Saint Pope John XXIII also referred to as Good Pope John has his feast day celebrated every October 11.
Pope John XXIII, who had arguably the greatest impact on the twentieth century, did his best to stay out of the public eye.
One author even noted that his "ordinariness" seems to be one of his most distinguishing traits.
The eldest child of a farming family in Sotto il Monte, northern Italy, close to Bergamo, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was always proud of his modest upbringing.
While attending the Bergamo diocesan seminary, he enlisted in the Secular Franciscan Order.
Fr. Roncalli returned to Rome after his ordination in 1904 to study canon law. He soon became his bishop's secretary, a seminary Church history teacher, and the publisher of the diocesan periodical.
During World battle I, he worked as a stretcher-bearer for the Italian army and gained direct experience with the horrors of battle.
Fr. Roncalli was appointed national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in Italy in 1921. He also found time to teach patristics at a seminary in Rome.
In 1925, he was appointed as a papal diplomat, first in Bulgaria, then in Turkey, and ultimately in France.
He became acquainted with Orthodox Church officials during the second World war. Archbishop Roncalli, with the assistance of Germany's envoy to Turkey, saved an estimated 24,000 Jews.
In 1953, he was named a cardinal and appointed patriarch of Venice before becoming a residential bishop.
Cardinal Roncalli was elected Pope a month before his 78th birthday, assuming the name John after his father and the two patrons of Rome's cathedral, St. John Lateran.
Pope John was serious about his work but not about himself. His humor quickly became legendary, and he began engaging with world leaders in politics and religion. He was heavily involved in efforts to resolve the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.
Mother and Teacher 1961 and Peace on Earth 1963 were two of his most famous encyclicals. Pope John XXIII expanded and internationalized the membership of the College of Cardinals.
His motivation for calling the Second Vatican Council, which he convened on October 11, 1962, was certainly his greatest deed as Pope.
In his inaugural address to the Second Vatican Council, he chastised the "prophets of doom" who "in these modern times see nothing but prevarication and ruin."
"The Church has always opposed... errors," remarked Pope John XXIII, setting the tone for the Council. Nowadays, however, the Spouse of Christ prefers to use mercy medicine rather than severity medicine."
"It is not that the gospel has changed; it is that we have begun to understand it better," Pope John declared on his deathbed.
Those who have lived as long as I have...have had the opportunity to compare diverse civilizations and traditions, and know that the time has come to discern the signs of the times, embrace the opportunity, and look far ahead."
On June 3, 1963, "Good Pope John" died. In 2000, Pope John Paul II beatified him, and on April 27, 2014, Pope Francis canonized him in St. Peter's Square with Pope St. John Paul II, who beatified him.
Angelo Roncalli worked with God's grace throughout his life, knowing that the task at hand was worthy of his best efforts.
He was the appropriate individual to initiate a new conversation with Protestant and Orthodox Christians, as well as Jews and Muslims, because of his sense of God's providence.
Many visitors become hushed in the sometimes raucous crypt of St. Peter's Basilica when they view Pope John XXIII's humble tomb, appreciative for the gift of his life and sanctity. His tomb was relocated into the basilica after his beatification.
He was a fine shepherd who gave his sheep a lot of love, and he was elected pope after Pope Pius XII passed away. This concern was evident in his social essays, particularly Pacem in Terris, "On peace in the World."
Pope John's attitude of great goodness, simplicity, and devotion to prayer shone through in everything he did, leading people to jokingly refer to him as "Good Pope John."
