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Pope John XXIII

Priest, bishop, cardinal, pope · Italy · Religious Figures · Lived 1881 to 1963 · aged 81 · also Vatican City

Why now

Feast day, 11 October.

4.9 times the usual readers on 11 October. 13,028 readers on 11 October, against about 2,637 a day before the rise.

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He was elected at 76 as a placeholder, expected to keep the seat warm. Instead he opened the windows - called the Second Vatican Council and dragged the Catholic Church into conversation with the modern world.

Religious FiguresReligious FigureReligionItalyEurope20th Century

A life in dates

20264.9×
Feast day, 11 October.11 October 2026, 4.9 times the usual readers on 11 October 2026See the moment1963Died3 June 1963Balzan PrizeAwardPresidential Medal of FreedomAward1958“One of my favorite phrases that brings me great comfort: We are not on earth as museum keepers, but to cultivate a flourishing garden of life and to prepare a glorious future.”In their words9 October 1958Journal entry on the day Pope Pius XII died (9 October 1958); published in Journal of a Soul (1965)

Grand Cross of the Legion of HonourAwardPopeOffice1958-19631957Grand Cross 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of GermanyAward1953Cardinal priestOffice1953-1958Patriarch of VeniceOffice1953-19581925Titular archbishopOffice1925-19531903“From the saints I must take the substance, not the accidents of their virtues. I am not St.”In their wordsJournal of a Soul (1903)

DeaconOffice1881Born25 November 1881

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Ioannes XXIII, by De Agostini, 1958-1963Ioannes XXIII, by De Agostini, 1958-19631981 Diciembre, 20. Visita a la casa natal de SS Juan XXIII en Sotto il Monte, Bérgamo, Italia1981 Diciembre, 20. Visita a la casa natal de SS Juan XXIII en Sotto il Monte, Bérgamo, ItaliaA statue of the popA statue of the popAnti-War Rally (49331844047)Anti-War Rally (49331844047)Avila - Monasterio de la Encarnacion 04Avila - Monasterio de la Encarnacion 04Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels-13Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels-13Collegio di celana, aula ricostruita di angelo roncalli, 1891-92, 02Collegio di celana, aula ricostruita di angelo roncalli, 1891-92, 02Collegio di celana, aula ricostruita di angelo roncalli, 1891-92, 03Collegio di celana, aula ricostruita di angelo roncalli, 1891-92, 03

In their own words 2

,
Pope John XXIII
,
2 statements, newest first

  1. One of my favorite phrases that brings me great comfort: We are not on earth as museum keepers, but to cultivate a flourishing garden of life and to prepare a glorious future.

    Oct 9, 1958, Journal entry on the day Pope Pius XII died (9 October 1958); published in Journal of a Soul (1965), Own words

  2. From the saints I must take the substance, not the accidents of their virtues. I am not St.

    1903, Journal of a Soul (1903), Own words

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Awards

Presidential Medal of Freedom, Lyndon B. Johnson1963
Balzan Prize1963
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour1958
Grand Cross 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany1957
Order of St. Gregory the Great
Order of Pius IX
Order of the Golden Spur
Supreme Order of Christ
War Merit Cross (Italy)
Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Austrian War 1915-1918
Commemorative Medal of the Unity of Italy
Inter-Allied Victory Medal (Italy)

In their orbit

Father: Giovanni Battista Roncalli

About this person

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was born 25 November 1881 to sharecroppers in Lombardy, one of thirteen children. Ordained in 1904, he spent decades in diplomatic posts across Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, and France before Pius XII named him Patriarch of Venice and cardinal in 1953. Elected pope on 28 October 1958, he surprised everyone by convening the Second Vatican Council on 11 October 1962, the first session of a gathering that would redefine the Church's pastoral role and its engagement with other faiths and nations. He expanded the College of Cardinals to 85, appointing the first from Africa, Japan, and the Philippines, and pushed ecumenism while ending the reflex of basing every social policy on old theological formulae. Diagnosed with stomach cancer in September 1962, he died 3 June 1963 without seeing the Council's end. Canonized 27 April 2014 alongside John Paul II, he remains il papa buono - the Good Pope.

Country
Italy
Category
Religious Figures
Type
Religious Figure
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1881 to 1963 · aged 81

Religious Figures from Italy 6

Pope John Paul I77.2Pope Paul VI76.7Pope Pius XII76.2Pope Pius X74.7Pope Leo XIII74.3Pope Pius IX73.8

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