William M. Rowlett, MD
The Athenaeum Society
Hopkinsville, KY
January 5, 2017

“Il Buono Pope”


“Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime
and departing leave behind us
 footprints in the sands of time.”

("A Psalm of Life" - Longfellow)


He was just a peasant, the fourth of fourteen children, growing up  near Bergamo, Italy in the late 19th Century and died at the age of 81 in 1963. Shortly before his death he observed, “ I was born of humble respectful parents and am particularly happy to die poor.” His entire estate was divided among family members who received the equivalent of $20 each. At age 76 he was winding down a long and satisfying career having risen up from the ranks in  his chosen profession and with no further ambitions, fully expecting to remain there until his death. Receiving a summons to appear in Rome to attend an important meeting, he bought a round-trip ticket fully expecting to return to Venice in a few days. Four days later, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was unexpectedly elected to the office of Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church by his peers in the College of Cardinals and chose the name of John XXIII. Many felt he was just an interrim Pope in transition from Pope Pius XII  and really would do nothing more than keep the peace for a few short years until a younger Pope would be elected. As a caretaker it was thought he not create any waves. Boy were they ever wrong. 

 Now what would lead a  Evangelical Christan to write a paper on a Catholic Pope? Good question. Actually, we saw John XXIII in March of 1959 and were blessed by him, after a fashion. Marilyn and I were stationed in Germany for three years and before returning home to the USA, wanted to visit Italy. We drove our Renault Dauphine over Brenner Pass down throgh Bolzano, Venice, Bologna and Florence to Rome. Going to Vatican City, we were in St. Peters Basilica with about 10,000 other people one morning when a hush fell over the audience.  Borne on a palanquin carried by Swiss Guards was a rather roly-poly man with a big smile, his hands raised in blessing all present as he passed by. It was Pope John. This man truly was a Saint in his attitudes and actions, and in four  years   and seven months  totally  changed the face and direction of  the Roman Catholic Church with a membership of 900,000 communicants world-wide. Fifty-eight years later, the dust hasn't settled yet! , Pope John opened the first session of Vatican II in September 1962 along with the advice and support of  his friend Archbishop Montini who was later elevated to the papacy as Pope Paul VI after John's death in 1963. Paul then took the lead in directing the remaining  three years of Vatican II  and was responible for implementing the changes facing some pretty heated opposition over the remainder of his 15 years in the Holy Office. The two men were really different in many ways but pursued the same goal. Lets take a look at the life of Angelo Roncalli who became Pope John XXIII - The Good Pope

Angelo was born on November 25, 1881 in the small village of Sotto il Monte into a family of sharecroppers. While attending a local elementry school he was turored in Latin by his Parish Priest and at age twelve, entered the Junior Seminary at Bergamo, and walked five miles each way from home daily to attend   An alert  student, he was awarded a scholarship to go to Rome to study at the Apollonaris but was called into the Army and served in the Infantry for a year, rising to the rank of Sergeant before resuming his studies in Semanerio Romano. After earning a doctorate in Theology he was ordained in Rome on August 27, 1904 at St. Peter's, and had an audience with Pope Pius X who six months later asked him to return to the Bergamo Seminary and serve under the  socially progressive Bishop Radini-Tedeshi who had just been ordained Bishop. For ten years Angelo gained further insight into the problems of the working class, along with teaching Apologetics, Church history and Patrology at the Seminary.  Father Angelo later called the Bishop his Polar Star and gained much from the association as his shadow for ten years. Radini was from an aristocratic family, had served as a Vatican diplomat and was comfortable among the higher eschelons. With his leader, Angelo traveled outside Italy for the first time to pilgrimage sites in Europe and in 1906 to the Holy Land.  Radini believed in a activist Church that would fight for social justice and Father Angelo, who had been attracted to these ideas. now had an opportunity to see how they could be applied.  Unfortunately, the Bishop died of colon cancer at an nearly age so Angelo returned to teaching at the Bergamo  Seminary where he was a popular teacher.

When Italy entered World War I, Father Angelo was recalled into active military duty  serving as Sergeant in the Medical Corps and later as Chaplain from 1915 until 1918, rising to the rank of Lieutenant. Bergamo was a receiving station for wounded soldiers returning from the front lines and he experienced the horrors of  War, particularly after the Battle of Caporetto in which the Italian Army lost over 500,000 men, many victims of poison gas and heavy artillery inflicted by German troops who freed from action on the Russian Front  were trasferred to help their Austrio-Hungarian allies. He also took spiritual charge of diverse hospitals and schools that were housing the wounded and established an association to aid female relatives of deceased soldiers. 

