If you grew up Catholic, you know can relate to other people telling their personal stories of what it meant to be Catholic during their childhood. My Catholic journey began when I was born since I was immediately baptized as an infant into the Roman Catholic Church. I was born during the time the Second Vatican Council was taking place in the Church. From what I understand from my parents and grandparents, this was quite a change for the Catholic Church as a whole.

I began Catholic School at age 5 and continued in my Catholic education all the way through high school. In my early years of education, there was much resistance to the Second Vatican Council in many of the local parishes. While most adhered to the changes set out under the new Council, there was still the “feel” of the old that took several years for the Church as a whole to fully release.

The main goal of the Second Vatican Council was to have the Church be a part of the community in which it served. Under the First Vatican Council there was a separation of the Church and the community where nuns and many of the priests were secluded from the outside world. Under the new Council this was to change so that there would be a dialogue with the community and the members of the clergy.

It was a growing time for the Catholic Church and having been born the very year it was put into effect, I was able to see the changes first hand within my Catholic schools and parishes I attended. Change is always difficult especially when it is steeped in so much tradition as the Catholic Church had been for many years. However, as a result of the changes under the new Council, the Church has been able to help many people that never would have been reached otherwise.