Pope St. John XXIII: Good Pope John, Feast Day and Prayer

Pope St. John XXIII (1881–1963), born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, was the son of poor farmers from northern Italy who became a papal diplomat, Patriarch of Venice and, at almost seventy-seven, pope; in less than five years he surprised the world by calling the Second Vatican Council and won hearts everywhere with his warmth, humor and goodness. People called him “Good Pope John.” He wrote the encyclical Pacem in Terris on peace among all nations, and he was canonized together with St. John Paul II in 2014. His feast day is October 11, the anniversary of the opening of the Council. Below are his story, Scripture, and prayers to St. John XXIII for the Church, for peace and for Christian unity.

A short prayer to St. John XXIII, written for this page:

St. John XXIII, you opened the windows of the Church and greeted everyone as a brother.
Pray for the Church and for peace in the world,
and teach me your trust in God, your humility and your gentle good humor. Amen.

Who was St. John XXIII?

Angelo Roncalli was born on November 25, 1881, at Sotto il Monte, near Bergamo, the fourth of thirteen children of a family of sharecroppers. He entered the seminary as a boy and was ordained a priest in 1904. He served as secretary to the bishop of Bergamo, and in the First World War as a medical orderly and military chaplain. From 1925 he spent nearly thirty years as a papal diplomat in Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece, where during the Second World War he helped many Jewish refugees escape, and then as nuncio in Paris. In 1953 he became cardinal and Patriarch of Venice.

When he was elected pope on October 28, 1958, many expected a short, quiet “transitional” papacy. Instead, just three months later, he announced an ecumenical council to renew the Church and open it to the modern world. On the evening the Council opened, October 11, 1962, he spoke to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square by moonlight and asked them to go home and give their children a caress from the Pope. He also issued Mater et Magistra (1961), on Christianity and social progress, and Pacem in Terris (1963), addressed for the first time to “all men of good will,” written after the Cuban Missile Crisis. He died of stomach cancer on June 3, 1963, mourned by the whole world. He was beatified in 2000 and canonized on April 27, 2014.

Scripture

He worked and prayed for the unity Christ asked of the Father (John 17:20–21, Douay-Rheims):

And not for them only do I pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in me;
That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

What is St. John XXIII the patron saint of?

The Second Vatican Council and the renewal of the Church
Christian unity and peace among nations
The Italian Army, which received him as its patron in 2017

Prayers to St. John XXIII

Written for this page.

For peace

St. John XXIII, you begged the world’s leaders to choose peace.
Pray for an end to war, for justice and freedom for every people, and for peace in every home. Amen.

For the Church

Good Pope John, pray for the Church, that it may be renewed by the Holy Spirit,
faithful to Christ and open to every person who seeks God. Amen.

Feast day

The optional memorial of St. John XXIII, pope, is October 11, the day the Second Vatican Council opened in 1962.

Frequently asked questions

Why is he called “Good Pope John”?

Because of his kindness, simplicity and humor, which won the affection of Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

What did Pope John XXIII do?

He called and opened the Second Vatican Council and wrote the encyclicals Mater et Magistra and Pacem in Terris.

Pope St. John XXIII: “Good Pope John,” the Pope of Vatican II, Feast Day (October 11) and Prayer