Vatican City, Jun 1, 2005 / 22:00 pm
Tomorrow and Saturday, a number of Europe’s leading historians will gather at the Vatican to discuss the history of Christianity, and the 2,000 year old faith’s relation to the modern world.
The Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences has organized the study seminar, which will consider new research and questions concerning of Christianity, specifically in the second half of the twentieth century.
Some of Europe’s leading historians are slated to speak at the seminar including, Manlio Simonetti of Italy’s Accademia dei Lincei, who will speak on the period of Antiquity; Michael Matheus, director of Rome’s German Historical Institute, who will speak on the Middle Ages; Paolo Prodi of the University of Bologna, Italy, who will discuss the Modern Age; and Ernesto Galli Della Loggia of the University of Perugia, Italy, who will look into intricacies of the contemporary period.
Pope Pius XII created the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences, which boasts thirty members from various countries in 1954.
This weekend’s seminar will mark the close of the committee's fiftieth anniversary celebrations, which began in spring last year. Since 1998, the group has been headed by Msgr. Walter Brandmuller.