Aggiornamento () is an Italian word meaning "bringing up to date", "updating". It was made famous by pope John XXIII, and was one of the key words at the Second Vatican Council, used by both bishops and the media. John XXIII In his speech of 25 January 1959, announcing his intention of calling a Council, pope John used the word aggiornamento, but only in reference to his planned revision of the Code of Canon Law. But he soon began using the term to refer to his vision for the Council. In his first encyclical (Ad Petri cathedram, 29 June 1959), speaking of the upcoming Council, he said (§61): “[The bishops] will consider, in particular, the growth of the Catholic faith, the restoration of sound morals among the Christian flock, and appropriate adaptation (aggiornamento) of Church discipline to the needs and conditions of our times.” On 28 June 1961, in an address to a group of Blessed Sacrament Fathers, John XXIII said: On 1 August 1962, in a speech to a pilgrimage of “ministers of the altar”, he said: (translation) “The Ecumenical Council [...] seeks to be a Council of updating, mainly for a deeper knowledge and love of revealed truth, for fervent religious piety, and for holiness of life.” It was a term he used when he was patriarch (archbishop) of Venice. In a letter to the people of Venice of 8 October 1957 about an upcoming diocesan synod, he wrote: (translation) “You have already heard the word “aggiornamento” repeated so many times. You see, our Holy Church, forever young, takes the attitude of following the various twists and turns of the circumstances of life, in order to adapt, to correct, to improve and to become more fervent. That is the nature of the synod, that is its purpose.” In a French encyclopedia article on aggiornamento, Émile Poulat, sociologist of religion and Church historian, claims John XXIII chose that word to characterize his vision of the Council, because “modernization” would have suggested modernism, and “reform” would have sounded Protestant. Paul VI In his first encyclical Ecclesiam suam Paul VI recalled the term's association with his predecessor (§50): Benedict XVI On 12 October 2012, in a short address on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II, pope Benedict XVI said that, while some people have criticized the choice of the term “aggiornamento”, he believed that the