Saintly Saturday - St. John XXIII


Angelo Guiseppe Roncalli was born on November 25th, 1881, in Sotto il Monte, a small town in Italy. He was ordained a priest in 1904 and was appointed the following year as  secretary to his bishop. When the first World War broke out, Roncalli served as chaplain in the Italian Army until 1919, when he was discharged. Following that, he was appointed as the Italian president of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Beginning in 1925 he served as an Apostolic Visitor, apostolic delegate, and then made archbishop of Mesembra. 

When issues began to arise in 1935, causing racial tension and violence against Jews, Roncalli made use of his influence, seeking to save the innocent people being threatened. He is known to have saved thousands of Jews.

By 1953, Roncalli had been appointed as the papal Nuncio, and then as the Patriarch of Venice. He was also made Cardinal-priest of Santa Prisca.


In 1958, Roncalli was elected pope and took the name John. As pope, John XXIII visited the poor, sick, and imprisoned. And, perhaps most notably, he initiated the Vatican II council. He spoke out against many of the serious issues which threaten the life of faith, such as contraception, and upheld the traditional view against divorce.


In 1962, Pope John was diagnosed with a stomach tumor and passed away the following year on June 3rd.


Pope John XXIII was canonized on April 27th, 2014. His feast is celebrated on October 11th.

   

Pope Saint John XXIII, pray for us!


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