Sixty years after Nostra Aetate changed everything between Catholics and Jews, St. Louis is taking stock of what that relationship looks like now — not just the friendships built, but whether those bonds can hold at a moment when antisemitism is rising, alliances are being tested and showing up for one another carries real weight.
St. Louis Jews and Catholics will mark the anniversary and their community partnership with a special public program on Feb. 5, 2026, at Washington University’s Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. The work leading up to it began this fall at a meeting between the Jewish-Catholic Dialogue Group — which includes ADL, American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Jewish Community Relations Council — and Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski, part of an ongoing effort to strengthen a relationship that has grown steadily for generations.
Understanding Nostra Aetate
Issued on Oct. 28, 1965, during the Second Vatican Council, Nostra Aetate redefined how the Catholic Church relates to Judaism and other faiths. The declaration rejected the idea of collective Jewish guilt for the death of Jesus, condemned antisemitism and encouraged Catholics and Jews to meet one another with respect and honesty.
“After centuries of myths and stereotypes about Jews being normalized in Catholic communities around the globe, there was a recognition of the harm that had done and a commitment to a new way for the two communities to relate,” said David Cohen, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council…