Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, the man who would become Pope John XXIII was born on November 25, 1881. He was one of the most famous, generous, and kind Popes to lead the church. He reigned from 1958-1963, and this showcased the new era he envisioned.
Although Pope John XXIII was born into poverty and was extremely proud of it, He wouldn’t have it any other way, if you didn’t know, he was one of the few surviving children of Giovanni Roncalli. The survival made him strong and resilient and that is when he left home to study priesthood at the age of 11. Even though it took hardships and struggle, he finally became Pope at the age of 76 in 1958.
Even though he had the position and title, he never took advantage of his privileges and lived a very humble and simple life. Even in his last testament, he was proud and happy to die poor. He was titled “Papa Bueno” by the people after his death, depicting his good deeds.
Among his achievements was saving Jews during the Second World War. Serving as an archbishop, he led the diplomatic mission to Turkey. During that phase, he helped a lot of Jews flee out of Europe by providing transit visas.
Pope John XXIII also played a very vital part in bringing Russia and America together during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
Motivational Pope John XXIII Sayings and Quotes
I have looked into your eyes with my eyes. I have put my heart near your heart.
Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.
The feelings of my smallness and my nothingness always kept me good company.
It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.
The true and solid peace of nations consists not of inequality of arms but in mutual trust alone.
It is now for the Catholic Church to bend herself to her work with calmness and generosity. It is for you to observe her with renewed and friendly attention.
Men are like wine – some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age.
The family is the first essential cell of human society.
See everything, overlook a great deal, correct a little.
10. It often happens that I wake up at night and begin to think about a serious problem and decide I must tell the Pope about it. Then I wake up completely and remember that I am the Pope.
Here I am at the end of the road and at the top of the heap.
Every man has the right to life, to bodily integrity.
A peaceful man does more good than a learned one.
Italians come to ruin most generally in three ways, women, gambling, and farming. My family chose the slowest one.
Anybody can be Pope; the proof of this is that I have become one.
I am able to follow my own death step by step. Now I move softly towards the end.
The council now beginning rises in the Church like the daybreak, a forerunner of most splendid light.
Born poor, but of honored and humble people, I am particularly proud to die poor.
The nations of the world are becoming more and more dependent on one another and it will not be possible to preserve a lasting peace so long as glaring economic and social imbalances persist.
The deposit of the faith is one thing… the way it is expressed is another.
Whoever has a heart full of love always has something to give.
The solidarity which binds all men together as members of a common family makes it impossible for wealthy nations to look with indifference upon the hunger, misery, and poverty of other nations whose citizens are unable to enjoy even elementary human rights. The nations of the world are becoming more and more dependent on one another and it will not be possible to preserve a lasting peace so long as glaring economic and social imbalances persist.
The whole world is my family.
Prudent is he who can keep silent that part of the truth which may be untimely, and by not speaking it, does not spoil the truth of what he said.
The social progress, order, security, and peace of each country are necessarily connected with the social progress, order, security, and peace of all other countries.
The Rosary is a magnificent and universal prayer for the needs of the Church, the nations, and the entire world.
Justice comes before charity.
Mankind is a great, immense family… This is proved by what we feel in our hearts at Christmas.
Listen to everything, forget much, correct little.
The Catholic Church has a dignity far surpassing that of every merely human society, for it was founded by Christ the Lord. It is altogether fitting, therefore, that the language it uses should be noble, majestic, and non-vernacular.
The mark of Cain is stamped upon our foreheads. Across the centuries, our brother Abel was lain in blood which we drew, and shed tears we caused by forgetting Thy love. Forgive us, Lord, for the curse we falsely attributed to their name as Jews. Forgive us for crucifying Thee a second time in their flesh. For we knew not what we did.
I am made to tremble and I fear!
An angel of Paradise, no less, is always beside me, wrapped in everlasting ecstasy on his Lord. So I am ever under the gaze of an angel who protects and prays for me.
There is a common belief that under modern conditions peace cannot be assured except on the basis of an equal balance of armaments…[but] true and lasting peace among nations cannot consist in the possession of an equal supply of armaments but only in mutual trust.
O Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, I would like to be filled with love for You; keep me closely united with You, may my heart be near to Yours. I want to be to You like the apostle John. O Mary of the Rosary, keep me recollected when I say these prayers of yours; bind me forever, with your rosary, to Jesus of the Blessed Sacrament. Blessed be Jesus, my love…
… just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul.
Today the universal common good poses problems of worldwide dimensions, which cannot be adequately tackled or solved except by the efforts of public authorities endowed with a wideness of powers, structure, and means of the same proportions; that is… on a worldwide basis.
When I eat alone I feel like a seminarian being punished. I tried it for one week and I was not comfortable. Then I searched through Sacred Scripture for something saying I had to eat alone. I found nothing, so I gave it up and it’s much better now.
