We have been truly blessed by the Bishop choosing our new parish patron. Pope John who was pope from 1958 to 1963 is probably one of the best loved popes of present times mainly due to his great warmth of humanity, his humility and his willingness to open the Church to new challenges and to understand that even the Church need to adapt and develop to meet modern needs.
Pope John was born Angelo Roncalli on 25 November 1881. His family were poor farm workers in the village of Sotto il Monte near the city of Bergamo in Italy. From a very early age he felt called to the priesthood and was ordained priest in 1904. He had a varied career as bishop’s secretary, army chaplain ending up as the Vatican’s diplomatic representative in Bulgaria and then Paris. He eventually was made a cardinal and became archbishop of Venice. He was elected pope in 1958. Pope John never forgot his humble beginnings, was never pompous or high-handed with people, was a fund of jokes and good humour and very soon became a highly loved pope. He was the first pope to visit his local prison, and also began the tradition of celebrating Christmas Mass in prison for inmates and staff. He would not condemn the prisoners or put them down in any way but would assure them that they were part of the flock and were loved by him. He would promise them that he would always remember to pray for their families. Most bishops have since taken up the practice of celebrating Christmas Mass in local prisons.
The greatest thing John did was to call the Second Vatican Council in 1962 when he said that he wanted to open the windows of the Church to let in the Holy Spirit, to blow away all that was unnecessary and to focus again on what was the essential mission of the Church. It was a bold move for a 77 year old pope to summon all the bishops of the world to come together in Rome and be prepared to open their hearts to the new challenges that the Holy Spirit was calling them to face. Pope John died in 1963 and his successor Pope Paul V1 continued the work of the Council.
Pope John was canonized on 27 April 2014 together with Pope John Paul II and his feast day is the 11 October. The Italians referred to Pope John as “Il Papa Buono” the good Pope, as indeed he was, and we ask that through the intercession of our saint and patron the Holy Spirit will inspire us and open our hearts to the new challenges that we will face as the new and united parish of Pope St John XXIII.