PostVatican II. Longterm Trajectories and Local Experiences in Historical Perspective

The volume offers an exploration of the historiography on post-Vatican II and of the methodological challenges involved in periodizing and historically interpreting the decades that followed the conclusion of the council. It follows a long-term historical trajectory while focusing on specific local experiences, exploring how the Council has been implemented in different churches or contexts. At the same time, it aims to offer new possible periodizations for a history of the post–Vatican II age, taking into account the diversity of geo-ecclesial contexts, whose trajectories often resist the reduction to shared patterns or timelines. The various domains at stake – theology, ecumenism, social and political engagement, liturgy – present distinct chronological boundaries of development. The essays engage with these questions both at a general level and through analyses of specific local experiences and actors, thereby opening new paths toward a historical understanding of the post-conciliar age.