page_title: Second Vatican Council
section_title: Commissions
hierarchical_section_title: Second Vatican Council / Chronology / Preparation / Commissions
caption_attribution_description: Clergy at Church of All Nations in Jerusalem
context_page_description: The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the Second Vatican Council, Vatican II, or V2, addressed relations between the Catholic Church and the modern world. The Council, through the Holy See, was formally opened under the pontificate of Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and was closed under Pope Paul VI on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December 1965.
  Several changes resulted from the Council, including the renewal of consecrated life with a revised charism, ecumenical efforts towards dialogue with other religions, and the universal call to holiness, which according to Pope Paul VI was "the most characteristic and ultimate purpose of the teachings of the Council".
  According to Pope Benedict XVI, the most important and essential message of the Council is "the Paschal Mystery as the center of what it is to be Christian and therefore of the Christian life, the Christian year, the Christian seasons".
context_section_description: The bishops met to discuss the membership of the commissions, along with other issues, both in national and regional groups, as well as in gatherings that were more informal. The schemata (Latin for drafts) from the preparatory sessions were rejected and new ones were created. When the Council met on 16 October 1962, a new slate of commission members was presented and approved by the Council. One important change was a significant increase in membership from Central and Northern Europe, beyond countries such as Spain or Italy. More than 100 bishops from Africa, Asia, and Latin America were Dutch or Belgian and tended to associate with the bishops from those countries. These groups were led by Cardinals Bernardus Johannes Alfrink of the Netherlands and Leo Suenens of Belgium.
  Eleven commissions and three secretariats were established, with their respective presidents:
  De doctrina fidei et morum (Commission on the Doctrine of Faith and Morals), Alfredo Ottaviani;
  De episcopis et dioecesium regimine (Commission on Bishops and the Government of Dioceses), Paolo Marella;
  De ecclesiis orientalibus (Commission on the Eastern Churches), Amleto Giovanni Cicognani;
  De sacramentorum disciplina (Commission on the Discipline of the Sacraments), Benedetto Aloisi Masella;
  De disciplina cleri et populi christiani (Commission for the Discipline of the Clergy and the Christian People), Pietro Ciriaci;
  De religiosis (Commission for Religious), Ildebrando Antoniutti;
  De sacra liturgia (Commission on the Sacred Liturgy), Arcadio Larraona;
  De missionibus (Commission for the Missions), Gregorio Pietro XV Agagianian;
  De seminariis, de studiis, et de educatione catholica (Commission on Seminaries, Studies, and Catholic Schools), Giuseppe Pizzardo;
  De fidelium apostolatu and De scriptis prelo edendis et de spectaculis moderandis (Commission for the Lay Apostolate, the Press, and the Moderation of Shows), Fernando Cento;
  Technical and Organizational Commission, Gustavo Testa;
  Ad christianorum unitatem fovendam (Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity), Augustin Bea;
  Administrative Secretariat, Alberto di Jorio.
caption: A contemporary Mass in modern practice, as versus populum became the common posture and gesture practised after the council. The priest faces the congregation, while vestments and artwork are less ornate.
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