Pope John XXIII

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Pope John XXIII

• A Significant
• Person in the
• Christian tradition
• (1881-1963)
• For Students

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Life of Pope John XXIII in a nutshell

• 1881, 25 Nov born AngeloGiuseppe Roncalli
• Papal Predecessor Pius XII
• 1958 elected John XXIII 262nd Pope of Roman
  Catholic Church aged 76 pontificate lasts 5
  years
• 1963, June 3 dies aged 81
• Papal Successor Paul VI
• 2000, Sept 3 declared Blessed by Pope John
  Paul II (see sermon in Notes)

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John XXIII Coats of Arms

• Coat of arms for Angelo Roncalli as Patriarch of
  Venice (1953-1958). Motto of Obedientia et Pax
  (Obedience and Peace)
• Papal coat of arms for Pope John XXIII
  (1958-1963) NB Venetian lion derived from St
  Marks Gospel in both coats of arms

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Significant dates in the life of Pope John XXIII
(1)

• 1881, 25 Nov born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, in
  Sotto il Monte, Italy, the 4th in a family of 13
  children
• 1896 admitted to secular Franciscan Order by
  spiritual director in Bergamo seminary
• 1901-1905 student at Pontifical Roman Seminary
  all early appointments by Pius XII
• 1904, 10 Aug ordained a priest in Rome
• 1905 Bishop of Bergamo appoints Roncalli as his
  secretary
• 1914-1919 WWI Roncalli drafted into Royal
  Italian Army as a sergeant he serves in medical
  core as chaplain. Opens a Student House after
  War to help their spiritual needs
• 1921 appointed by new Pope Benedict XV as
  Italian president of Society for the Propagation
  of the Faith

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Fr. Angelo Roncalli (centre) in seminary or as
Bishops secretary, 1905-1909??
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Significant dates - Pope John XXIII (2)

• 1925 appointed by Pope Pius XI as Apostolic
  Visitor to Bulgaria then consecrated as titular
  bishop of Areopolis. Chooses as his episcopal
  motto Obedientia et Pax (Obedience Peace),
  which became his lifelong motto
• 1935 appointed Apostolic Delegate to Turkey and
  Greece. Helped Jewish underground to save
  thousands of refugees in Europe afterwards
  considered a Righteous Gentile
• 1944 Pope Pius XII named him Apostolic Nuncio
  to Paris, France

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DYK - After he was elected, John XXIII spent much
time at night visiting prisoners and the poor
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Significant dates - Pope John XXIII (3)

• 1944-1953 worked on UN Declaration of Human
  Rights whilst in Paris, France
• 1953 named Patriarch of Venice and therefore
  raised to rank of Cardinal
• 1958, 28 Oct Papal conclave elects him as Pope
  John XXIII. Had arrived at Vatican with a return
  ticket to Venice. Because of long pontificate of
  Pope Pius XII, cardinals choose older man as
  stop gap pope. He is 77 years old at election.
  Cardinal Montini (future Paul VI) is expected to
  be elected, but he was not yet a cardinal. Is
  last to insist on full 5 hr papal ceremony

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Significant dates - Pope John XXIII (4)

• 1960, Dec 2 meets Archbishop of Canterbury,
  Most Rev Geoffrey Francis Fisher
• 1961 issues Mater et Magistra
• 1962, Jan 3 excommunicates Fidel Castro, being
  a Catholic linked to a communist government
• 1962, Sept 23 John XXIII first diagnosed with
  stomach cancer (a fact kept from the public for
  some 8 years)
• 1962-1965 less than 90 years after Vatican I,
  he convenes the ecumenical Vatican II Council
• 1963 issues Pacem in Terris
• 1963, April gives hint of his illness when he
  says That which happens to all men sic
  perhaps will happen soon to the Pope who speaks
  to you today
• 1963, May 11 awarded Balzan Prize for his
  engagement for peace. This was his last public
  appearance

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Significant dates in the life of Pope John XXIII
(5)