We supplicate all rulers not to remain deaf to the cry of mankind. Let them do everything in their power to save peace. By so doing they will spare the world the horrors of a war that would have disastrous consequences, such as nobody can foresee.
The conviction that all men are equal by reason of their natural dignity has been generally accepted. Hence racial discrimination can no longer be justified.
O Jesus, come back into our society, our family life, our souls, and reign there as our peaceful Sovereign. Enlighten with the splendor of faith and the charity of Your tender heart the souls of those who work for the good of the people, for Your poor. Impart to them Your own spirit, a spirit of discipline, order, and gentleness, preserving the flame of enthusiasm ever alight in their hearts… May that day come very soon, when we shall see You restored to the center of civic life, borne on the shoulders of Your joyful people.
Relations between States, as between individuals, must be regulated not by armed force, but in accordance with…truth, justice, and vigorous and sincere co-operation.
Never Hesitate to hold out your hand; never hesitate to accept the outstretched hand of another.
The Rosary is a school for learning true Christian perfection.
In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (December 1948) in most solemn form, the dignity of a person is acknowledged to all human beings; and as a consequence, there is proclaimed, as a fundamental right, the right of free movement in search for truth and in the attainment of moral good and of justice, and also the right to a dignified life.
Consult not your fears, but your hopes and your dreams.
I live by the mercy of Jesus, to whom I owe everything and from whom I expect everything.
If God created shadows it was to better emphasize the light.
I want to throw open the windows of the Church so that we can see out and the people can see in.
What unites us, is much greater than what divides us.
See everything, overlook a great deal, correct a little.
Mankind is a great, immense family… This is proved by what we feel in our hearts at Christmas.
Listen to everything, forget much, correct little.
The mark of Cain is stamped upon our foreheads. Across the centuries, our brother Abel was lain in blood which we drew, and shed tears we caused by forgetting Thy love. Forgive us, Lord, for the curse we falsely attributed to their name as Jews. Forgive us for crucifying Thee a second time in their flesh. For we knew not what we did.
I am made to tremble and I fear!
An angel of Paradise, no less, is always beside me, wrapped in everlasting ecstasy on his Lord. So I am ever under the gaze of an angel who protects and prays for me.
There is a common belief that under modern conditions peace cannot be assured except on the basis of an equal balance of armaments…[but] true and lasting peace among nations cannot consist in the possession of an equal supply of armaments but only in mutual trust.
O Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, I would like to be filled with love for You; keep me closely united with You, may my heart be near to Yours. I want to be to You like the apostle John. O Mary of the Rosary, keep me recollected when I say these prayers of yours; bind me forever, with your rosary, to Jesus of the Blessed Sacrament. Blessed be Jesus, my love…
Just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul.
Today the universal common good poses problems of worldwide dimensions, which cannot be adequately tackled or solved except by the efforts of public authorities endowed with a wideness of powers, structure, and means of the same proportions; that is… on a worldwide basis.
When I eat alone I feel like a seminarian being punished. I tried it for one week and I was not comfortable. Then I searched through Sacred Scripture for something saying I had to eat alone. I found nothing, so I gave it up and it’s much better now.
We supplicate all rulers not to remain deaf to the cry of mankind. Let them do everything in their power to save peace. By so doing they will spare the world the horrors of a war that would have disastrous consequences, such as nobody can foresee.
The conviction that all men are equal by reason of their natural dignity has been generally accepted. Hence racial discrimination can no longer be justified.
O Jesus, come back into our society, our family life, our souls, and reign there as our peaceful Sovereign. Enlighten with the splendor of faith and the charity of Your tender heart the souls of those who work for the good of the people, for Your poor. Impart to them Your own spirit, a spirit of discipline, order, and gentleness, preserving the flame of enthusiasm ever alight in their hearts… May that day come very soon, when we shall see You restored to the center of civic life, borne on the shoulders of Your joyful people.
Relations between States, as between individuals, must be regulated not by armed force, but in accordance with…truth, justice, and vigorous and sincere co-operation.
Never hesitate to hold out your hand; never hesitate to accept the outstretched hand of another.
The Rosary is a school for learning true Christian perfection.
In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (December 1948) in most solemn form, the dignity of a person is acknowledged to all human beings; and as a consequence, there is proclaimed, as a fundamental right, the right of free movement in search for truth and in the attainment of moral good and of justice, and also the right to a dignified life.
Consult not your fears, but your hopes and your dreams.
I want to throw open the windows of the Church so that we can see out and the people can see in.
Take-Aways
Pope John XXIII’s papacy has a spirit of openness but most importantly commitment to social justice. His unique leadership qualities enabled him to take several initiatives which brought reforms to the Catholic Church. He pioneered the bridging of a healthy relationship with other Christian Denominations. His reforms helped solve countless social issues.
He was approachable and had the warmest personality. His heart held genuine concern for the suffering of people. He made special efforts to connect with everyone regardless of the societal level. This is one of the reasons why he was loved by countless people, both within the Catholic Church as well as outside it.
