From the desk of the pastor for Jan. 11, 2026

The Lord be with you! As the Council of Trent was meeting, the political landscape of Europe shifted tremendously. As mentioned a month or so ago, the Wars of Religion in the mid-sixteenth century shattered Christendom and led to the rise of Confessionalism.

Although the Peace of Augsburg led to relative peace in the Holy Roman Empire from 1553 to 1618, across the rest of Europe much blood was shed over which version of Christianity would be accepted in each country. In France these civil wars broke out in 1562 during the regency of Catherine de Medici, who ruled in the name of her nine year old son, Charles IX. Without a king to rule the country, religious factions of nobles began fighting each other for control over territory and the crown. Ten different wars broke out over a 40 year period that left at least 2 million people dead. The most famous incident was the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572 when Catholics assassinated a number of Protestant nobles and angry mobs rioted for two days. The most famous quote of the period came from King Henry IV who famously said, “Paris is worth a Mass” when he agreed to practice Catholicism in order to become king. Good King Henry ended these terrible wars by moderating the interest of the Catholic monarchy with Protestant nobles.

An even longer conflict occurred in the Netherlands: the Dutch Revolt. Also known as the Eighty Years War, this conflict broke out in the Spanish controlled Netherlands over religion and taxes. Spain had gained control over the Low Countries via inheritance and profited tremendously from the trade happening there. As a Catholic monarchy, the Spanish Habsburgs attempted to eradicate the Calvinists there. For the first decade of this conflict there were a lot of “false starts” with Spain seemingly suppressing the uprising successfully. They did not. The conflict had a number of truces as each side attempted to use diplomacy to cajole the other into an acceptable framework. For example, in the early 1600s it looked possible for the Netherlands to become an independent kingdom permanently allied to Spain but able to conduct its own internal affairs. The conflict ended with the Peace of Munster in 1648 as part of the end of the 30 Years War with the Netherlands as we know them gaining their independence.

A lesser known series of wars was the Tudor Conquest of Ireland. Although England owned part of Ireland - called the Pale - for centuries, from 1542 to 1603 the Anglican Tudors conquered all of its territory. Just as Irish culture and language was suppressed so was the Catholic religion as England consolidated its hold over Ireland.

The most brutal war was yet to come: the 30 Years War. That conflict would demonstrate that religious affiliation was a poor reason for war. More on that in the next article. In all of the above, and especially in the 30 Years War, religion was a reason but never the reason for war. May we always pray for peace.

In His Sacred Heart,
Fr. John