Coffee Breaks at Vatican II

Segregated by gender, of course.

When Carmel McEnroy interviewed the women who attended the Second Vatican Council for her book, Guests in Their Own House, the coffee bars emerged as an issue of contention with each one.

(warning…affiliate link if you buy the book to support SMMP…)

This was no matter of sugar or creamer, decaf or latte. The decorations were lovely: silk in papal hues and flowers, alongside coffee, hot milk and pastries. It was essential fare for the laity present, who would not have had breakfast prior to the conciliar Mass. (One assumes that the bishops each said a private Mass early and ate before the sessions began.)

The coffee bars set up for the attending bishops were crowded, and the clergy believed that rubbing shoulders (or other body parts) with the women in such close quarters would be scandalous. Therefore, they solved the problem by setting up a separate bar just for the women, under the tomb of St. Clement XIII.

Now, as any veteran of office politics knows, plenty of work gets done by the water cooler. In just this way, the women felt excluded from the harrumphing happening at the other bars. Furthermore, the women’s bar troubled the few married couples who were invited as auditors or journalists at the council.

Only two marble lions stood “guard” at the entrance to the women’s caffeine center the first day, but a Swiss guard in full papal regalia was added several days later. He rebuffed entry to all males at that point. “Bar-None” was the jocular title the women gave to their area, in contrast to the “Bar-Jonah” and “Bar-Abbas” for the bishops.

After repeated complaints from the married couples about the segregated coffee set-up, the guards were removed, and the women were allowed to invite men into their refreshment zone. However, the stigma remained.

Jose Alvarez-Icaza recalled, “Never would it have occurred to the council fathers that in a restaurant, at work, etc., I would never have to be alone with the men and Luz-Ma (his wife) with the women.”

There was some understanding that the protection was for the sake of priestly celibacy, and yet this standard was being imposed on lay people precisely during the session that Gaudium et Spes, the new statement on the Church in the Modern World was being discussed.

The women were technically observers, which meant that the discussions over cafe au lait were truly one of their few opportunities to affect the outcome of the document. Several of the more forward thinking bishops did visit with them, and solicit their ideas. But it was a regrettable symbol of the rampant clericalism in the church at the time.

When and if a Third Vatican Council is ever called, one can sincerely hope that the coffee logistics and much more are handled by a woman who understands the dynamic of the water cooler.