Pope Saint John XXIII (1881-1963)

Popular memory has fixed John XXIII as a genial grandfather, round-faced and smiling, the "Good Pope" who joked about his waistline and stroked children's heads. The image is true, but it hides the essential point: behind the good humor stood a pastor of rare interior freedom, capable in four years of acts that his predecessors had not dared in half a century.

Popular memory sums up his pontificate with an image it lends him, with no known verbatim source: he is said to have explained the convocation of the council by the gesture of opening a window to let fresh air into a Church that needed it.^[14] The word aggiornamento, the "updating", on the other hand, is indeed his own: it appears in his own address of 25 January 1959.^[15] Yet this opening was never, for him, a rupture: Roncalli was a deeply traditional man, formed in Lombard piety, nourished by Saint Francis de Sales and the Fathers, faithful to dogma and to the Roman liturgy — to the point of adding the name of Saint Joseph to the Canon of the Mass and defending Latin.^[16][17]

To understand John XXIII is therefore to hold together three figures that seemed opposed: the Bergamo peasant who remained simple even beneath the tiara; the seasoned diplomat who had spent thirty years in the chancelleries of Sofia, Istanbul and Paris; and the reforming pope who, in the evening of his life, launched the Church into the century's greatest spiritual enterprise. None of these three figures erases the others, and their union gives this pontificate its originality.

Before entering the narrative, the sources on which knowledge of this still recent pontificate rests must be situated.

The sources are thus both primary — the pope's own writings and speeches, preserved in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis and in the Vatican Radio archives — and secondary — historical biographies, including Peter Hebblethwaite's work and the Holy See notice. For sensitive diplomatic facts, such as help given to Jews and the role played in the Cuban crisis, this article notes when figures are estimates.

This article concerns the pontificate; but the pope cannot be understood without the man. Roncalli came to the throne of Peter with half a century of pastoral and diplomatic experience, which explains almost all his later decisions.

A childhood among Lombard tenant farmers

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was born on 25 November 1881 in Sotto il Monte, a village in the province of Bergamo, the fourth of thirteen children in a poor tenant-farmer family.^[18][19] This peasant origin never left him: as pope, he liked to recall that there are three ways to ruin oneself — gambling, women and farming — and that his father "had chosen the most boring one."^[20] Entering the seminary of Bergamo at twelve, he began in 1895 the spiritual notes that would become Journal of a Soul.^[21][22]

A scholarship holder of the Cerasoli foundation, he continued his studies in Rome at the Apollinare seminary and was ordained priest on 10 August 1904 in the church of Santa Maria in Montesanto, on the Piazza del Popolo.^[23]

The bishop's secretary and wartime chaplain

In 1905 the young priest became secretary to the new bishop of Bergamo, Giacomo Radini-Tedeschi, whom he served devotedly until the bishop's death on 22 August 1914; at the same time he taught Church history at the diocesan seminary.^[24] This socially minded and reforming bishop was his first master; Roncalli would later write his biography.

When Italy entered the war on 23 May 1915, Roncalli was mobilized as a sergeant in the medical corps, first as a stretcher-bearer in Bergamo hospitals, then as a military chaplain with the rank of lieutenant.^[25] The experience of the wounded and dying left a lasting mark on his pastoral sensitivity.

Thirty years of diplomacy: Sofia, Istanbul, Paris

From 1921 onward Roncalli was called to Rome to reorganize the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, then began a long diplomatic career that kept him away from Italy for almost thirty years.

Aid to persecuted Jews (1940-1944)

During his stay in Istanbul, Apostolic Delegate Roncalli intervened on behalf of Jews threatened with deportation, especially Jews from Hungary and the Balkans. Using diplomatic mail, the help of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion and his personal influence, he had "convenience" baptismal certificates, visas and immigration certificates for Palestine transmitted.^[27][28] Estimates of the number of people thus protected vary widely according to sources — from several thousand to several tens of thousands; they should be presented as reported estimates, not as established figures.^[29]

The nuncio of the Liberation (1944-1953)

Named nuncio in France by Pius XII at the end of 1944, Roncalli inherited a delicate post. His predecessor, Valerio Valeri, judged too close to the Vichy regime, had been declared undesirable by General de Gaulle.^[30][31] Above all, the provisional government demanded the removal of several bishops accused of collaboration. Roncalli obtained that the files — often reduced to mere press clippings — be properly investigated: at the end of the inquiry, only three bishops left their sees, instead of the thirty initially targeted.^[32] He earned a reputation as a diplomat who was firm, patient and conciliatory.

