Pope Delays the Council of Trent: The Counter-Reformation Waits
The Council never even made it to Venice. Pope Paul III had spent years wrestling the Catholic Church toward self-reform — a council that might answer Luther's challenge from within. But war between Charles V and Francis I made travel impossible, and bishops scattered across Europe simply couldn't move. So Paul III wrote the letters, bought more time, and delayed what would become the Council of Trent until 1545. Six years lost. And by then, Protestantism had roots no council could pull out.
June 10, 1539
487 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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