Final answer:
The Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, permitted the translation of the Catholic liturgy into vernacular languages, making the mass more accessible to the faithful worldwide.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Vatican Council that allowed the mass to be translated into local languages was the Second Vatican Council, also known as Vatican II. This ecumenical council, which took place from 1962 to 1965, brought forth significant reforms in the Catholic Church, one of which was the use of vernacular languages in the liturgy.
Prior to Vatican II, the Catholic liturgy was uniformly celebrated in Latin, which, over centuries, had become the exclusive language of the Church's educated elite and clergy, rather than the common people. The use of Latin meant that the laity, especially in non-Latin-speaking countries, often did not fully understand the words of the masses, limiting their participation and comprehension. Vatican II addressed this by permitting the translation of the Roman Missal into vernacular languages with the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, which sought to foster a more active and conscious participation by the faithful in the liturgical celebrations.
The promulgation of the mass in local languages symbolized a pivotal shift in the Church's approach to worship and communication with its congregation, making the liturgy more accessible and intelligible to Catholics around the world. Moving away from Latin allowed a diverse range of cultures to experience the mass in a more intimate and meaningful way, reinforcing the universal nature of the Catholic Church while respecting linguistic diversity.