On 12 January 1953, Pius XII created him cardinal, and three days later appointed him patriarch of Venice.^[33][34] By an old privilege, it was the president of the French Republic, Vincent Auriol, who placed the red biretta on him. At 71, Roncalli thought he was crowning a long career with a few years of pastoral government before death.

Everything in the election of 1958 seemed to make Roncalli an interim pope. Precisely this misunderstanding makes his pontificate so astonishing.

The end of Pius XII's long reign

On 9 October 1958, Pius XII died after nineteen years of an imperial, austere and solitary pontificate. The Church, which had known only one face since 1939, entered the conclave in uncertainty.^[35]

Eleven ballots

The conclave opened on 25 October. After eleven ballots, the patriarch of Venice was elected pope on 28 October 1958, at 76 — the oldest man elected in more than two centuries.^[36][37] Many cardinals, desiring a respite after the previous long reign, saw in him an elderly and conciliatory pastor who would disturb nothing: the press at once spoke of a "transitional pope."^[38][39]

The choice of the name "John"

The new pope surprised people with his first act by choosing the name John — which no pope had borne for more than five centuries, the last "John XXIII" having been the antipope Baldassare Cossa, deposed during the Great Western Schism. By taking this name and number, Roncalli also settled an old ambiguity in papal numbering.^[40] According to the concurring accounts of biographers, he explained his choice to the cardinals tenderly — reported words, spoken behind closed doors and never published in the AAS:

"The name is sweet to us because it is the name of our father; dear to us because it is the name of the humble parish church where we were baptized; the solemn name of numberless cathedrals scattered throughout the world." — John XXIII, address of 28 October 1958^[41]

Crowned on 4 November 1958, feast of Saint Charles Borromeo, the "transitional pope" would soon disprove every forecast.

Barely three months after his election, John XXIII performed the act that would define his entire pontificate — and that no one had seen coming.

On 25 January 1959, closing the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, he gathered the cardinals present in Rome in the chapter hall of the basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls and announced a threefold project: a synod for the diocese of Rome, an ecumenical council for the universal Church, and the revision of the Code of Canon Law.^[42][43]

"We announce to you, trembling a little with emotion, but at the same time with humble firmness of purpose, the name and proposal of a double celebration: a diocesan synod for the City, and an ecumenical council for the universal Church." — John XXIII, address at Saint Paul Outside the Walls, 25 January 1959^[44]

The reception was icy. The pope himself later recounted that he had waited in vain for the cardinals to gather around him with congratulations:

"Humanly speaking, one might have expected that the cardinals, after listening to the address, would crowd around us to express their approval and good wishes. Instead there was an impressive and devout silence." — John XXIII, reported remarks on the Curia's reaction^[45]

This "devout silence" expressed the astonishment of a Curia that did not want a council. But the old pope had made his decision: the revision of canon law "was to accompany and crown" the two assemblies.^[46][47] The revision commission was established soon afterward; its work would not be completed until 1983, under John Paul II, with the new Code of Canon Law.^[48]

Even before the council met, John XXIII deeply reformed the government of the Church through a series of acts bearing his mark.

The Roman Synod of 1960

In January 1960, John XXIII held the first diocesan synod in the history of Rome — a first also noted by scholarly historiography —, conceived as a small-scale rehearsal for the coming council.^[49][50] The experience, quickly overshadowed by Vatican II, nevertheless shows the pope's pastoral concern for his own diocese, whose parishes, prisons and hospitals he visited — a novelty that struck the Romans.

The internationalization of the Sacred College

The peasant pope broke a ceiling that had remained unchanged for nearly four centuries. By his bull Postquam verus of 3 December 1586, Sixtus V had fixed at seventy the maximum number of cardinals, by reference to the seventy elders of Israel.^[51] At his first consistory, on 15 December 1958, John XXIII exceeded that number, and the Sacred College would reach more than eighty members.^[52]

Above all, he internationalized the Church. At the consistory of March 1960, he created the first Japanese cardinal (Peter Tatsuo Doi), the first Filipino cardinal (Rufino Santos) and, historically, the first Black African cardinal of the modern period, Laurean Rugambwa, from Tanganyika.^[53] The face of the college that would elect his successors began to resemble that of the real Church.

