St. John XXIII

Our patron saint is Saint John XXIII. He was born on November 25th, 1881 as Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli. On October 28th, 1958 he was elected Pope. He served for four-and-a-half years as Pope until his death on June 3rd, 1963. He was buried in the Vatican grottoes on June 6th, 1963. Blessed Pope John XXIII lived a fruitful life. On August 10th, 1904, he was ordained as a priest. He became cardinal on January 12th, 1953 through Pope Pius XII and named at the same time the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Prisca.

On November 18th, 1965, Blessed Pope John XXIII’s cause for canonization was opened by Pope Paul VI. He was then declared Servant of God. On December 20th, 1999, he was named venerable. On September 3rd, 2000, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II. At this time, his body was moved to the altar of Saint Jerome.

On the anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council on July 5th, 2013, Pope Francis declared Blessed Pope John XXIII a saint. We celebrate his feast day on October 11th — this is the Second Vatican Council’s first session.