John XXIII

Saint John XXIII was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli on November 25, 1881, in Sotto il Monte near Bergamo, Italy, the eldest of thirteen children in a humble sharecropping family. Drawn early to Christ and the Church, he was ordained a priest in Rome on August 10, 1904, and served faithfully in pastoral and scholarly work, including as secretary to the Bishop of Bergamo. During World War I he ministered as a chaplain and in the medical corps, learning compassion amid suffering. Called into diplomatic service, he represented the Holy See in Bulgaria, then in Turkey and Greece, where his charity and courage helped many, including Jewish refugees, during dark years in Europe. Made Patriarch of Venice and a cardinal in 1953, he was unexpectedly elected pope in 1958. Beloved as “the Good Pope,” he sought a more pastoral Church, fostered peace and dialogue with nations and other Christians, and convoked the Second Vatican Council, a moment of renewal that shaped modern Catholic life. He died on June 3, 1963, and is honored as a patron of Valsamoggia. His feast day is October 11.