The Vatican II Center

The Story & Promise of Vatican II in Plain English

Bill Huebsch

The story and promise of the Second Vatican Council are part and parcel of the church’s daily life throughout the world. It isn’t possible to prepare for or enact pastoral ministry today without being a student of Vatican II. From participatory liturgy to whole-family faith formation, from the RCIA to the deaconate, and from the renewed call to holiness to the renewed age of mercy, the springboard of the modern church is Vatican II. Because of this, knowing about the story of Vatican II is essential to understanding its promise.

This volume tells that wonderful story of the council—and it does so in plain English. It follows an exciting chronological pathway from the beginning of the council to its final bell. But the deep promise of the council is found in the documents themselves. Church documents don’t always make for compelling reading but the plain English presentations which author Bill Huebsch provides here make this book a page-turner! Huebsch captures the excitement and rapidly unfolding drama—all set in the theater of St. Peter’s Basilica during those four years in the early 1960s. He treats each character with dignity and respect, moving beyond the judgments of “too liberal” or “too conservative” that have dogged the Church and created division rather than unity. This book fills its readers with hope and equips them to unfold the promise of the Second Vatican Council in today’s world.

Vatican II Pastoral Toolkit

Study Guides, Videos, Prayers, Articles, Catechesis

Bill Huebsch

This valuable toolkit provides a wealth of resources to help you share the message of the Second Vatican Council with your community, especially for use with his book The Story and Promise of Vatican II in Plain English.

Pope John Paul II called Vatican II "the Advent Liturgy of the new millennium." It's vital that all parish leaders be familiar with what this Council did and how the Holy Spirit moved the Church to reform itself in the work of the world's bishops and Popes.

• Study Tools on the Four Constitutions: Introductory videos, study guides, slide presentations, and links to Pope Leo XIV's catechesis.
• General reflections with small group guides.
• Plain-English paraphrases of the Council documents.
• Communal prayers in the words of Vatican II.
• Vatican II: the Next Generation. A mini-curriculum for children at three age levels.