After the Armistice was signed in 1918  Father Angelo returned to the Seminary as Spiritual Director  and opened a hostel for students at his own expense wth two of his sisters serving as cooks and hostess. In 1921 Angelo was called to Rome to help re-organize the Society for the Propogation of the Faith and as a Prelate was entitled to ne called Monsignor. After being consecrated as Archbishop in 1925 he was sent to represent the the Church in the Balkans in  Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey as apostolic visitor and delegate. This was largely Eastern Orthodox and Muslim territory and the Roman Churches small and struggling. He really didn't want to leave Italy and there had been no representative to Bulgaria in 500 years anyway.  Shortly before his arrival in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1925, an attempt was made to assassinate King Boris when a bomb was placed in  the Orthodox Cathedral and the explosion caused the dome to crash downward killing 150 people and injuring 300. The new Papal emissary visited the wounded in a Hospital and helped to provide free care to the patients. Later in 1928 when a series of earthquakes hit the country, the Archbishop directed food and blanket distribution and even slept among the survivors in a tent. He also solicited funds for a soup kitchen that fed people for two months after the catastrophe and gained favor with King Boris and the Orthodox Church.. From 1934 until 1944 he lived in Istanbul helping the Jewsh Underground to to save thousands of refugees in Europe to escape by issuing Immigration certificates and even certificates of baptism.  With the unlikely help  of  German Ambasssador Franz von Papen, he was able to secure Exit Visas for thousands of Jews in Europe and thereby help them escape the Holocaust. Van Papen was a devout Catholic and it was suggested that he merely looked the other way and allowed Rocalli to do what was necessary.

 After France was liberated  from German occupation in 1944, Angelo was appointed Papal Nuncio to help  the Church reorganize and also given the assignment of negioating the retirement of French Bishops who had collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. He became a permanent observer at UNESCO, addressing the General Assemblies in 1951 and 1952. In France he made many contacts with the French and on January 12, 1953 was ordained Cardinal-Patriarch of Venice by Pope Pius XII with  the  red biretta of a Cardinal  placed on his head at the Elysses Palais by French President Vincent Auriole. Finally  at age 72, having served long and well, he was sent to  Venice and it was assumed  would spend his remaining years pastoring and writing, out of the limelight -  he thought. The Lord had other plans.

Pope Pius XII died on October 9, 1958 at the Castel Gandolfo, the Vatican summer palace, after serving for nineteen years, and a Conclave to elect his successor was called to begin on October 25th in the Sistine Chapel with all the College of Cardinals present. At full strength there were supposed to be 70 members but Pius XII had failed to call Consistories, except in 1946 and 1953 and there was a long list of Archbishops awaiting elevation. There were only fifty-four currently alive, and two of them were behind the Iron curtain and unable to travel. Another Cardinal died shortly before and so with fifty-one present only thirty-five votes were need to elect the next Pope.

The stage was set with  conservative Giuseppe Siri, Archbishop of Genoa and liberal Giacomo Lecaro, Archbishop of Bologna, considered papabili. Dean of the College, French Cardinal Eugene Tisserani played an even greater but less obvious role. Siri was staunchly Anti-communist and his election might have brought on increased persecution of the Church in Eastern Euope. Already Cardinal Josef Mindzenty in Hungary had been beaten, brain-washed and forced to admit crimes he hadn't committed such as stealing the Crown-jewels! He was released briefly at the beginning of the Hungarian Revoltion in 1956, but four days later sought asylum in the US Embassy and remained there until his death in 1971. On the first ballot Ruffini received 17 votes, Agagianian 13, and in third place Roncalli wth 7. By the end of day 2 and after 5 ballots, Roncalli led with 20 votes and Ottavisani, a staunch conservative, had 15. Now the French contingent was very much in favor of Roncalli and not only voted as as a bloc but also did a lot of politicking. On the fourh day in the eleventh ballot  Roncalli was elected by a vote of 38 - 12.  The crowd of 200,000 waiting in Vatican Square was overjoyed to see a plume of white smoke flowing out of the chimney. Cardinal-Protodeacon Nicola Canali announced the election of the new Pope who appeared on the balcony of St. Peters wearing a new white cassock, his hands lifited up to hear a thunder of applause and cheers.

Each Pope has the privilege of selecting his own name and when asked why
he selected John  replied " It is the name of my father, of the humble village church where I grew up, of John the Baptist and John the Apostle. Now actuallly he was the second John XXIII, the first having been invested in Avignon, France in 1410 when the Papacy in exile was located there. There was another Pope in Rome at the same time. In 1415 the first John XXIII was forced to abdicate and there were no further Pope Johns for the next 500 years. 

