In 1545, the Roman Catholic Church opened the Council of Trent in northern Italy, a pivotal ecumenical council that spanned eighteen years and served as the cornerstone of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. Summoned to respond directly to the Protestant challenge, the council definitively clarified Catholic doctrines, reaffirmed the authority of the Vulgate, institutionalized a standardized Latin Mass, and launched sweeping reforms to eliminate financial corruption among the clergy. It established a highly disciplined, visually magnificent, and intellectually rigorous Counter-Reformation identity.

The council's emphasis on deep emotional piety and spiritual mysticism directly sparked the rich Baroque art and poetry movements. It deeply influenced the intense religious verse of Spanish mystics like Saint John of the Cross and Saint Teresa of Ávila, as well as the intricate English metaphysical poetry of Richard Crashaw.