What a lovely man. I knew very little about John XXIII when he was elected pope, except that he was old and was widely expected to be a place-holder until the next pope, a younger man, would be elected.
On 25 December 1958, he became the first pope since 1870 to make pastoral visits in his Diocese of Rome, when he visited children infected with polio at the Bambino Gesù Hospital and then visited Santo Spirito Hospital. The following day he visited Rome's Regina Coeli prison, where he told the inmates: "You could not come to me, so I came to you." These acts created a sensation, and he wrote in his diary:What hope and excitement in the church about our new pope who wanted to "throw open the windows" after the long reign of the austere Pius XII, who was the only pope that many of us had known. Good Pope John electrified the Roman Catholic Church and the world when he called for Vatican Council II.
...great astonishment in the Roman, Italian and international press. I was hemmed in on all sides: authorities, photographers, prisoners, wardens...His frequent habit of sneaking out of the Vatican late at night to walk the streets of the city of Rome earned him the nickname "Johnny Walker", a pun on the whisky brand name.
Collect of the Day: John XXIII, Bishop of Rome, 1963The canonization of John XXIII is pending in the Roman Catholic Church.
Lord of all truth and peace, you raised up your bishop John to be servant of the servants of God and gave him wisdom to call for the work of renewing your Church: Grant that, following his example, we may reach out to other Christians to clasp them with the love of your Son, and labor throughout the nations of the world to kindle a desire for justice and peace; through Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
