Marking sixty years since its publication, Nostra Aetate continues to shape the Church’s relationship with Judaism, Islam, and other world faiths. Born out of post-war soul-searching and intense debate at the Second Vatican Council, the declaration opened a new era of dialogue, esteem, and shared commitment to peace – a legacy that remains vital today

Amid multiple anniversaries celebrated by the Church in 2025 perhaps the most significant was the sixtieth anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, which ran from 1962 to 1965. The dates of the Council might need some explanation. There were four ‘sessions’ of the Council in each of those four years, each session lasting several weeks in the autumn. The first session began on 11 October 1962 and ended on 8 December. The fourth session, the longest, opened on 14 September 1965 and the Council as a whole was concluded on 8 December 1965.

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