Before proceeding to mention the accomplishments of Pope John XXIII let us take a look at the kind of man he was. Prophetically, in 1907 he delivered a lecture at the seminary in Bergamo in which he said, "Saintliness results from learning the art of self-giving love.  It flows from dying to self, from laughing at one's own foibles and humbly enduring the foibles of others. Saints aren't superstars of holiness but humble sinners, ready to allow God to love them just as they are." His life demonstrated those qualities. A big-hearted man he sought to bring all Christians into greater unity for the sake of humankind and world peace and  gained the confidence of people everywhere. He zeroed in on what unites us and not what divides us. He felt God was directing him to lead the Church to greater overall unity and invited the leaders of the Anglican, Protestant and Orthodox churches to visit. Nonwithstanding  he did not hesitate to tie the Papacy's role at the center of unity, anticipating the return of non-Catholic Christians to the Catholic Church.  He said, "The Church has always opposed error. Nowadays however the spouse of Christ prefers to make use of   mercy rather than that of severity ."  Unlike Pius XII who isolated himself within the walls of the Vatican he went out at night and visited prisons, orphanages and hospitals in the City of Rome and was greatly loved by the common people wherever he went. On his first Christmas Day in office ln 1958 he visited inmates in the Regina Coeli Prisons in Rome to pray for them and give  comfort, something totally unexpected but deeply appreciated. On the moon-lit night of January 25, 1959  he spoke to a crowd in Vatican square holding thousands of candles and announced his inspired direction for the Church leading to Vatican II with the code word "Aggiornamento" - bringing Her up to date- and closed by saying "Go home now and give your children a good night kiss a nd tell them it is from the Pope." I could cite example after example of his acts of kindness but the above mentioned is all we need to say for now. He also had a good sense of humor. While in Paris and attending a banquet, he was sitting at the table with the beautiful hostess who was rather revealingly clothed. Aware that all eyes were on her, the Archbishop said, "I can't imagine while all the guests keep looking at me, a poor old sinner, when my neighbor, our charming  hostess is much more attractive." He also was quoted as saying "There are only three ways a man can be ruined - by women, gambling or farming. My father chose the most boring of the three." Later, when asked why he was able to accomplish so much in  a short time  answered,  "My foot  was on the acccelerator".

After assuming the office as Pope XXIII, he wasted no time in seeking a reunion with separated Christians, work for world peace with all people, and revise the Canon code. In his first public address he announced that he would be a pastoral Pope but in the next three months made a number of important changes which startled the Curia. In the first three moths he annuled a regulation dating back 500 years to Sixtus IV which limited to College of Cardinals to 70 members, eventually increasing it to 87 including fourteen from Asia, Africa and Oceania in 1960. Sixtus was better known as the builder of the Sistine Chapel. He removed a phrase in the Good Friday missal which referred to 'Perfidious Jews". He called for a Synod of Bishops in 1960 in Rome to better understand what was going on in the Church at the grass-root level and seek their counsel. In a moment of meditation and contemplation, he felt a burst of light and the idea for Vatican II filled his mind. ." That was just the beginning. He appointed the Pontifical Commission of the Code in 1962, elevated the Commission for Cinema, Radio and TV to curial status, created a new Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity and appointed the first representative to the World Council of Churches. He issued eight encylclials, the most widely recognized ones being , Mater et Magistra in May 1961,  and  Pacem in terris April 11 1963. Mater  called for Social Justice and included a statement that on social issues the State must intervene in matters of health care, education and housing.   Pacem in terris - Peace on Earth -  advocated human dignity and freedom as the basis for world order and peace. He was especially mindful of the Jewish people and received one group of them with open arms by saying  "I am Joseph, your brother."

Having served in the Balkans, from 1924 until 1944, he was particularly interested in reconciling the Roman Church to the Orthodox Church, dating back to 1054 and the Great Schism when Pope Leo XI of Rome and Patriarch Michael 1 in Constantinople mutually ex-communicated each other. The situation became worse when during the Fourth Crusade. the Pope's European Army invaded Constantinople on the way to the Holyland and despite the Pope's express orders to not attach Christians, descecrated the Orthodox Hagia Sophia Cathedral, burned much of the City  and murdered many  of the residents. It was controlled by Rome for sixty years, the so-called Latin period, until the Byzantines regained control. As a step of reconciliation Pope John contacted the Patriarch  of the Orthodox Church, invited him to Rome where they had a cordial conversation and would maintain contact. John was truly an Apostle of Peace in reaching out to all Faiths including Muslim, Shinto, Hindu and other.  His carefully worded statement to Hinduism recognized its "Spiritual effort to contemplate the divine mystery and express it through myths and philosophical inquiry." Muslims were told their devotion to God was applauded and suggested it would be better for both parties to forget the past and move forward. Cardinal Bea was assigned to be the point man in building bridges with non-Catholic religions. For the first time in 400 years, since Elizabeth I was excomunicated, Pope John met with the Archbishop of Canterbury. On the world stage, he was active and at the request of President John Kennedy contaced  Nikita Khruschev at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis and pleaded for Peace. Even though the Russian made no commitment he shortly thereafter recalled the ships bearing the nuclear war head rockets on their way to Cuba. Later, Khruschev's daughter and son-in-law visited the Pope in Rome. In connection with recent events in 2016  Pope John ex-communicated Fidel Castro in January 1962 on the basis of a 1949 decree by Pius XII forbiding Catholics from supporting communism.

