Two parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis are separately hosting a series on the Second Vatican Council — a concurrence that the pastor of one of the parishes said “must have been the Spirit moving.”

Held from 1962 to 1965, Vatican II consisted of four sessions; each session was approximately three months. Convened by St. John XXIII, the council produced 16 documents related to the life of the Church.

At St. Victoria in Victoria, the “Vatican II Documents in a Year” series seeks to respond to Pope Francis’ encouragement for the Church to “rediscover the council’s passion and renew our own passion for the council,” an announcement from the parish stated.

With the “beautiful” success of “The Bible in a Year” and “The Catechism in a Year” podcast programs, Father Bob White, St. Victoria pastor, said the question of “what can we do in a year?” arose.

The focus landed on Vatican II documents, which Father White said “are so important to who we are as a Church, and the direction in which we’re moving.”

Deacon Ray Ortman, who has helped organize the series, said inspiration also came from “the evident focus by Pope Francis on trying to renew interest in the teachings and the pastoral implications of the Second Vatican Council.”

As the worldwide Synod of Bishops convenes next month, Deacon Ortman said “it appears … Pope Francis has in mind some of the inspiration he draws from the spirit of the Second Vatican Council.”

With that, Deacon Ortman said “it just seems like a beautiful time to remind the faithful of the riches of this approach. Even though (Vatican II) is 60 years old, it’s still a fresh approach and really the key to how the Church sees herself in the modern world and her role in it.”

Series speakers will discuss the relevance of Vatican II documents to the modern Church, Father White explained.

“This is maybe a revisit for some people or maybe for others … it’s an introduction to rich documents that have shaped our Church and where we’re headed for the future; how do we as a Church, respond to the world today?” Father White said.

Deacon Ortman said he views this series as “sort of a treasure hunt, only in this case it’s not buried treasure; it’s treasure that’s hiding in the open. Maybe we haven’t thought of it lately either as being there or even as being treasured, but we hope that we can excite in people an interest in doing a little treasure hunting to see what gems of the faith and of our rich tradition are not only available but accessible and that we can celebrate together.”

The monthly series starts on Sept. 30 and runs through June 29. Each session will be held from 9-11:15 a.m. in Elstan Hall. Registration is not required. More information can be found online: stvictoria.net/vatican-ii-documents-in-a-year

Meanwhile, a separate Vatican II series at St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake is underway.

Sister Mary Kerber, director of mission for the parish, helped organize the series based on the response to a parish-wide survey that indicated “the need for more adult education,  including the need to understand Vatican II,” she said.

“Many of us have not had any catechesis since we’ve received the sacraments,” Sister Mary said. “And Vatican II presents us with a deepened understanding of the Church as it reflected on the roots of Christianity — to me, it (the series) connects very closely with what’s happening in the Synod on Synodality.”

Sister Mary reflected on how the Catholic Church “is not just a Church of the hierarchy, it’s a Church of all of us, as our baptism calls each of us to actively participate.”

With all that in mind, she began developing a series schedule based on what she saw as “the most foundational topics in Vatican II.” Those topics include liturgy, morality, ecclesiology and the Church’s social mission, among others.

Kicking off the series was a discussion Sept. 13 called “Vatican II and Liturgy.” Sister Mary said an estimated 50 people attended; she said even “if only 10 people showed up, that is 10 more people who have heard the presentation and this in itself has power to transform.”

Sister Mary encouraged those interested in attending the series “to come and discover the why of Vatican II and rediscover yourself within the ever-emerging understanding of Church.” She added each session is standalone, so attendees don’t have to worry about missed material.

The six-part series at St. Mary of the Lake runs through Feb. 21. Each session will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. in the St. Joseph Room. Registration is not required. More information can be found online: stmarys-wbl.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SpeakerSeries.pdf