The Council of Trent was a major council of the Catholic Church held intermittently between 1545 and 1563 in Trent, northern Italy.

It was the central event of the Catholic Counter-Reformation, convened to respond to the challenge of the Protestant Reformation.

The Council had two main goals: to formally condemn Protestant doctrines and to issue decrees for the internal reform of the Church.

It definitively reaffirmed core Catholic doctrines, stating that salvation is achieved through both faith and good works, and that both scripture and church tradition are sources of authority.

The Council upheld the validity of all seven sacraments and the doctrine of transubstantiation.

It issued numerous decrees aimed at reforming the clergy and eliminating corruption.

It mandated the establishment of a seminary in every diocese to ensure a better-educated priesthood.

It banned the selling of indulgences, a key practice that had sparked the Reformation.

The decrees of the Council of Trent shaped the doctrines, practices, and identity of the Catholic Church for the next 400 years.

The Council was a key part of the revitalization of the Catholic Church in the early modern period.