Opening of the Council of Trent
- When
- 1545
- Where
- Trento
- Episodes
- 1
Pope Paul III convened the Council of Trent at Trento on 13 December 1545, responding to the Protestant Reformation. This marked the start of the first period of the 19th ecumenical council, which met in Northern Italy under the Holy Roman Empire.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. The Protestant Reformation prompted Pope Paul III to seek a council to address doctrinal challenges. The council was the last ecumenical council held outside Rome and the second convened in the Holy Roman Empire, following the Council of Constance.
Opening. After delays and a proposal for Mantua, the council was officially convened at Trento on 13 December 1545. Trento was then ruled by a prince-bishop under the Holy Roman Empire.
People involved
- Pope Paul III · Convener and overseer of the first sessions
- Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor · Emperor whose urging influenced the council's location
Sources
- Council of Trent Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-30
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.