St. Pope John XXIII (1881-1963)

Publisher's note: at the time of this publication, St. Pope John XXII had not yet been canonized.
St. Pope John XXIII was canonized on April 27th, 2014.

Pope John XXIII was known for his charm, wit and for inaugurating Vatican II  . . .

Pope John XXIII

Feast Day: October 11
Beatified: September 3, 2000

Born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli near Bergamo, Italy, the future pope was ordained a priest in 1904 and became a scholar in Church history. In 1925, Pope Pius XI named him nuncio to Bulgaria, and he proved a brilliant diplomat. He went on to serve as nuncio to Turkey, Greece and France. In 1953, Pope Pius XII made him cardinal and patriarch of Venice. He was popular, known for his wit, cordiality and approachable style. While not considered a strong papal candidate, he was elected pope at 77.

His brief pontificate (1958-63) included numerous reform efforts and several notable encyclicals including Pacem in Terris (1963), which preached “universal peace in truth, justice, charity, and liberty.” But the chief event of his reign was convoking the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) to implement his vision of aggiornamento (renewal) — a new and vibrant presentation of the unchanging truths of the faith to the modern world.

He fell ill and died on June 3, 1963. When John XXIII was beatified in 2000, Pope John Paul II said of him, “The breath of newness he brought certainly did not concern doctrine, but rather the way to explain it. Christians heard themselves called to proclaim the Gospel with greater attentiveness to the signs of the times.”

This column is written for Legatus magazine by Dr. Matthew Bunson, senior fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, and author of “John Paul II’s Book of Saints.”