Pope St. John XXIII

Pope Saint John XXIII (1881 – 1963) Angelo Roncalli, destined to have one of the most important, beloved and consequential papacies in history, was born in 1881 in the Bergamo region of Lombardy.  Angelo was always proud of his humble beginnings and family heritage as “paesani” or simple people of the earth. This humility, lack of guile and devotion to family, faith and farmstead would serve him well during his long and momentous life. Angelo followed his vocational call to the priesthood and was ordained in 1904.  Father Roncalli served in the Royal Italian Army as a stretcher bearer in World War I and witnessed firsthand the horrors of war and the wholesale destruction of human life. In 1925, against his wishes to remain a priest and seminary professor, Roncalli was consecrated bishop and appointed apostolic delegate to Turkey, where he developed close ties with the Muslim community. In his work in Bulgaria, Roncalli worked closely with the Jewish community. He was instrumental in re