• 1963, May 25 suffers another haemorrhage,
  requires blood transfusions, developed
  peritonitis (inflammation of sac that lines walls
  of abdominal cavity)
• 1963, June 3 dies 7.49 pm, aged 81
• 1963, June 6 is buried, ending a papal reign of
  4 years, 7 months, 6 days. He is the last pope to
  insist on a full papal funeral
• 1963, Dec 6 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson
  awards him the posthumous Presidential Medal of
  Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian award
• 2000, Sept 3 John XXIII is declared Blessed
  by Pope John Paul II
• (Principal source
  Wikipedia website)

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John XXIIIs immediate, life-focused
contribution to Christianity (1)

• explain the immediate contribution to the
  development and expression of Christianity of
  John XXIII
• Explain relates cause and effect, the
  relationship between aspects of something, the
  why and how behind it

DID YOU KNOW? Pope John XXIII was TIME magazines
Man of the Year in their Jan 4, 1965 issue. He
had died in June 1963.
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John XXIIIs contribution to Christianity? (2)

• Summoned Second Vatican Council (1962-1965),
  enacted major revision of the Code of Canon Law
  transformed the structures of the Roman Catholic
  Church
• Vatican II charged with the updating
  (aggiornamento) of the Church and seeking unity
  between Christians in the world (Hinnells, p.192)
• Through his personality and teaching, and his
  initiatives with world leaders, he gave the
  papacy a new vision and set the Church towards a
  new mission in the world(both quotes from P.
  Hebblethwaite, 2000, John XXIII, back cover)

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John XXIIIs contribution to Christianity? (3)

• He changed the nature of modern Church Councils.
  He did not call a council to condemn errors or
  declare new infallible beliefs, as with previous
  councils his council was one of mercy and
  pastoral care, to express faith in a new
  language, and be ecumenical in nature
  (Hebblethwaite in McBrien, p.709)
• Pastoral emphasis of his pontificate is
  emphasised by his visits to the Regina Coeli
  prison he talked with traditional enemies like
  the Communists he made grace accessible to
  ordinary people he was open to the Holy Spirit
  he was atune to the signs of the times cf.
  Gaudium et spes, n.1 (Ibid, p.709 cf 14 Works
  of Mercy, Slide 28 below)

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John XXIIIs contribution to Christianity? (4)

• He communicated using effective images. We are
  born not to be museum keepers, but to cultivate
  a flourishing garden of life. He referred to
  Vatican II as the new Pentecost. The prayer for
  the Council was Renew thy wonders in this day,
  as by a New Pentecost (Hebblethwaite in McBrien,
  p.709)
• Transformation of the Churchs nature the
  Council would involve a change in mentalities,
  ways of thinking and prejudices its language
  would shed light on and remove
  misunderstandings, and it should dissipate error
  by the force of truth (Ibid, p.709)

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John XXIIIs contribution to Christianity? (5)

• His life mission was based on a personal
  spirituality of the Crucified and Risen Christ.
  The Council represented a way of self-renewal
  through an encounter with the Risen Jesuswhose
  light illumines the whole Church for the
  salvation, joy and glory of all peoples
  (Hebblethwaite in McBrien, p.710)
• His key distinction between the Church ad intra
  and the Church ad extra that is internal
  questions (worship, ecumenism, etc) and external
  questions (war, peace, birth control, hunger,
  poverty, etc) (Ibid, p.710)

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John XXIIIs contribution to Christianity? (6)

• His scholarly contribution was to edit the
  writings of St Charles Borromeo (in 39 volumes).
  This took a lifetime with volumes appearing in
  1936, 1937, 1938, 1946 and 1957 (Hebblethwaite,
  p.30). He had academic specialisation in history,
  patrology, apologetics, and was a much sought
  after preacher/spiritual adviser (Vatican
  website, biography)
• As John XXIII said at the opening of the Council
  (11 Oct 1962) History is the teacher of life
• Among his first actions upon election as Pope was
  the creation of 23 new cardinals in Dec 1958 by
  1962 he had increased the number of new cardinals
  to 87.

