Pope John XXIII

I think he focused less on the condition of the church and more on inspiring people to become Christian by making church more fun and being an INCREDIBLE role model of simple Christian behavior.

Pope John XXIII was born on November 25, 1881. His original name was Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli. I think his first name was a bit more uncommon than John. He was an Italian peasant and didn’t have much money. He was named a priest when he was 23 (1904), an archbishop at age 44 (1925), a cardinal at age 72(1953), and finally declared the pope when he was 77 (1958). Unfortunately, he died 5 years later when he was 82, BUT his 5 years were FAR from wasted.

He favored and helped the poor, orphans, and workers. He improved the relationship with other religions as well. That’s an achievement! Looking at how the church is looked at today by pagans and all other religions, it must have been very hard!  He wrote the encyclical Mater et Magistra on top of that! The Mater et Magistra helped small countries, and supported all socialist measures that were promised a real benefit to society.

He also organized the Vatican II. If I could meet him, I would give him a BIG hug, because it made Church much less boring. Thanks to him, the priests speak in the vernacular language of the people. Also, the priests actually face the people and so does the alter, so we can hear him throughout the whole mass. We also hold our hands in the Our Father, which is nice because you don’t get many opportunities to hold people’s hands. He loved all humanity, and was one of the most loved popes of modern times.

Created by Kade A.