Pope John XXIII is best known, of course, by calling for Vatican II, the 21st Ecumenical Council of the Chuch,  80 years after  Vatican I. After  announcing his intention in January 1959 and holding the Synod of Bishops in 1960, two years of preparation followed with ten councilar commissions co-ordinated by a Central council. There were 987 planning sessions. The Pope prepared outlines and the details were filled in by  the Curia and reviewed by him, with one committee report rejected because is was too conservative  and appointed new members who were able to present  a more balanced draft. Cardinal Yves Conger had a large inpact because he had long advocated bringing the Church into the modern world and had written extensivly on the subject to the discomfort of Pius XII who banned some of his books. Also  important was Archbishop Montini of Milan whom Pope John elevated to Cardinal and many expected to be the next Pope. Over two thousand Bishops and other officials attended the opening session on October 11, 1962 and continued until December 1962 when adjourned. until September 1963. Time Magazine named him Man of the Year for 1962 and his picture appeared on the cover of the January 4, 1963 edition. In 1963 he was also awarded the Balzan Peace Prize in early May. Initially dignosed with stomach cancer in September 1962  his health worsened in the Spring of 1963 until perforation and peritonitis set in late May leading to a painful death on June 3, 1963. Pope John was widely mourned by  believers and non-believers alike. Patriarch Alexis of the Russian Orthodox Church called his people to prayer and the Jewish Rabbi of the Sephardic Synagogue in Paris introduced a prayer for John's intention in the office of  the Sabbath. Yad Vashem added his name him to the list of "Righteous Among Nations" for non-Jews risking their own lives to save Jews. U.S. President Lyndon Johnson awarded Pope John the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously in December 1963 and quoted the Pope as saying "Peace is an order resting on truth, built according to justice, vivified and integrated by charity and put into practice by freedom."  He was beatified by John Paul II in 2000 and canonized as a Saint on April 27, 2004 fifty-one years after his death  by Pope Francis  with October 11  selected as his Saints day.

Vatican II continued  under the guidance of Pope Paul VI with sessions each Fall from September until December and disbanded December 8, 1965 after completing the fourth session.  Finally, women were included in the 1965 session when twenty were appointed to correct the oversight. Meeting with Pariarch Athenagorous, Pope Paul and the Orthodox potentate each confessed the sins of their Branch and canceled the Excommunions of 1037! He overturned a prior statement  that Jews, including those currently alive, should  be held responsible for Jesus' crucifixion on the Cross. Without going into detail, the major changes brought about by Vatican II could be summarized as: (1) Big changes in how the Mass was to be celebrated. The verncular tongue was allowed in many circumtances, the Priest would now face the congregtion, during the Eucharist and also changes in the Eucharitsic prayers.(2) Ressourcience - return to a simpler life style - including disuse of elaborate regalia (3) Contemporary music and Art were allowed. (4) More particiation by the Laity, particularly in Mission outreach (5) Opening dialog with other Christian groups and other religions in the interest  of world peace and in helping the poor and needy. (6) Increased emphasis on Bible study by the Laity in the vernacular language rather than repeating memorized Latin which many couldn't understand.

I believe  Pope John XXIII would be totally amazed at the final outcome of Vatican II and what bringing the Church into the modern world really involve.  Pope Paul VI continued on in the face of increasing opposition and hostility bringing depression and probably contributed to a premature death. Some anticipated  changes like removing a ban on contraception and allowing a married Priesthood  he declined to allow in his 1968  Encyclial Humanae Vitae, while others felt abandoning the Tridentine Mass that dated back to the Council of Trent in the 1500's amounted to heresy. Whatever the outcome, John XXIII will be remembered in centuries to come as a Good Shepherd and humble servant of Christ who introduced changes to make the Church more relevent in the modern world and to seek peace for all. 


Sources of Information:

Erdmanns Handbook of the History of Christianity, 1977. Lion Publioshing 
Co.Dowley,Tim Editor.

Pope Jophn XXIII: the Good Pope. Wyatt North Publishing Co, 2014

Wkiipedia

Father Richard Meredith, Pastor St. Peters and Pau;l