Paul Keenan
Good Pope John by Michael Collins (Columba Press, €9.99 / £7.99)
Anthony Redmond
Father Michael Collins is something of an expert on Rome. He has written a number of books on Vatican themes, including Benedict XVl: Successor to Peter, Pope Benedict XVl: The First Five Years, John Paul ll: The Path to Sainthood, Francis, Bishop of Rome and The Fisherman’s Net. He is never less than fascinating when talking about the Eternal City.
His latest enchanting book, published to mark the canonisation of Pope John XXlll, is full of fascinating anecdotes and captures the warm and lively personality of Good Pope John. As with everything Fr Michael Collins writes, this excellent book is well worth reading
Born in Sotto il Monte in Bergamo in Northern Italy, Angelo Roncalli rose to be the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church. We read about his early life at the seminary, his ordination to the priesthood, his life as Papal Nuncio to Bulgaria, his role as Apostolic Delegate to Turkey and Greece and Patriarch of Venice and his surprise election as the 262nd successor of Peter at the age of 76 years.
What characterised him was his extraordinary warmth and sense of humour. Fr Collins comments: “One of Angelo Roncalli’s most endearing characteristics was his lack of vanity and his insatiable curiosity about others. Sitting for an official portrait, he remarked to the photographer that if God had really wanted him to be Pope he ought to have made him more photogenic.”
Indeed, his sense of humour was legendary. When he was once asked how many people worked at the Vatican he replied: “I would say about half of them.”
One of the first things he did after becoming Pope was to pay a visit to the Roman prison of Regina Coeli. He received a rapturous reception from the prisoners. “Since you could not come to me, I have come to you”, he said.
Concluding his address to the men, he promised that he would remember their wives and families in his nightly rosary. He said: “I am thinking along with you of your babies who are your pride and your sadness, your wives, your sisters and your mothers.”
His legacy
Fr Michael Collins tells us: “John’s most enduring legacy was the Second Vatican Council which he convened just three months after his election. He could not have foreseen the manner in which the historical gathering would mould the shape of the Church for future generations, but he had a historian’s grasp of the length of time required for change.
Pope John XXlll had a particular concern for the Jews. When he was nuncio in Greece and Turkey he did all he could to save as many Jews as possible during the Holocaust.
He was later recognised by Yad Vashem Museum as Righteous Among the Nations. This was an honour reserved for non-Jews who helped Jews during the Holocaust.
He later said these important words: “We are conscious today that many, many centuries of blindness have cloaked our eyes so that we can no longer see the beauty of Thy chosen people nor recognise in their faces the features of our privileged brethren.
“We realise that the mark of Cain stands upon our foreheads. Across the centuries our brother Abel has lain in blood which we drew, or shed tears we caused by forgetting Thy love. Forgive us for the curse we falsely attached to their name as Jews. Forgive us for crucifying Thee a second time in their flesh. For we know not what we did.”
As I read this informative, fascinating little biography I am struck by the amazing similarity in the warm, open personalities of Pope John XXlll and Pope Francis.
I believe that Pope John XXlll liked to sneak out of the Vatican at night and walk around the streets of Rome. He was given the affectionate nickname “Johnny Walker” because of his fondness for strolling about.
“When he died two wreaths were sent from the prisoners of Regina Coeli prison and Mantova prison in Verona. There was a universal outpouring of grief, affection and admiration.