Saint Joseph in the Canon of the Mass

A man of tradition as much as of reform, John XXIII ordered in 1962 the addition of Saint Joseph's name to the Roman Canon — the Eucharistic Prayer that had remained unchanged for centuries. The measure, promulgated by the decree Novis hisce temporibus, took effect on 8 December 1962.^[54] That same year, the apostolic constitution Veterum Sapientia (22 February 1962) strongly reaffirmed the place of Latin in the formation and liturgy of the Church, proof that the pope's aggiornamento was no clean sweep.^[55]

John XXIII published eight encyclicals. Two of them rank among the major texts of twentieth-century social and international magisterium.

Mater et Magistra (1961)

Published on 15 May 1961, seventy years after Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum, the encyclical Mater et Magistra ("Mother and Teacher") updated Catholic social doctrine.^[56] John XXIII defended the dignity of the worker, the principle of socialization (the multiplication of social relations and of public intervention), the common good, and above all international solidarity toward developing countries, whose poverty could not leave wealthy peoples indifferent.^[57]

Pacem in Terris (1963)

Signed on Holy Thursday, 11 April 1963, less than two months before his death, Pacem in Terris ("Peace on Earth") is John XXIII's spiritual and political testament. It introduced a striking novelty: it is the first encyclical in history addressed not only to Catholics, but "to all men of good will."^[58][59] It opens with a famous affirmation:

"Peace on earth, which all men of every era have most eagerly yearned for, can be firmly established only if the order laid down by God be dutifully observed." — John XXIII, Pacem in Terris, no. 1 (11 April 1963)^[60]

In the context of the Cold War, in the aftermath of the Cuban crisis, the encyclical grounds peace in respect for human rights and duties, the common good, the protection of minorities and refugees, and explicitly calls for an end to the arms race:

"Justice, right reason, and the recognition of man's dignity cry out insistently for a cessation to the arms race. The stock-piles which exist in various countries must be reduced all round and simultaneously by the parties concerned. Nuclear weapons must be banned. A general agreement must eventually be reached about progressive disarmament and an effective method of control." — John XXIII, Pacem in Terris, no. 112^[61]

The text also introduces a fruitful distinction, inherited from the pope's pastoral wisdom: one must distinguish error from the person who errs, and recognize that historical movements born of false doctrines can contain positive elements and evolve.^[62][63] This distinction would open a path for the Church's dialogue with the modern world.

The former nuncio never ceased to be a diplomat. But he placed his craft at the service of a new boldness: speaking over the blocs, directly to consciences.

The appeal at the height of the Cuban crisis (October 1962)

In October 1962, the world came close to nuclear war: the United States had discovered the installation of Soviet missiles in Cuba. Discreetly contacted through the American journalist Norman Cousins, John XXIII drafted an appeal that he broadcast on Vatican Radio on 25 October 1962, in French, the language of diplomacy.^[64][65]

"We beg all governments not to remain deaf to this cry of humanity. Let them do everything in their power to save peace; let them continue to negotiate." — John XXIII, radio appeal of 25 October 1962^[66]

The next day the message appeared across the world press, including in the Soviet Pravda.^[67][68] Historiography attributes the resolution first to direct negotiations between Kennedy and Khrushchev; the pope's role was a moral support that offered both leaders an honorable way out, not a decisive mediation — that is how it should be assessed.^[69]

The opening of the "Eastern window"

This moral authority led John XXIII prudently to open dialogue with the communist bloc, the beginning of what would be called the Holy See's Ostpolitik. On 7 March 1963, he received in audience Rada Adzhubei, daughter of Nikita Khrushchev, and her husband Alexei, editor-in-chief of Izvestia — an unprecedented gesture that caused a stir.^[70] That same year, he received the Balzan Prize for Peace, awarded in March 1963; the four Soviet members of the foundation's general council concurred in this choice, with Khrushchev's approval.^[71][72][73]

The course of the council, its debates and its documents belong to the article Vatican II. But the opening of the council, on 11 October 1962, is inseparable from the pope's person.

The address Gaudet Mater Ecclesia (11 October 1962)

On the morning of 11 October 1962, feast of the Maternity of the Virgin, John XXIII inaugurated the council with the address Gaudet Mater Ecclesia ("Mother Church rejoices").^[74] In it he clearly distanced himself from gloomy spirits who saw only decadence in the modern world:

"In the daily exercise of our pastoral office, we sometimes have to listen, much to our regret, to voices of persons who, though burning with zeal, are not endowed with too much sense of discretion or measure. In these modern times they can see nothing but prevarication and ruin. We feel we must disagree with those prophets of doom, who are always forecasting disaster, as though the end of the world were at hand." — John XXIII, Gaudet Mater Ecclesia, 11 October 1962^[75]

