1. TRIDENTINE
PERIOD
1545 - 1963

2. • The Tridentine Period extends from the start of
the Council of Trent to the start of the Second
Vatican Council
• Called “Tridentine” because it stems from the
Council of Trent
- Advances in science led many away from God.
The philosophy that people do not need God is
called rationalism

3. EVENTS:
* The American Revolution – 1776-1783
and formation of the United States republic
=> the First Amendment to the Constitution
provides for all US citizens to have freedom of
religion
=> Separation of Church and State refers to the
policy that government is not dictated by any
religion

4. • The French Revolution – 1789 – 1799
- Attacked the existing French government as
well as the Church
- Monestaries, churches and missions were
burned
- French Catholics were forbidden to practice
their faith openly

5. - St. Julie Billiart defied the government and
continued to teach and preach the faith
- She founded the Sisters of Notre Dame

6. • Revolutions spread across Europe, and the
Church suffered persecution
• Church leaders began to lose their political
power, allowing them to focus once again on the
mission of spirituality

7. • The Industrial Revolution – 1760 – 1840
brought advances in technology into the
Nineteenth Century

8. • First Vatican Council – 1868
- at first, the Church saw science as a threat
- Pope Pius IX issued a
document condemning
rationalism
- in 1868, he convened an ecumenical council, the
First Vatican Council

9. The First Vatican Council:
- clarified the role of the Church in the changing
world
- approved the doctrine of papal infallibility
~ this doctrine states that when a pope
officially proclaims a teaching on faith and
morals, that teaching is without error

10. • The First Vatican Council was interrupted by the
Franco-Prussian war in 1870 and never resumed

11. • Baltimore Catechism
- In 1884, US bishops commissioned the writing
of a standard religion text for all Catholic children
- This was called the Baltimore Catechism
- This text was used from 1885 until the late
1960s

12. • In response to the unjust working conditions that
came out of the Industrial Revolution, Pope Leo XIII
wrote Rerum Novarum (“On New Things”) in 1891

13. • Rerum Novarum was an encyclical (a papal writing)
on social justice
- In this encyclical, Pope Leo XIII states:
- workers should receive a fair wage
- employers should treat workers fairly
- workers should defend their rights
* Every pope since then has followed Pope Leo XIII’s
lead and discussed social justice and mercy

14. • During the 20th Century:
-
World War I – 1914-1918
World War II – 1939 – 1945
Various military conflicts
Government oppression in many countries
Widespread poverty
* Throughout these challenging times, the Church
has called for justice and worked to ensure that
basic human rights and needs are fulfilled

15. • Second Vatican Council – 1962 – 1965
- Convened by Pope John XXIII
- studied the role of bishops in the Church
- addressed the relationship between the Church
and the modern era
- Pope John XXIII dies during the council; it
continued under Pope Paul VI