Paul VI

Saint Paul VI was born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini on September 26, 1897, in Concesio near Brescia, Italy. After years marked by fragile health, he entered the seminary and was ordained a priest on May 29, 1920. Rather than parish ministry, his vocation unfolded in service to the Holy See: he worked in the Secretariat of State from 1922, aided wartime humanitarian efforts by organizing information and assistance for prisoners and refugees, and became a trusted collaborator of Pope Pius XII. Named Archbishop of Milan in 1954 and created a cardinal in 1958, he was elected pope in 1963, taking the name Paul VI. With patient courage he reconvened and brought to completion the Second Vatican Council in 1965, then guided the Church through its wide-ranging reforms while fostering greater dialogue with Orthodox and Protestant Christians. A devoted son of Mary, he proclaimed her Mother of the Church and urged solidarity with the poor, while firmly teaching on the dignity of human life in Humanae vitae. He is venerated as a shepherd who carried the Church through a demanding hour with faith and humility, and he is patron of Cesate and Concesio. His feast day is September 26.