Innsbruck publishes Jungmann’s Vatican II diary online

The University of Innsbruck has made an edition of South Tyrolean Jesuit and liturgical scholar Josef Andreas Jungmann’s council diary publicly accessible, ORF reported. The notes, written from 1962 to 1971, shed light on discussions, alliances and conflicts surrounding the Second Vatican Council and its liturgical reforms.

Editor Rudolf Pacik told the Austrian Press Agency that the diary was a small but valuable piece of evidence for understanding the council, the University of Innsbruck’s Faculty of Theology and Jungmann himself. In his private notes, he spoke more openly than in his published work, Pacik said.

Jungmann had considered possible reforms to the Catholic Church long before the council began. In 1948, after the publication of his major work on the history of the Mass, he was asked to provide an assessment from Rome. In 1960, he joined the preparatory liturgy commission, where he held a key role on matters concerning the Mass. During the council, he served as a theological expert and later helped implement the liturgical reforms.

The diary records work that is only partly visible in official council documents, Pacik said. It describes meetings in smaller committees, contacts between theologians and bishops, and efforts to build support for reform proposals. Reform-minded participants coordinated their approach and sought to persuade bishops to speak or submit amendments.

Jungmann’s research showed that many forms of worship had developed over centuries rather than being passed down unchanged from early Christianity. He connected that historical perspective with the question of what forms of worship would serve people in the present. Reform issues included greater participation by the congregation and use of local languages, rather than treating worship solely as an act performed by a priest for a passive congregation.

Jungmann did not agree with every reform introduced by the council, but believed its outcome should be presented to the Church together and positively, Innsbruck liturgical scholar Liborius Lumma said. Lumma added that Jungmann had a profound influence on the methods, scholarly ethos and aims of liturgical studies.

The Second Vatican Council was opened by Pope John XXIII in 1962 and continued by Pope Paul VI after his death, concluding in 1965. Its aim was to renew the Catholic Church and bring it closer to the modern world.