siri, as of Ottaviani and others, the duty of the Council fathers was to go also with the great stream of the Church's tradition in theology and government, and to do it quickly and with brevity. Rome and the Curia were the best interpreters in that tradition.’ ibid., p. 64.

⁵⁰ Gerald P. Fogarty, “The Council Gets Underway,” ibid., ed. Giuseppe Alberigo and Joseph A. Komonchak, p. 70.

⁵¹ Congar, Yves, My Journal of the Council, trans. Ronayne, Mary John, Boulding, M. Cecily, and Minns, Denis (Dublin: Dominican Publication, 2012), p. 89Google Scholar.

⁵² First session: 13 October - 8 December 1962.

⁵³ Congar, My Journal of the Council, pp. 91-92.

⁵⁴ At Vatican II, episcopal conferences became ‘an important instrument for the exchange of information and for the construction of opinion among the bishops of particular nations or regions.’ Komonchak, Joseph A., “Introduction: Episcopal Conferences under Criticism,” in Episcopal Conferences: Historical, Canonical and Theological Studies, ed. Reese, Thomas J. (Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1989), p. 3Google Scholar.

⁵⁵ De Roo, Bishop Remi J., “Experiences of a Council Father,” The Downside Review 121, no. 422 (2003), p. 58CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁵⁶ ‘Bishops were told not to rush to complete their voting forms.’ ibid., p. 54.

⁵⁷ Riccardi, “The Tumultuous Days of the Council,” p. 34.

⁵⁸ Schelkens, The Council Notes of Edward Schillebeeckx 1962-1963, p. 3. Fn.4.

⁵⁹ Faggioli, Massimo, “Reform of the Curia at and After Vatican II,” Concilium, no. 5 (2013), p. 26Google Scholar.

⁶⁰ Lamberigts and Greiler, “"Concilium episcoporum est”: The Interventions of Liénart and Frings Revisited, October 13th, 1962," p. 56.

⁶¹ Ibid. The second ‘current’ concerned groups who influenced the formulation of the schemata and ‘indicated how the Council should proceed, according to the mind of the Curialists.’ ibid.

⁶² Ibid.

⁶³ See footnote 5: ‘Minutes of the subcommission for the organisational preparation of the Council show that different ideas were expressed on the future commissions, with Liénart and Frings present. Finally, a compromise was accepted between appointments by the Pope and elections.’ ibid.

⁶⁴ The conciliar rules were published, motu proprio, Appropinquante Concilio 6 September 1962. The importance of influencing elections to the commissions was pointed out by Hubert Jedin to Cardinal Frings. Lamberigts and Greiler suggested the information was probably discussed by ‘Suenens, Léger, Montini, J. Döpfner [...], Frings, Liénart, and others during the meetings of the central preparatory commission ’ ibid., p. 57.

⁶⁵ Ibid., p. 61.

⁶⁶ Remi J. De Roo, “Experiences of a Council Father,” p. 54.

⁶⁷ Lamberigts and Greiler, “"Concilium episcoporum est”: The Interventions of Liénart and Frings Revisited, October 13th, 1962," p. 56.

⁶⁸ Komonchak, “The Struggle for the Council During the Preparation of Vatican II (1960-1962),” p. 356. This stance is reflected in the Pope's personal diary. See: Agende, November 19, 1962. Cited in: Riccardi, “The Tumultuous Days of the Council,” p. 67.

⁶⁹ For a list of the initial 160 elected members see: Anderson, Floyd, ed. Council Daybook, Vatican II: Sessions 1 & 2 (1962-3), 3 vols., vol. 1 (Washington: National Catholic Welfare Conference, 1965), pp. 42-44Google Scholar. These numbers were subsequently increased. See: ‘List of New Appointees to Council Commissions’ ibid., pp. 54-55.

⁷⁰ Congar, My Journal of the Council, p. 92. Capitalisation and emphasis original.

⁷¹ Ratzinger, Theological Highlights of Vatican II, p. 23.

⁷² For example: ‘The Pan-African group [...], gave birth to “a committee of theologians for all of Africa.” The “strategy workshop,” a French-speaking group that would hold meetings on Wednesdays, also got under way [...]. The best organised conferences (the French, the German-speaking, the Dutch, the Polish, the Canadians, and others) had calendars of meetings to listen to views on the work they were resuming.’ Melloni, Alberto, “The Beginning of the Second Period: The Great Debate on the Church,” in History of Vatican II: The Mature Council, Second Period and Intersession, September 1963 - September 1964, ed. Alberigo, Giuseppe and Komonchak, Joseph A. (Maryknoll, N.Y./Leuven: Orbis/Peeters, 2000), p. 41Google Scholar.

⁷³ On 15 October, 1962. Congar, My Journal of the Council, p. 95. Capitalisation and emphasis original. Congar's comment was made after the preparation of lists for the various commissions by the episcopal conferences. See: Riccardi, “The Tumultuous Days of the Council,” p. 34. See also: Congar, My Journal of the Council, p. 140.

