Pope St. John XXIII
Feast day: October 11
Born Angelo Roncalli in Italy, Pope St. John XXIII was ordained a priest in 1904. During World War I, he served as a medic and chaplain. He represented the Church as a Vatican diplomat in Bulgaria, Turkey, and France, eventually becoming a cardinal and patriarch of Venice in 1953. In 1958, he was elected pope and a year later announced the Second Vatican Council. He issued the encyclical “Pacem in Terris” just months before his death in 1963. Pope Francis canonized him in 2014.
Prayer
Almighty ever-living God,
who in Pope Saint John the Twenty-Third
have given a living example of Christ, the Good Shepherd,
to shine throughout the whole world,
grant us, we pray,
that, through his intercession,
we may joyfully pour out
an abundance of Christian charity.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