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John XXIIIs contribution to Christianity? (7)

• Justice, peace and politics In 1909, Roncalli
  backs Bishop Tedeschi in Church support of a
  strike by 800 textile workers in a factory just
  outside Bergamo (Hebblethwaite, p.34)
• The priest who lives in the light of the
  teachings of the Gospel cannot pass by on the
  other side of the road Christs preference goes
  to the disinherited, the weak and the oppressed
  (Roncallis article, cited in Hebblethwaite, p.34)

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John XXIIIs contribution to Christianity? (8)

• Ecumenism Cardinal Roncallis ongoing meetings
  with representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarch
  (e.g. 1938 after election of Pius XII) paved the
  way for the kiss of peace between Patriarch
  Athenagoras and Paul VI, in Jerusalem, in January
  1964 (Hebblethwaite, p.78)
• 1960, Dec 2 meets Archbishop of Canterbury,
  Most Rev. Geoffrey Francis Fisher
• 1962 fewer than 90 yrs after Vatican I, he
  convenes the ecumenical council Vatican II it
  reshapes liturgy, ecumenism, biblical
  scholarship, and the approach of the Church to
  the world

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John XXIIIs contribution to Christianity? (9)

• Called Church to be Prophetic within (not apart
  from) the Modern World John XXIII understood
  that the world was changing and that the Church
  needed to respond to the stirrings of the Holy
  Spirit by working through the signs of the
  times. In doing so, he was committed to
  Christian unity, social justice, human rights,
  and the cultivation of world peace (ND Vision
  site)
• Influence on the Church Documents, especially
  through his opening address at Vatican II the
  Declaration on Religious Freedom and the
  Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern
  World (probably the most important of the Vatican
  II documents)(Medal of Freedom website)

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The long term impact of John XXIII on
Christianity? (1)

• analyse the impact of John XXIII on Christianity
• Analyse identify components and the
  relationship between components draw out and
  relate implications
• Looks at the relationship between John XXIII and
  Christianity, including his long term? impact
  on Christianity

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The impact of John XXIII on Christianity? (2a)

• SPIRITUALITY HIS RULES OF LIFE Daily
  discipline at least 15 mins mental prayer per
  day read whole chapter of The Imitation of
  Christ examine conscience prepared meditation
  for next day visit to Blessed Sacrament 5 Hail
  Marys Our Fathers repeated between 6-9pm in
  honour of 5 wounds of Jesus on the CrossWeekly
  Confession Communion Daily Mass but weekly
  Communion (Jansenist legacy) fasted Fridays and
  Saturdays, performing penanceMonthly meeting
  with his spiritual director set aside one day
  for more profound recollection person for
  advertisement of defects chose a special patron
  saint for each month (Hebblethwaite, p.11)

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The impact of John XXIII on Christianity? (2b)

• SPIRITUALITY HIS RULES OF LIFE continued
  Annually would make a yearly retreat in a
  seminary, choosing Carnivale time in order to be
  praying harder while others feasted and revelled
  Annual General Confession (Hebblethwaite, p.11)
• Roncalli was always good at remembering
  anniversaries and feastdays, and performing small
  thoughtful kindnesses. Life, as the spiritual
  writers said, is made up of little things (Ibid,
  p.11)

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The impact of John XXIII on Christianity? (3)

• SPIRITUAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY Wrote Journal of a Soul
  (named by others) based on model of St Therese of
  Lisieuxs Story of a Soul. John described it as
  sixty years spent with a pen. He began it in
  1895, aged 14, until his death in 1963.
  (Hebblethwaite, p.ix)
• LIFE CENTRED ON PRAYERHis light went on at 4 am,
  sometimes 3 am. I always get up at four in the
  morning its my timeone prays so well at first
  light, when everything is silent (Ibid, p.ix)
• SPIRITUAL MOTTOSObedience and Peace
  (Patriarchate of Venice) Through Mary to Jesus
  (over the door of his chapel in Istanbul)

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The impact of John XXIII on Christianity? (4)

• SPIRITUAL INSPIRATIONSThomas à Kempis, The
  Imitation of Christ also inspired by Sts Peter
  Paul, St Joseph, and strong spirituality based on
  St Charles Borromeo and St Francis de Sales plus
  devotion to Sacred Heart. Also spirituality of St
  Bernard of Clairvaux and 14 Works of Mercy.
  (Ibid, pp.x, 7-8, 11, 13 refer to Slides 27
  28).
• OPENNESS TO THE POORJohn came from a poor
  childhood his mother would always welcome sit
  down a stranger at one of their meals. The
  Roncallis knew their Bible Do not neglect to
  show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some
  have entertained angels unawares (Heb 132)
  (Ibid, p.3)

