Although few people had as great an
impact on the 20th century as Pope St. John XXIII, he avoided the limelight as
much as possible. The firstborn son of a farming family in Sotto il Monte, near
Bergamo in northern Italy, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was always proud of his
down‑to‑earth roots. After his ordination in 1904, Angelo returned to Rome for
canon law studies. He soon worked as his bishop’s secretary, Church history teacher
in the seminary, and as publisher of the diocesan paper.
His service as a stretcher‑bearer
for the Italian army during World War I gave him a firsthand knowledge of war.
In 1921 he was made national director of the Society for the Propagation of the
Faith. He also found time to teach patristics at a seminary in the Eternal
City.
In 1925 he became a papal diplomat,
serving first in Bulgaria, then in Turkey, and finally in France (1944‑53).
During World War II, with the help of Germany’s ambassador to Turkey,
Archbishop Roncalli helped save an estimated 24,000 Jewish people.
His most famous encyclicals were Mother and Teacher (Mater et Magistra 1961) and Peace on Earth (Pacem in Terris 1963). Pope John XXIII enlarged the membership in the College of Cardinals and made it more international. In 1962 he convened the Second Vatican Council where all the bishops gathered in Rome to discuss many issues facing the church, and this led to great reform, especially in the way we celebrate the liturgy. "Good Pope John" died on June 3, 1963. St. John Paul II beatified him in 2000, and Pope Francis canonized him in 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment