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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
Jun 04, 1963
Page
7
Pope John XXIII, born Roncalli, propelled the church toward renewal and ecumenism, opening the Ecumenical Council in 1962 to heal divides with Protestants. He traveled across Italy to meet the faithful, expanded the College of Cardinals, and issued Pacem in Terris calling for disarmament and universal rights.
Pope John XXIII, the first to smoke cigarettes, led reforms toward unity and modernized Bible studies. He created the Ecumenical Council secretariat headed by Augustin Bea, invited Protestant observers, and fostered dialogue with leaders like Geoffrey Fisher and Queen Elizabeth II. His tenure marked a push for Christian unity amid global tension.
The future pope, raised in Bergamo, studied in Bergamo seminary from 1892, spoke seven languages, served in the Vatican diplomatic corps, and lived in Bulgaria Greece Turkey and France. He was ordained in 1904 and became a papal diplomat, handling posts in Bulgaria Turkey Greece and Paris. He was created cardinal in 1953 and elected pope in 1958.
The Pope explained that his name honored John the Baptist and reflected his lineage and see at St. John Lateran. Vatican sources note his aim to revive a popular papal name, prior unused since the 1400s. He became Patriarch of Venice after a long diplomatic career and later Pope John XXIII. He emphasized charity, governance as servant of God, and moral discipline. He opposed birth control and urged better distribution of Earth's riches to feed the hungry. He urged families to welcome children and praised Providence, while reaffirming Catholic doctrine of salvation through the Church.
The pope praised the vitality of the Catholic Church in America in a message to Francis Cardinal Spellman. He noted the fervor and good works of American Catholics as a strong example to Christian peoples and highlighted the U S as the fourth largest Catholic nation with about 35 million communicants, behind France, Italy and Brazil.
The article notes Pope John XXIII slept six hours at most, splitting time between work and rest. He often finished duties late, woke at midnight, and worked until dawn, returning to bed for a brief nap before another early start, with occasional 10 p.m. retirements and 4 a.m. rising.
For a moment he was not Pope John XXIII but Sergeant Roncalli of the Italian army. At a gathering of Italian prelates including Bishop Arrigo Pintonello, the pope as he moved among bishops had them kiss his ring. He saluted Pintonello with the line Sir, Sergeant Roncalli at your command, recalling his WWI medical corps service where he held a sergeant's rank.
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