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The impact of John XXIII on Christianity? (5)

• THE WILL OF GOD AS CENTRALLet your will be
  mine, and let my will ever respond to yours, in
  perfect harmony. Let me desire what you desire
  and hate what you hate, and let me desire and
  hate nothing but what you desire and hate
  (Journal, p.11, cited in Hebblethwaite, p.12)
• SPIRITUALITY OF PEACEYou are the true peace of
  the heart, you are its only resting placeIn this
  peace, in this very peace which is yourself the
  one, supreme, eternal God, I will sleep and rest
  (Journal, p.11, based on Imitation of Christ, Bk
  3, Ch 15, cited in Hebblethwaite, p.12)
• AT TIMES CERTAIN DISDAIN OF WORLDO the world
  is so ugly, filthy and loathsome! In my year of
  military service I have learned all about it. The
  army is a running fountain of pollution, enough
  to submerge whole cities. Who can hope to escape
  from this flood of slime, unless God comes to his
  aid (Journal, pp.92-93, cited in Hebblethwaite,
  p.18)

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The impact of John XXIII on Christianity? (6)

• IMPACT OF WORKER-PRIESTSMany priests from prison
  camps or resistance movements looking for a new
  form of ministry immersed in lives of normal
  people e.g. around 1947 (Hebblethwaite, p.105)
• THE FOUR THINGS THAT BRING GREAT INWARD
  PEACEChoose always to have less rather than
  more.Seek always the lowest place and to be
  beneath everyone.Seek always and pray that the
  will of God may be wholly fulfilled in
  you.Behold, such a man sic enters within the
  borders of peace and rest (Imitation of Christ,
  Bk III, Ch 23, cited in Hebblethwaite, p.115)

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Spirituality of St Bernard of Clairvaux(1090-1153
contemporary of Hildegard)

• Peace within the cell fierce warfare
  without,Hear all believe a few honour all.Do
  not believe everything you hearDo not judge
  everything you seeDo not do everything you
  canDo not give everything you haveDo not say
  everything you know.Pray, read, withdraw, be
  silent,be at peace. (Journal , p.40, cited in
  Hebblethwaite, pp.7-8)

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Spirituality based on 14 works of mercyBased on
Mt 2534-40 Isa 586-10

• 7 Corporal works of mercy
• Feed the hungry
• Give drink to the thirsty
• Clothe the naked
• Visit the imprisoned
• Shelter the homeless
• Visit the sick
• Bury the dead
• 7 Spiritual works of mercy
• Admonish the sinner
• Instruct the ignorant
• Counsel the doubtful
• Comfort the sorrowful
• Bear wrongs patiently
• Forgive all injuries
• Pray for the living and the dead (Journal , 26
  Dec 1958, cited in Hebblethwaite, p.154 cf.
  McBrien, pp.854-55)

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Some key passages from the writings of John XXIII
(1)

• We are not on earth to guard a museum but to
  cultivate a flourishing garden of life(Source
  Lettere, p.481 cited in Hebblethwaite, p.131
  for icon see Robert Lenz website at
  www.bridgebuildingicons.com )

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Some key passages from the writings of John XXIII
(2)

• What counts most in this life is blessed Jesus
  Christ, his holy Church, his Gospel, truth and
  goodness(University of Notre Dame, ND Vision
  website)
• You could not come to me, so I came to
  you(Words to Prisoners whom he visited after
  becoming Pope)

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Key passages - John XXIII (3)

• The faithful saw in him a reflection of the
  goodness of God, and called him the good pope
  (Vatican site)
• Anybody can be Pope the proof of this is that I
  have become one
• Born poor, but of honoured and humble people, I
  am proud to die poor
• Consult not your fears but your hopes and your
  dreams Concern yourself not with what you tried
  and failed at, but what it is still possible for
  you to do
• I have looked into your eyes with my eyes. I
  have drawn near to your heart

John XXIII signing Pacem in Terris in 1963 NB
thin sick due to cancer
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Key passages - John XXIII (4)

• It often happens that I wake up at night and
  begin to worry about a serious problem and decide
  I must tell the Pope about it. Then I wake up
  completely and remember that I am the Pope
• Italians come to ruin most generally in three
  ways women, gambling and farming. My family
  chose the slowest and most boring of the three
• See everything, overlook a great deal, correct a
  little, show compassion in all things

