Since Vatican II the Latin American church has come of age to become an autochthonous and distinctive expression of the universal church. The article enlists the postconciliar general conferences of Latin American bishops to explore the creative reception of the council and how it has shaped the identity and mission of this church. Three theological elements reflect the renewal that Vatican II made possible in the Latin American church: reading the signs of the times, the preferential option for the poor, and the communion ecclesiology expressed in the Christian Base Communities.