Saint John XXIII: Obedience as the path to peace

Despite his short pontificate (1958-1963), John XXIII made a lasting impression and impact. Behind his natural humor and affability lay a profoundly evangelical kindness, coupled with a keen intelligence, as evidenced by his skilful diplomatic skills. Both before and after his election as Pope, John XXIII worked for peace. He had the bodness and great foresight to convene the Second Vatican Council, the most important ecclesial event of the 20th century.

Reasons to believe:

The convening of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) was an act of tremendous courage and supernatural inspiration: over 2,500 bishops from all over the world, including China and the Communist bloc, were summoned to carry out a vast aggiornamento to "renew" the Church. Even if John XXIII did not see the conclusions of the Council, the legacy he left behind is immense for the Catholic Church.
John XXIII was an outstanding peacemaker. He used his diplomatic skills to pacify several highly sensitive situations (religious tensions in the Balkans, post-war purge of collaborators in France, the Cuban missile crisis, etc.). In Turkey, he organized the rescue of tens of thousands of Jews fleeing the Holocaust.
Pope John XXIII was convinced that "the Church must not only care for Catholics, but also for the world", because God offers his salvation to every human being. This universal dimension is already present in the Scriptures, but John XXIII recalled it at an opportune moment and acted according to this principle in an exemplary manner.
John XXIII's spontaneous address to the moon on October 11, 1962 was an historic moment. Drawn by the prayers of a huge crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Pope stepped out onto his balcony for a moving, deeply human address.
The Notebooks that John XXIII kept throughout his life reveal a man who had both a deep spiritual life and was open to the world. They show the evolution of a soul, first committed to working on its own holiness, then reaching out, without neglecting this first duty, to the whole world.

Summary:

Born in 1881, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli came from a poor peasant family in Lombardy. He displayed an aptitude for learning that he was able to put to good use, thanks to the support of an uncle and his parish priest. He was accepted at the minor seminary in Bergamo and, upon graduating in 1904, was ordained a priest.

He became secretary to Monsignor Radinsky, who was very committed to the workers' cause. Throughout his life, Giuseppe Roncalli remained committed to addressing social issues. He led an extraordinary life, marked by a brilliant diplomatic career, even before his election as Pontiff. He was funny, friendly and kind, yet firm when it came to defending the Church's positions and dogmas.

In 1925, Pope Pius XI sent him to Bulgaria as Apostolic Visitor. The aim of his visit was to reorganize the Uniate Churches (Catholics of the Orthodox rite) and calm the tense climate between the Catholic minority and the Orthodox: "Good feelings towards our separated brothers are not enough; if you really love them, give them a good example and transform your love into action" (sermon by Monsignor Roncalli, 1924). His missions were a success, and he was appointed apostolic delegate in 1931, before being assigned to Turkey in 1935.

During the Second World War, Monsignor Roncalli worked to bring Jews from the Balkans to Palestine. Acting in obedience to Pius XII, he provided papers and convinced the Turkish authorities to charter trains. Tens of thousands of Jews were saved by his actions. In this respect, Alexandre Adler's book Une affaire de famille : Jean XXIII, les juifs et les chrétiens (2014, Cerf) provides an invaluable testimony based on the author's grandmother, Maria Bauer, who lived in Istanbul and knew Monsignor Angelo Roncalli during the war.

In 1944, he was sent to Paris in the difficult climate of the post-war purge. Roncalli worked with great skill to reconcile French society. He was the Holy See's first observer at UNESCO. He was created Cardinal in 1953, then appointed Patriarch of Venice.

In 1958, following the death of Pius XII, Cardinal Roncalli was elected pope, taking the name John XXIII. Although he was expected to be a "transitional pope", during his four-and-a-half-year pontificate he managed to make a deep impression on people's minds. He set aside pontifical solemnity, remained jovial and accessible, and often left the Vatican to visit hospitals, schools and prisons (for example, on January 1, 1959, he was cheered by inmates of a Rome prison).

As Pope, he continued to put his diplomatic skills to good use, positioning the Holy See as an arbiter during the Cold War. On October 25, 1962, during the Cuban crisis, he launched a famous appeal for peace addressed to the United States and the USSR. He also promulgated the encyclical Pacem in terris(April 1963), in which he explained that peace cannot be secured by a balance of terror, but must be based on peace of mind, justice, respect for treaties and honesty in diplomacy. He advocated multilateral, negotiated disarmament.

John XXIII was aware of the need for constant renewal, both personally and for the Church. To everyone's surprise, three months after his election, he convened a council (a meeting of all the world's bishops), since referred to as "Vatican II". This undoubtedly earned him his reputation as a "modernist reformer". Political typologies (right, left, reactionary, revolutionary...) do not, however, adequately reflect ecclesial reality. On October 11, 1962, in his opening address to the Council, the Pope said: "The major interest of the Ecumenical Council is this: to ensure that the sacred heritage of Christian truth be safeguarded and expounded with greater efficacy."

He wanted the Council to be pastoral, not dogmatic, and to provide the impetus for a renewal of the Church and a fraternal rapprochement with Christians of other persuasions and with Jews. His successor Paul VI continued this work, a factor of both fidelity and openness.

In 1963, after a long agony, John XXIII died of stomach cancer. He was beatified in 2000 by John Paul II. In January 2001, when his coffin was opened, his body was discovered to be in an excellent state of preservation.

In 2014, Popes John XXIII and John Paul II were declared saints on the same day by Pope Francis, in the presence of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. A unique moment, this "day of the four Popes" is an opportunity to demonstrate the unity and continuity of the Church in the complementarity of her great servants, from one century to the next, in the face of the great challenges of the modern world.

Solveig Parent

Beyond reasons to believe:

Knowing the ins and outs of Vatican II is essential to understanding today's Church. The application of Vatican II in the late 1960s went far beyond the Council's recommendations. It is useful to read directly in the official documents what was said.

Going further:

Journal of a Soul, the autobiography of Pope John XXIII The Crown Publishing Group; November 9, 1999)

More information:

John XXIII: The Official Biography (Saints and Holy People), byMario Benigni & Goffredo (Pauline Books & Media; First American edition January 1, 2002)
Video Pope John XXIII: Pope of Innocence and Goodness
Film The Good Pope: John XXIII
Saint John XXIII's "Decalogue of Serenity" prayer.
John XXIII, Pacem in terris encyclical, April 1963.