⁷⁴ “The Documents of Vatican II,” pp. 3-7. Its full title is: Message to Humanity: Issued at the Beginning of the Second Vatican Council by its Fathers, with the Endorsement of the Supreme Pontiff. The first paragraph is headed ‘The Fathers of the Council to all Men’. Abbott comments: ‘For the first time in the history of Ecumenical Councils, a Council addresses itself to all men, not just to members of the Catholic Church. In the following year, Pope John XXIII added, for the first time, the salutation “and to all men of good will” as the opening of a papal encyclical (See: Pacem in terris, 11 April, 1963).’ ibid., p. 3. Fn. 2. For background to its authorship see: Rynne, Xavier, Letters from Vatican City: Vatican Council II (First Session) Background and Debates (London: Faber & Faber, 1963), pp. 88-92Google Scholar.

⁷⁵ “The Documents of Vatican II,” p. 3.

⁷⁶ Ibid., p. 4.

⁷⁷ Ibid., p. 5.

⁷⁸ See: Ratzinger, Theological Highlights of Vatican II, pp. 19-20.

⁷⁹ Komonchak, Joseph A., “What's Happening to Doctrine?,” Commonweal 112 (1985), p. 456Google Scholar.

⁸⁰ Riccardi, “The Tumultuous Days of the Council,” p. 56.

⁸¹ Suenens, Leon-Joseph Cardinal, “A Plan for the Whole Council,” in Vatican II Revisited: By Those Who Were There, ed. Stacpoole, Alberic (Minneapolis, Mn.: Winston Press, 1986), p. 89Google Scholar. The note is added as Appendix I: ibid., pp. 92-94.

⁸² Collins, Paul, Papal Power: A Proposal for Change in Catholicism's Third Millennium (London: Fount, 1997), p, 76Google Scholar.

⁸³ McBrien, Richard, “The Church (Lumen gentium),” in Modern Catholicism: Vatican II and After, ed. Hastings, Adrian (London/New York: SPCK/Oxford University Press, 1991), p. 85Google Scholar. Emphasis added.

⁸⁴ Fesquet, Henri, The Drama of Vatican II: The Ecumenical Council June, 1962 - December, 1965, trans. Murchland, Bernard (New York, N.Y.: Random House, 1967), p. 72Google Scholar.

⁸⁵ Referenced by: Alberigo, Giuseppe, “The Conciliar Experience “Learning on Their Own”,” in History of Vatican II: Formation of the Council's Identity, First Period and Intersession, October 1962 - September 1963, ed. Alberigo, Giuseppe and Komonchak, Joseph A. (Maryknoll, N.Y./Leuven: Orbis/Peeters, 1997), pp. 575-576Google Scholar.

⁸⁶ O'Malley, John W., “Vatican II Revisited as Reconciliation: The Francis Factor,” in The Legacy of Vatican II, ed. Faggioli, Massimo and Vicini, Andrea (New York / Mahwah N.J.: Paulist Press, 2015), p. 17Google Scholar.

⁸⁷ For a deeper discussion of leadership see: Gadie, Paul, “Episcopal Pastoral Governance and Leadership,” Doctrine and Life 66, no. 7 (2016), pp. 13-22Google Scholar.

⁸⁸ Suenens, Leon-Joseph Cardinal, A Man Sent From God (Dublin: Veritas Publications, 1992), p. 10Google Scholar.

⁸⁹ Hebblethwaite comments on Pope John's approval of episcopal initiatives by Cardinals Suenens, Lercaro, and Montini, to ensure the smoother passage of the Council into a second session. Hebblethwaite, Peter, “John XXIII,” in Modern Catholicism: Vatican II and After, ed. Hastings, Adrian (London/New York: SPCK/Oxford University Press, 1991), p. 32Google Scholar.

⁹⁰ Ibid., p. 11. Gerard Mannion speaks of the ‘Roncalli Factor’. The Pope had a great capacity for pastoral sensitivity as a priest, shaped by his humble background. John XXIII was also shaped by living in a variety of ‘cultures and multi-faith contexts and his experiences and perception of what happens when there is a suspension of the ethical and ugly realpolitik, such as in Vichy France. But, of equally vital importance were also his own studies and researches as a historian, especially of the Church, itself.’ Mannion, Gerard, “Pacem in Terris@50: Gifts Old and New for Church and Society in Recent Times,” in Human Dignity in World Affairs: Celebrating Pacem in Terris and its Legacy (Georgetown University, Washington 2013), p. 1Google Scholar.

⁹¹ Faggioli, “Reform of the Curia at and After Vatican II,” pp. 25-26.

⁹² ‘Synodal’ connotes a way of working ‘though group dialogue and discernment.’ Hinze, Bradford, “The Ecclesiology of Pope Francis and the Future of the Church in Africa,” Journal of Global Catholicism 2, no. 1 (2017), p. 14CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Today, the concept of pastoral governance continues to challenge the bishops to working in a synodal manner with other bishops and with all of Christ's faithful.