Pope John XXIII

Pope Saint John XXIII

 

Also Known As

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli

Good Pope John

 Memorial 11 October

He has been called the most beloved Pope in history and also the guy who ruined real Catholicism.      Among other things John XXIII called for the Second Vatican Council although he did not live to see its closing.  The date assigned for the celebration of Saint John XXIII is not 3 June, the anniversary of his death, as would be usual, but 11 October, the anniversary of his opening of Vatican 2.   

Our saint was born 25 November 1881, from his early teens, in addition to a hearty appetite he maintained a diary of spiritual reflections that was subsequently published as Journal of a Soul. The collection of writings charts Our Saint’s efforts as a young man to "grow in holiness" and continues after his election to the Papacy; it remains widely read.

During World War II he was named the Papal Nuncio to Turkey.   Roncalli used this office to help the Jewish underground in saving thousands of refugees in Europe, leading some in the Jewish community to call him a Righteous Gentile; a title I find a little insulting frankly.    In 1944, during World War II, Pope Pius XII, another maligned individual in the popular media, named him Apostolic Nuncio to France. In this capacity he had to negotiate the retirement of bishops who had collaborated with the German occupying power.

He was elected Pope after the death of Pius XII ahead of Giovani Battista Montoni, Archbishop of Milan, although Montoni was the archbishop of one of the most ancient and prominent sees in Italy, he had not yet been made a cardinal.  Consequently, Montini was not present at the 1958 conclave and the cardinals abided by the established precedent of voting for only a member of the College of Cardinals, despite the affirmation in Canon Law that any Catholic male may be chosen.   One of the first acts John did was to elevate Montoni to the College of Cardinals.   Montoni was elected Paul VI on the death of our Saint for today.  

John was elected probably due to his advanced age to be a stopgap Pope (like Benedict XVI was, honestly) until someone younger could be put forth.  Imagine the surprise of everyone when John called for an Ecumenical Council.   “Your Holiness…it’s been only 90 years since the last council…you can’t do this!!”    “I’m-a da Pope…I can-a do anytin I a-wanna!”    Cardinal Montini remarked to a friend that "this holy old boy doesn't realize what a hornet's nest he's stirring up".    To give you some insight into how rare these things are: Prior to the council John called, Vatican II,  the ecumenical council now known as Vatican I was in  the 1880’s, the last ecumenical council prior to that was the Council of Trent in the 16^th century.  

Upon his choosing the name, there was some confusion as to whether he would be known as John XXIII or John XXIV; there was controversy about the legitimacy of the previous claimant named John XXIII, his birth name was Baldassarre Cossa.  Baldassarre was the Pope consecrated at the council of Pisa as a successor to antipope Alexander V who called and chaired the council of Pisa in order to end the Western Schism of the Church, a really interesting time in history actually; there were as many as 3 popes in any given year, each having some legitimate claim to the title each backed by a collection of Cardinals and Countries depending upon where you were at the time.  Much like when Lou Thez, Nature Boy Buddy Rogers, and Bruno Sammartino all claimed to be World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion.    Anyhoo, the Church did not know where to fit John XXIII (Baldassarre), so when asked, our Saint for today declared that he was John XXIII, thus affirming the antipapal status of Baldassarre Pope John XXIII.  As an aside, there never was a Pope John XX…they mis numbered them.  

Our saint died 3 June 1963 (aged 81) of stomach cancer. He was canonized in 2014 by Pope Francis who waved the second miracle in the process so he could acknowledge his sainthood along with John Paul II.   John XXIII has only one miracle to his name, used for his beatification, the cure of a nun with a stomach hemorrhage.       

In the Sistine Chapel, three sets of Papal vestments are kept in varying sizes so the newly elected Pope can be properly vested no matter how big or small he may be, when he makes his first appearance.  It is said that John XXIII barely fit into the largest sized Papal cassock there, quite a big boy.