Librarian
Maxine Whitehead
History of the Diocese of Hamilton:
Second Vatican Council
Fr. Mike Myroniuk working in Guatemala
From 1962 to 1965 the Second Vatican Council took place in Rome. Since then, the church throughout the entire world has had a decidedly different look about it. Not only did church architecture change but the way in which the church carried out its mission changed. The laity began to play a much larger role in church life; the Mass was now said in the local languages rather than in Latin, and in general the church became more pastoral in its approach to the people. True to the spirit of the Council and to the church’s inspiration by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the Diocese of Hamilton went from being a receiving diocese to being one that sent forth its own missionaries. Thus, from 1962 to 1981, priests and sisters were sent out from the diocese to serve in the Guatemalan Diocese of Zacapa, where the needs were and still are much greater than anything we have experienced here at home.
1960s - Present →