John XXIII

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was born in northern Italy in the town of Sotto il Monte in the province of Bergamo in 1881. A native of a peasant family, he maintained until the end of his life a connection with his relatives, with brothers and peasants who remained. His family was poor ^[5] .

In 1900, Roncalli graduated from the theological seminary in Bergamo , in 1904 - the theological department of the Roman papal seminary . Having received a theologian diploma and accepted the rank of priest, Roncalli was secretary of the bishop of Bergamo, D. M. Radini Tedeschi (1904-1914), for more than ten years, while teaching the history of the church in the Bergamo seminary.

During the First World War, he was drafted into the army, where he served first as a nurse at a frontal hospital, then as a military chaplain .

In 1921, Roncalli was appointed a member of the Holy Congregation for the Propaganda of Faith . He was engaged in the reorganization of the missionary service , taught a course of pathology at the papal Lateran University .

In 1925, Roncalli, having received the rank of bishop, was appointed nuncio to Sofia . The Bulgarian king belonged to the Orthodox Church, his wife, from the Savoy dynasty, belonged to the Catholic . In order for the wedding to take place according to the Catholic rite, the children from this marriage had to be brought up in the Catholic faith, which did not suit the Bulgarian king. Often such situations arose from which the nuncio himself hardly found a way out.

In 1935 he arrived as an nuncio in Ankara . Since Roncalli represented the papal throne also in Athens , he had to act at the same time in two conflicting environments. He coped well with his duties in difficult conditions, as a result of which he was recommended as assistant secretary of state in the Vatican for the post of nuncio in Paris (1944). Paris nunciature was considered a place of paramount importance, Roncalli's predecessor in this post, Valerie, who maintained good relations with the Vichy regime , after the fall of this regime was recalled at the request of de Gaulle . Most French bishops, like Valerie, were collaborators. Roncalli faced difficult problems, but he quickly gained de Gaulle's trust and, while in Paris , managed to establish contact with representatives of the USSR .

In 1953 he became Cardinal and Patriarch of Venice .

In the fall of 1958, the conclave elected Roncalli the pope . He became the oldest (at the time of election) pope of the 20th century. The newly elected pope took the name John XXIII. The choice of the pope was ambiguous, since the antipope Balthazar Cossa called himself John XXIII, and for almost 550 years no Roman pontiff called himself John, so that his name does not coincide with the name of an odious person. Roncalli himself explained that this name was dear to him: that was the name of his father.

The Pontificate of John XXIII, which lasted less than 5 years, determined the new course of the Vatican policy, which corresponded to new realities and was called upon to establish dialogue between different countries, religions and faiths, as well as improve the social status of believers in different regions of the world. Most scholars cite the policy of Pope John XXIII, aimed at protecting the world's poorest people, as an example of affirming the principles of Christian socialism that developed in the papal encyclicals.

Encyclicals

John XXIII during his five-year pontificate from October 28, 1958 to June 3, 1963 published 8 encyclicals devoted to various topics in the field of ecclesiology , ecumenism , the social teachings of the Roman Catholic Church , morality and morality .

Relations with the socialist camp. Pacifism

The situation in which the Catholic Church had been for a long time was very serious. The confrontation with the camp of socialism was only one of the most important problems that had to be solved. Unlike his predecessor, Pius XII, John XXIII was open to dialogue with the socialists (back in 1956 he sent an appeal to the XXXII Congress of the Italian Socialist Party in Venice), he persistently advocated peace and peaceful coexistence of states with different social systems regardless of the ideology prevailing in them.

Already in his first radio address in November 1958, the pope, appealing to the leaders of the nations, said: “Why spend huge resources on preparing the war, instead of improving the well-being of all, especially the poorest classes?” In his first encyclical “ Ad Petri Cathedram ” On June 29, 1959, the pope wrote that a new war would turn the world into ruins, and called on all people, especially those who are at the head of states, to seek agreements and maintain peace.

In 1959, John XXIII officially recognized the revolution in Cuba , and on January 3, 1962, he accredited at the papal court the representative of the government, F. Castro, L. A. Blanco i Fernandez.

However, the position of the Vatican - a fundamental denial of the ideology of communism - was maintained during the pontificate of John XXIII. At the same time, the pope believed that the settlement of relations between the Vatican and the countries of the socialist camp, where more than 50 million Catholics live, was in the interests of the Catholic Church, although it remained an opponent of the social system that existed in these states.

To protect himself from those critics who reproached him for his excessive sympathies for communism, John often emphasized that he perfectly understood that there could be no ideological rapprochement with communism. This is evident from the prayer formula recommended to them by the Catholics in August 1961 : "Vigilance with respect to godless communism, to how it is taught and how to live with it, should not be paralyzed by the pursuit of an apparent world." The alternative should not be a war against the Soviet Union , but "a true peace, the peace of Christ ."

In the early 1960s, John XXIII unexpectedly for many spoke out in favor of resolving disputes between the two systems through "free and loyal negotiations", to promote which is "a sign of wisdom and caution blessed in heaven and earth." Unlike some of his predecessors, John XXIII did not demand excommunication of those who profess “erroneous teachings”. “Today, the Spouse of Christ (that is, the Church) prefers to use the medicine of mercy instead of severity,” ^[6] , he said.

Speaking on the radio in September 1961 , John XXIII advised the rulers of states "to recognize the enormous responsibility they bear before history " and to resolve disputed issues not by force, but by means of sincere and free negotiations.

In a speech on December 25, 1961 to diplomats accredited to the Holy See , the pope urged interested parties to make concessions to achieve peace: "The trial of history will be harsh for those who will not do everything possible to alienate the threat of war from humanity."

