Trent was attended by comparatively few bishops, who were from Europe, the
Eastern Church and the countries bordering on the Mediterranean. The
Vatican Council consisted of prelates from at least thirty different
nations, from the remotest regions of the habitable globe, from the
numerous churches in India which owed their origin to the apostolic zeal
of St. Francis Xavier, from North and South America, China, Australia, New
Zealand and Oceanica. One-fifth of the churches existed not as yet in the
time of Trent which sent their bishops to represent them at the Vatican
Council. The countries in which many of these churches flourish had no
place, when the Council of Trent was called, on the map of the world. From
those vast regions which now constitute the United States of America,
there was not so much as one bishop at Trent. At the Vatican Council there
were no fewer than sixty. There were never more than three bishops of
Ireland present together at Trent, and four only were members of that
council. Twenty Irish prelates attended the Vatican Council. England sent
only one bishop to Trent. He is mentioned as Godveus Anglus, Episc.
Asaphensis. The Catholics of England were represented by thirteen English
bishops at the Council of the Vatican. Scotland had no representation at
Trent. The Catholics of that country were most worthily represented at the
Vatican by Bishop Strain, now Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh;
Archbishop Eyre, of Glasgow, and Bishop McDonald, of Aberdeen. There was
only a very small number of English-speaking bishops at Trent. At the
Vatican Council they were particularly numerous, constituting, as nearly
as can be calculated, one-fifth of the assembled Catholic hierarchy. At
Trent there were not many bishops from countries speaking different
languages. Twenty-seven languages, and various dialects besides, were
represented by prelates at the Vatican.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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