Celebrations in Rome were a mix of carnival and prayerful anticipation

Irish pilgrims flocked to Rome for the canonisations

Andrew O’Connell was in Rome for the papal canonisations

John XXIII and his assistant often skirted papal protocol

Saints show us that we are all called to practise heroic virtue even when life seems too tough

The late Pontiff had a pivotal part to play

Pope John XXIII called the Second Vatican Council in the conviction that it was necessary for the Catholic Church, yet without pre-conceived ideas of what it would accomplish, said Vatican II participants who recalled the event half a century later. John had come to a “conviction that something ought to be done in order to…

Polish Pope emerged as a forceful moral leader

John XXIII launched sweeping Church reforms

Visiting Bergamo and Sotto il Monte, the little village where Pope John XXIII was born, one understands deeply the importance of this great man for the citizens who live today in the places of Angelo Roncalli’s childhood. Talking with the people it was evident from the first moment how they wanted to underline what the…