<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The Council of Trent (Latin: Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento (Trent), northern Italy, was an ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church . Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation . </P> <P> The Council issued condemnations of what it defined to be heresies committed by Protestantism and key statements and clarifications of the Church's doctrine and teachings, including scripture, the Biblical canon, sacred tradition, original sin, justification, salvation, the sacraments, the Mass and the veneration of saints . The Council met for twenty - five sessions between 13 December 1545 and 4 December 1563 . Pope Paul III, who convoked the Council, presided over these and the first eight sessions (1545--47), while the twelfth to sixteenth sessions (1551--52) were overseen by Pope Julius III and the seventeenth to twenty - fifth sessions (1562--63) by Pope Pius IV . </P>

When did the council of trent take place