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John XXIII - Did you know? (1)

• There was no Pope John XX due to confusion among
  the papal historians and following a number of
  antipopes
• (NB Do not confuse the modern John XXIII
  (1881-1963) with John XXIII, antipope from
  1410-1415)

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John XXIII - Did you know? (2)

• John XXIII began Vatican II in 1962
• Paul VI finished Vatican II in 1965

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John XXIII - Did you know? (3)

• After he was elected pope, aged 76, John XXIII
  immediately made Giovanni Montini a cardinal
  (future Paul VI)
• He then went to the Holy Office (in charge of
  guarding against heresy) and looked up his own
  file. A note was attached suspected of
  Modernism. This was one reason why his career
  had been ruined or delayed thirty years
  beforehand. (mcs.drexel site)

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John XXIII - Did you know? (4)

• The Pope as Angelo Roncalli entered salvation
  history in 1881. Also born in that same year
  were
• Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Jesuit
  paleontologist, mystic
• Alcide De Gaspen, future leader of the Christian
  democrats
• Augustin Bea, became founder-president of
  Secretariat for Christian Unity (all from
  Hebblethwaite, p.xi)

35
John XXIII - Did you know? (5)

• John XXIII composed the equivalent of his last
  will and testament with the encyclical Pacem in
  Terris on universal peace this was his final
  mandate for the Council which he had begun
  (Hebblethwaite in McBrien, p.710)
• Realising that he would soon die, he said to a
  friend At least I have launched this big ship
  the Council others will have to bring it into
  port (Ibid, p.710)

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Summary of Major Documents John XXIII

• Mater et Magistra Mother and Teacher (1961)
• Identifies the widening gap between the rich and
  poor nations as a global concern of justice
• Raises concerns about the arms race
• Calls upon Christians to work for a more just
  world
• Pacem in Terris Peace on Earth (1963)
• Focus on human rights as the basis for peace
• Calls for disarmament
• Stating the need for a world-wide institution to
  promote and safeguard the universal common good
• (Source http//sao.clriq.org.au/cst/cst_intro.htm
  l)

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Bibliography References (1) NB All websites
retrieved Nov 2006

• Hebblethwaite, Peter. (2000). John XXIII, Pope of
  the century. Revised Margaret Hebblethwaite
  London Continuum.
• Hinnells, John R. (ed.). (1991). Whos Who of
  Religions. London Penguin. John XXIII, p.192.
• Mc Bride, Alfred. (1996). A Retreat with Pope
  John XXIII Opening Windows to Wisdom. St.
  Anthony Messenger Press.
• McBrien, Richard P. (Gen. Ed.). (1995). The
  HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. New
  York HarperCollinsPublishers. John XXIII by
  Peter Hebblethwaite, pp.709-710. NB Probably the
  best single source brief summary of John XXIIIs
  life and contributions to the Council and the
  Church in general.
• Morrissey, J., Mudge, P., Taylor, A., et al.
  (2005). Living Religion, 3rd Edition. Melbourne
  Pearson Longman, pp.306-310.
• Pope John Paul XXIII (28 Oct 1958 3 June, 1963)
  Online Papal document for his papacy
  www.papalencyclicals.net/John23/index.htm
• Summary of Main Encyclicals and Documents
  Social Justice http//sao.clriq.org.au/cst/cst_int
  ro.html

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Bibliography References (3)NB All websites
retrieved Nov 2006

• Almost a Saint Pope John XXIII St Anthony
  Messenger www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Nov19
  96/feature1.asp
• Homily by John Paul II, Beatification of John
  XXIII took place 3 September 2000
  www.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_200
  000903_john-xxiii_en.html
• Overview of Churchs thinking on Human Rights
  (search site under Australian Catholic Bishops
  Conference, author Sandi Cornish)
• Pope John XXIII a brief biography, Notre Dame
  Vision www.nd.edu/ndvi/pages/inspiration/models/0
  19.html
• Pope John XXIII Illuminating Lives
  www.mcs.drexel.edu/gbrandal/Illum_html/JohnXXIII.
  html
• Pope John XXIII Wikipedia http//en.wikipedia.or
  g/wiki/Pope_John_XXIII