by Brett Manero
Today is October 31, 2025, exactly 508 years after the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, when German priest Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to wall of the church in Wittenburg, Germany, forever altering both the history of the Church and the history of the world. One has to wonder if Father Luther had thought deeply of just how drastically this action would affect human history. Humans are not angels and therefore do not have an intellect which can immediately discern the consequences of a decision, and so humans are left to make decisions based on the best data they have. I would be willing to bet that Luther had little idea of what was to become in history in the years and centuries following.
Most Christians are aware of the story of the Reformation. Luther did what many people in his time did: post “theses” that would be proposed for debate upon the walls of the church and other public buildings. People in the Renaissance era enjoyed a good debate, and posting a notice with one’s thoughts and ideas was a prime way to invite a debate. Almost all Catholics would agree that nearly all of Luther’s complaints in the 95 Theses were legitimate: various protests against corruption within the Church, most infamously in the abuse of the practice of indulgences. Indulgences are a beautiful thing, something which comes from the treasury of the Church, the Body of Christ, but the abuse of them was a very real scandal in the sixteenth century. Luther was right to address this problem, and had he limited his complaints to this issue and other issues of corruption, then indeed history may have been different.
Only a few of Luther’s theses challenged Catholic doctrine. But it would be these ideas that became the foundation of Protestant beliefs that would split apart the Western Church. Over the following years, the crisis would deepen. The Pope would personally invite Luther to come to Rome to debate with him – an invitation turned down by Luther. What if he had accepted the Pope’s invitation and gone to the Vatican for a legitimate discussion? Perhaps Luther’s mind would have been changed. Perhaps the Holy Father would have offered Luther some form of reparations for the abuse of indulgences. Perhaps the crisis would have been averted. We will never know.
Over the following years and decades, various Protestant (stemming from the word “protest”) groups would follow Luther’s lead. Luther himself began the Lutheran tradition, which continues to the present day. John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli would start their own Protestant traditions, taking the ideas of Luther and going much further, splitting Christendom even more tragically. In 1534, King Henry VIII of England would infamously make himself head of the Church in England, breaking communion with the Pope and Rome. Although this communion was briefly restored under the reign of his daughter, Queen Mary, her sister and Henry’s other daughter, Elizabeth I, would again break communion with Rome and establish a more “Anglican” identity for the Church of England. That rift likewise continues to this day, and the Anglican Communion itself has faced a crisis of further splits in recent years.
Why would God allow this to happen? Nothing happens without God being aware of it and permitting it to happen. Why would He allow His Body to be broken through human error? It is interesting to note that throughout the first millennium of the Church, the Church enjoyed unity (even if there were natural tensions and various heresies to deal with). Early in the second millennium, in 1054 AD, was the infamous Great Schism, where the Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholic Churches split, which remains to the present day. And halfway through that second millennium, in 1534, the Protestant Reformation split the Western Church. Perhaps the third millennium in which we find ourselves will be the millennium of restored Christian unity. Nothing is impossible with God. The permission granted by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 to allow Anglican communities to come into full communion with Rome, while retaining their Anglican identity and prayers, was a massive step forward.
And still, why would God allow these schisms to happen? God always brings good out of evil and tragedy. Even though the Reformation did indeed split apart the Church, one must look to where God was active throughout it. St. Joan of Arc, just over a century before Henry VIII removed England from communion with the Catholic Church, quite literally saved France from English domination. This was providential. Had France been controlled by England in 1534, then Henry could have taken France with him into heresy. But France was spared for a couple of centuries. One must also look to the true reformers whom God raised up during this era: St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Thomas More, and St. Ignatius of Loyola, among others. These were heroic saints who remained steadfastly loyal to the Church while bringing about genuinely needed reforms from within. One must think of the Council of Trent of the 1500’s that met over the course of several years, making great strides to clarify Catholic teaching and to stamp out corruption. What followed Trent was truly a golden age for the Church. The Age of Exploration saw countless Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries spread throughout the world to bring the Gospel to the Americas and East Asia. Out of the tragedy of the Reformation, God brought good.
At lunch today, a priest asked me if I prayed today for the conversion of Protestants. I had forgotten! It is easy to look at the diversity in Christian traditions – literally tens of thousands of Protestant denominations – and feel overwhelmed, and wonder if one’s prayers for Christian unity will be answered. Surely they will be, maybe not in our time, but in the times to come. The Church in the new heavens and the new earth will be perfectly with God and with each other, as Christ always intended it to be. “That they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee” (John 17:21).
In the meantime, every time a Protestant comes into full communion with the Catholic Church, some healing takes place. When a baptized Lutheran or Anglican or Methodist steps fully into Catholic truth, a small but real wound of the Reformation is healed. And every time Christians can pray together in unity, even if they are not in full communion with each other, some healing is present. “How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (Psalm 113:1).
The Reformation is a solemn reminder of just how much one person can affect history, for better or worse. It is a reminder of the frailty of humans, including of Christians. It is a reminder, too, that the Church will be perfected only in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Pray for the souls of Martin Luther and other Protestant leaders. Pray for those Catholics who caused grave scandal that angered Luther and the others. Pray for those who coming into full communion with the Catholic Church this coming Easter. Pray for unity!
Come soon, Lord Jesus.