Wednesday, March 11, 2020

The Acta of the Second Vatican Council: Project Update

For a number of years now, I have been working to digitise the primary documentation of the Second Vatican Council, and thus make it more accessible to both researchers and the general public. Personal and professional circumstances as well as the quantity of material (62 folio volumes!) have meant that this work is progressing more slowly than I would like.

However, a couple of milestones in the project have been reached, notably the completion of the work relating to the antepreparatory and preparatory periods, so I thought I would give NLM readers a complete list of the volumes that have been scanned, as well as those still in progress.

Pope John XXIII during the preparation of Vatican II

The Antepreparatory Period of Vatican II (1959-60)

Acta et Documenta Concilio Oecumenico Vaticano II Apparando.
Series I (Antepraeparatoria)

Volumen I: Acta Summi Pontificis Ioannis XXIII
This volume contains all the documents, letters, speeches, etc. given by Pope John XXIII in the antepreparatory period of the Second Vatican Council.

Volumen II: Consilia et vota Episcoporum ac Praelatorum
The eight parts of this volume contain the written submissions and replies (vota) to the letter sent to the bishops and prelates of the world asking what they would like to see discussed at the upcoming Council. Parts 1-3 are for Europe, part 4 for Asia, part 5 for Africa, part 6 for North and Central America, part 7 for South America and Oceania, and part 8 for religious congregations.
Appendix voluminis II: Analyticus conspectus consiliorum et votorum quae ab episcopis et praelatis data sunt
The two parts of this appendix to Volume II provide an analytic overview of the vota. They are distilled into 9,348 brief propositions, organised by subject, with each proposition having one or more diocese/religious order cited in the footnotes.
Volumen III: Proposita et monita SS. Congregationum Curiae Romanae
This volume contains the vota of the various congregations of the Roman Curia.

Volumen IV: Studia et vota Universitatum et Facultatum ecclesiasticarum et catholicarum.
The two parts of this volume contains the vota of the various Catholic faculties and universities around the world. Part 1 (in two tomes) deals with the institutions in Rome, and part 2 contains the vota of the institutions outside of Rome.
Indices
The antepreparatory series ends with this index volume, which includes detailed statistics of the responses and response rates for the worldwide Church.

Pope John XXIII signing the apostolic constitution Humanae salutis (25 Dec 1961), solemnly convoking the Second Vatican Council.

The Preparatory Period of Vatican II (1960-62)

Acta et Documenta Concilio Oecumenico Vaticano II Apparando.
Series II (Praeparatoria)

Volumen I: Acta Summi Pontificis Ioannis XXIII
This volume contains all the documents, letters, speeches, etc. given by Pope John XXIII during the preparatory period of the Second Vatican Council.

Volumen II: Acta Pontificiae Commissionis centralis praeparatoriae Concilii oecumenici Vaticani II
The four parts of this volume contains the acts of the Central Preparatory Commission, which met over seven sessions from June 1961 to June 1962 in order to discuss and refine the schemata that would be put before the Council at its first session.
Volumen III: Acta Commissionum et Secretariatuum praeparatoriorum Concilii oecumenici Vaticani II
The two parts of this volume contain the final drafts of the schemata from the ten Preparatory Commissions and two Secretariats.
Volumen IV: Acta Subcommissionum Commissionis centralis praeparatoriae Concilii oecumenici Vaticani II
The three parts of this volume (part 3 in two tomes) contain the acts of the various subcommissions of the Central Preparatory Commission that also examined the draft schemata before the Council started.
The Bishops and Prelates of the world at the Council

The Second Vatican Council (1962-65)

Acta Synodalia Sacrosancti Concilii Oecumenici Vaticani II

Volumen I: Periodus prima
The four parts of volume I cover the first session of the Council (October 11 - December 8, 1962).
Volumen II: Periodus secunda
The six parts of volume II cover the second session of the Council (September 29 - December 4, 1963).
Volumen III: Periodus tertia
The eight parts of volume III cover the third session of the Council (September 14 - November 21, 1964). Parts I, V and VIII have been digitised to date.
Volumen IV: Periodus quarta
The seven parts of volume IV cover the fourth and final session of the Council (September 14 - December 8, 1965). Parts I, II, IV and VII have been digitised to date.
Volumen V: Processus verbales
The three parts of volume V contain the documentation relating to the Central Coordinating Commission of the Council in its various forms. These parts currently await digitisation.
  • Pars I: Consilium praesidentiae (1962). Secretariatus de Conc. negotiis extra ordinem (1962). Commissio de Conc. laboribus coordinandis (Sessiones I-VII: 21 ianuarii - 23 octobris 1963)
  • Pars II: Commissio de Concilii laboribus coordinandis (Sessiones VIII-XVII: 29 octobris 1963 - 7 octobris 1964)
  • Pars III: Commissio de Concilii laboribus coordinandis (Sessiones XVIII-XXIII: 15 octobris 1964 - 1 decembris 1965). Moderatores (30 octobris 1963 - 26 octobris 1965)
Volumen VI: Acta Secretariae generalis
The four parts of this volume contain the documentation relating to the General Secretary of the Council, Archbishop Pericle Felici, covering the four sessions of the Council (with some of part 4 also going up to 1967). These parts currently await digitisation.
  • Pars I: Periodus prima : MCMLXII
  • Pars II: Periodus secunda : MCMLXIII
  • Pars III: Periodus tertia : MCMLXIV
  • Pars IV: Periodus quarta : MCMLXV
Indices
This volume, keyed into Volumes I-IV, contains various indices, the major one being the index of names of bishops and prelates at the Council. Currently awaiting digitisation.

Appendices
Although published as part of the Acta Synodalia, the two parts of the appendix also partly cover the antepreparatory and preparatory periods. The first part mainly contains extra material and documentation found in the archives after the publication of the Acta. The second part is mostly extra indices, to be used in conjunction with the relevant volumes of the Acta.
* * * * *
If some NLM readers are waiting on the material for the latter half of the Council in particular, please be assured that this project continues, and I would like it to be finished by the time the 60th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II arrives. However, I cannot say with any certainty when particular books will be digitised!

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