Pope John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, was the 261st pope of the Catholic Church, reigning from 1958 to 1963. He is best known for his role in the Second Vatican Council, which he initiated and oversaw. He was a beloved figure in the Church, and his papacy was marked by a spirit of openness and reform.
John XXIII was born in 1881 in Sotto il Monte, Italy. He was the fourth of fourteen children born to a family of sharecroppers. He was ordained a priest in 1904 and was sent to Rome to study at the Gregorian University. He was appointed as a papal diplomat in Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece, and eventually became the Patriarch of Venice in 1953.
John XXIII was elected pope in 1958, at the age of 77. He was the first pope in over a century to be elected from outside of the College of Cardinals. He was known for his warmth and humility, and his papacy was marked by a spirit of openness and reform. He was the first pope to travel outside of Italy since 1870, and he made numerous trips to visit the faithful around the world.
John XXIII is best known for his role in the Second Vatican Council, which he initiated and oversaw. He called the Council in 1959, with the intention of modernizing the Church and bringing it into the modern era. The Council was the first of its kind in over a century, and it was attended by over 2,000 bishops from around the world. The Council addressed issues such as religious freedom, ecumenism, and the role of the Church in the modern world.
John XXIII was also known for his social justice initiatives. He was a strong advocate for peace and human rights, and he was a vocal critic of nuclear weapons. He was also a strong advocate for the poor and marginalized, and he worked to improve the lives of the poor in Italy and around the world.
John XXIII died in 1963, at the age of 81. He was beatified in 2000, and canonized in 2014. He is remembered as a beloved figure in the Church, and his papacy is remembered for its spirit of openness and reform. He is remembered for his role in the Second Vatican Council, and for his social justice initiatives. He is remembered as a pope who sought to bring the Church into the modern era, and to make it more accessible to all people.