The same idea was developed by him at a reception of government delegations who arrived at the opening of the Ecumenical Council in the Vatican in October 1962 , and again - a few days after that, during the days of the crisis in the Caribbean , when the pope appealed to all the leaders of countries with a call to end the escalation of international conflict.

John, through the mediation of the Vienna Archbishop Cardinal Koenig, tried to reach an agreement on church matters with the government of the Hungarian People's Republic . Negotiations with Hungarian diplomats, begun by the Vatican under John XXIII, ended with his successor by signing in September 1964 an agreement providing for the settlement of some practical issues related to the activities of the church.

Condemning the policy of neocolonialism , John, for the first time in the history of the Catholic Church, appointed Cardinal Negro Bishop of Rugambwa from Tanzania . The pope conducted an active dialogue with the leaders of the non-Christian religions of Vietnam , South Korea , Taiwan , Japan , etc.

John sought to unite the Christian world , established contact with representatives of non-Catholic Christian churches. “All people are brothers, and everything should be decided in a friendly manner, on the basis of mutual philanthropy,” he said.

Second Vatican Cathedral . Church Renewal

Pope John XXIII was the initiator of the XXI Ecumenical Council , designed to develop the position of the Catholic Church in response to the challenges of our time and to promote ecumenical processes within the Christian world. The pope established relations between the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations from the moment he ascended the throne. On December 2, 1960, for the first time in 400 years, pope hosted the head of the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury, Jeffrey Fisher, in Rome.

Dad knew about his diagnosis, but firmly refused the surgical treatment of stomach cancer, being afraid not to get out of anesthesia at his age. He believed that it was extremely important for him to hold an ecumenical council. On the day of the opening of the first session of the Second Vatican or XXI Ecumenical Council on September 11, 1962, John XXIII emphasized the need to "contribute to the elimination of all conflicts and, above all, wars - this scourge of peoples." Two important points of the papal program were discussed at the council: the renewal of church life, called Pope John XXIII "adjomento" , and unification with other Christian churches .

The pope achieved great success: the Russian Orthodox Church in the person of its two observers officially took part in the work of the cathedral. John attached exceptional importance to the presence of this particular church at the Second Vatican Council.

Even in the encyclical “ Mater et Magistra ” (“Mother and Mentor”, 1961 ), the Catholic Church ’s policy document on social policy issues, John XXIII emphasized that the council should develop a new concept that would help prevent any conflict, especially military conflict. On October 11, 1962, the pope declared that the cathedral’s task was not to condemn errors and to proclaim anathema, that now the church prefers “to resort to healing means of mercy rather than severity”. Papa's speech culminated in a call for peace.

During the days of the first session of the cathedral, the pope spoke with Polish bishops who arrived at the cathedral in such a way that his words were interpreted as recognition of the post-war western borders of Poland on the Oder and Neis . The pope’s statement provoked harsh comments in the German press, and the Ambassador of the Bonn government to the Vatican, Scherpenberg, demanded clarification from the Vatican State Secretariat.

In his Christmas speech, John XXIII called the world the most precious blessing on earth. This was his last Christmas message. On March 7, 1963, when addressing the President of Italy on the occasion of the award by the Balzan Foundation of the International Prize for Peace and Humanism, the pope spoke of the Vatican ’s super-neutrality. Having received the award, John received reporters.

In the encyclical " Pacem in Terris " ("Peace on Earth") dated April 13, 1963, Pope called for "in the light of the Gospel to unite all forces leading to a true peace in the personal sphere, family and society."

Shortly before his death, John XXIII spoke to V. Roberti nuncio about his intention to establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and even met with his son-in-law N. S. Khrushchev A. I. Adzhubey.

During his pontificate, he published 8 encyclicals .

Opponents of the course of John XXIII called him "the red pope", supporters - "the pope of the world." According to numerous recollections, Papa Roncalli was an attentive, delicate, good-natured, very pleasant person in communication, with a sense of humor. His nickname was "good dad."

The pope was not destined to implement the program of "renewal" of the church, adopted by the Second Vatican Council . He died on June 3, 1963 of stomach cancer, abandoning surgery. After the death, the body of the pope was embalmed by an assistant to the Institute of Anatomy of the Medical Faculty of the Catholic University of the Heart of Jesus, Gennaro Golla. Therefore, during the exhumation of January 16, 2001, it was found completely imperishable. The body of the pope rests in the basilica of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The crystal coffin in which his body is located is decorated with precious stones in a gold frame.

In 2000, Pope John Paul II ranked John XXIII as a blessed ( beatified him). The Catholic Church honors the memory of Pope John XXIII on October 11 . On April 27, 2014, John XXIII was ranked by the pope Francis ^[7] .

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• Kolupaev V.E. Russian-Vatican relations in the XX century: new documents of the Russian Diaspora // Modern Europe: Journal of Social and Political Studies. 2011, No. 3. P. 106—111.
• Kolupaev V. Ye. Brussels Publishing House “ Life with God ”: The Book World of Russian Abroad of the 20th Century. Radiomissiya for Soviet listeners. Saarbrücken, 2012.336 s. ISBN 978-3-8484-0980-8
• Korelin M.S. ,. John, popes // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.

• Official site of the house of Pope John XXIII
• Anatoly Krasikov . Peasant son on the papal throne (Neopr.) . “ NG Religions ” (November 19, 2008). “The personal secretary of John XXIII recalls the largest reformer of the Catholic Church.” Date of treatment November 20, 2008. Archived February 11, 2012.
• Biography of John XXIII in Russian
• The official text of the encyclical of John XXIII (lat.) , (English) , (French) , (Italian) , (port.) , (Spanish)
• Apostolic Constitution of John XXIII "Veterum sapientia"

• List of cardinals erected by Pope John XXIII .