AFTER the reign of six popes for 93 years, the Second Vatican Council was convened by Pope John XXIII. While the first council lasted less than a year (December 1, 1869, to October 20, 1870), the second was finished after three years, (October 11, 1962, to December 8, 1965).
As the largest ecumenical council in the history of the Catholic Church—with 2,800 members—it was the most productive, too, with 16 important documents enacted.
Opened by Pope John XXIII on October 11, he died on June 3, 1963, unable to participate on the last day of the first session on December 8, 1963.
Pope John XXIII, a new saint of the Catholic Church having been canonized on April 27, 2014, assembled the Vatican Council to “revitalize the church to meet challenges of the modern world and promote unity of the church amid diversity.”
His passionate belief that all men are equal is reflected in the statement “we were all made in God’s image and, thus, we are all godly alike.”
Saw action in World War I and II
He was born as Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli on November 25, 1881, in Sotto il Monte in the Diocese of Bergamo, Northern Italy. The fourth of 14 children of Giovanni Battista Roncalli and Marianna Giulia Mazzolla, he received a profound spiritual formation under Fr. Francisco Rabuzzini, an outstanding parish priest.
He entered the Seminary of Bergamo at 11 to study Classics and Theology. On March 1, 1896, the spiritual director of the seminary enrolled him in the Secular Franciscan Order, whose rule he professed on May 23, 1897.
Roncalli attended the Pontifical Roman Seminary as a scholar of the diocese. He was ordained as priest on August 10, 1904, at the age of 23, but was sent back to Rome to specialize on Canon Law.
In 1905 he was appointed secretary to the new bishop of Bergamo, a post he held for six years. He accompanied the bishop in pastoral activities and was involved in concerns about social work, pilgrimages and management of the office.
Two outstanding pastors—Saints Charles Borromeo and Frances de Sales—deepened his spirituality. With the involvement of Italy in World War I, Roncalli was called to military service as military chaplain. He also assisted in the spiritual and moral care of soldiers and, as sergeant medical officer, helped wounded soldiers.
After the war he was involved in the development and enhancement of the spiritual needs of young people and students, and was appointed as the spiritual director of the seminary in 1919.
Pope Benedict XV in 1921 assigned Roncalli in Rome to be the Italian president of the Society of Propagation of the Faith.
He was raised in the Episcopate as titular archbishop of Areopolis in 1925, then as papal diplomate to Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece and France.
Roncalli extended friendship and cooperation with protestant denominations, and dialogued with Orthodox Jews and Muslims.
When World War II started, he was in Greece. With a keen sense of the sacredness of human life he saved an estimated 24,000 Jews from extermination during the Nazi regime, as cited by A.J.M. and J.K. Mausolfe in Saint Companions for Each Day.
A Web-based article of the Official Vatican Pope said Roncalli “tried to get news from prisoners of war to their families and assisted many Jews to escape by issuing visas from the Apostolic Delegation.”
Described as gracious, intuitive and open minded, he will be remembered for “his diplomatic effort to resolve the Cuban Missile crisis of 1962,” said Fr. Anthony Netikat CM in Saints For Everyday.
Exempted from 2nd miracle requirement
In 1953 he was made cardinal and appointed patriarch of Venice. With the death of Pope Pius XII in October 1958, he was elected pope. He took the name John after his father and Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist.
The election of the 78-year-old pope “did not come as a surprise due to his wisdom, maturity and exposures to international affairs.” His pontificate was characterized with “gospel simplicity, human love and freshness of approach to ecclesiastical affairs.
Pope John XXIII died on June 3, 1963, two months after he has written his final and famed encyclical Pacem en Terris (Peace in the Land). He was buried in the Vatican grotto three days after.
Declared Venerable on December 20, 1999, he was beatified on September 3, 2000, by John Paul II. Together with Pope John Paul II, he was canonized on April 27, 2014.
He bypassed a second miracle requirement for canonization after an unanimous agreement in a meeting of the College of Cardinals on the basis of his virtuous lifestyle.
Saint John XXIII’s feast day is October 11, the anniversary of the First Session of Vatican II Council.
Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris College in Calauan, Laguna.
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