He also defined the pastoral spirit he wanted to give the council, which did not meet to condemn but to heal:

"The Bride of Christ prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy rather than that of severity." — John XXIII, Gaudet Mater Ecclesia, 11 October 1962^[76]

The "moonlight speech" (evening of 11 October 1962)

That same evening an immense torchlight crowd gathered in Saint Peter's Square. Taken by surprise, the pope came to the window of the Apostolic Palace and improvised a few words remembered as the discorso della Luna, the "moonlight speech":^[77]

"It seems that even the moon has hurried here this evening: look at it up there, contemplating this spectacle. [...] When you return home, you will find your children. Give your children a caress and tell them: this is the caress of the Pope." — John XXIII, improvised address of 11 October 1962^[78]

This spontaneous tenderness, contrasting with the solemn majesty of his predecessor, sealed popular affection for il Papa buono.

The nickname "Good Pope" was no public-relations invention: it rose from the people, who recognized in Roncalli a transparent evangelical goodness.

Journal of a Soul

Published after his death, Journal of a Soul (Il Giornale dell'Anima) gathers the spiritual notes kept from seminary days to the papacy.^[79] Beneath the roundness of the public figure one discovers an interior life of great seriousness: meticulous examinations of conscience, a desire for humility, abandonment to Providence. It is one of the great spiritual classics of the twentieth century and reveals that the pope's serenity was the fruit of a long combat.

Humility as a method of government

This remark attributed to him witnesses to that humility and sums up his way: when troubled one sleepless night by the cares weighing on him, he is said to have told himself, "But who governs the Church, you or the Holy Spirit? Well then, sleep peacefully, Angelo."^[80] Beyond the anecdote, this disarming trust was the spring of his freedom: a man who does not take himself for the savior of the Church dares acts that fear holds back.

The pope who had reopened the Church's windows would not see its springtime. As early as September 1962, stomach cancer was diagnosed — the same illness that had carried off several members of his family.^[81][82] The disease was kept secret; the pope opened the council in real pain.

After the close of the first session, his condition worsened. On 3 June 1963, around 7:49 p.m., John XXIII died of peritonitis following the perforation of his stomach, at 81, while his council had held only one of its four sessions.^[83][84] Tradition reports his last thoughts, turned toward the unity of Christians that had been the horizon of his life:

"The secret of my ministry is in this crucifix... Ut unum sint — that they may all be one." — John XXIII, words from his final days^[85]

The mourning was worldwide. Italy declared three days of national mourning; believers and unbelievers, leaders of East and West, bowed before the memory of a man who had known how to speak to all. It fell to his successor, Paul VI, to take up and bring to completion the unfinished council.

John XXIII's reputation for holiness was immediate and universal. His cause was introduced and advanced with remarkable speed.

On 3 September 2000, John Paul II beatified him, in the same ceremony as Pope Pius IX.^[86][87] The miracle recognized for the beatification was the unexplained healing, in 1966, of Sister Caterina Capitani, an Italian Daughter of Charity suffering from a severe hemorrhage on a stomach tumor — the very illness from which the pope had died.^[88]

On 27 April 2014, Pope Francis canonized him, together with John Paul II.^[89][90] Notably, Francis dispensed John XXIII from the second miracle usually required for canonization, exercising the authority recognized to the pope in this matter: the Holy See spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi, specified on 5 July 2013 that it was the pope's will to recognize in this way the holiness of the "great pope of the council".^[91]

His liturgical feast was fixed on 11 October, the anniversary of the opening of Vatican II — a way of forever linking the saint and the work of his life. Il Papa buono now rests beneath the altar of Saint Jerome in Saint Peter's Basilica, where his body is venerated by pilgrims from around the world. When the coffin was opened in 2001, Vatican officials described the body as remarkably well preserved; the Holy See never used the words "miracle" or "incorruptibility" in this connection, the preservation being explained by embalming and the sealed triple coffin.^[92][93]

• The Second Vatican Council, the great work of his pontificate, of which he saw only the first session
• Pope Saint Paul VI, his successor, who brought the council to completion
• Pope Venerable Pius XII, his predecessor, whose austere pontificate contrasts with his own
• Pope Saint John Paul II, who beatified him and was canonized on the same day as he was
• Rerum Novarum and Catholic social doctrine, whose teaching Mater et Magistra extends
• The 1983 Code of Canon Law, the outcome of the revision he launched in 1959
• The modernist crisis, background to the doctrinal caution of the Church he knew in his youth