On November 23, 1958, Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, the son
of peasant Italian farmers, became Pope John XXIII. Widely expected
to be a transitional pope, John surprised the Church hierarchy and
the world by convoking an ambitious ecumenical council--the first
such council in more than a century--to bring the Catholic Church
into the modern era. "I want to throw open the windows of the
Church," he said, "so that we can see out and the people can see
in." Broken into four sessions and held over four years, the Second
Vatican Council ("a new Pentecost," according to John) breathed new
life into the Church and its pastoral mission, knocking down the
centuries-old wall between the Church hierarchy and the laity and
repositioning the Church as a universal instrument of hope,
justice, and compassion for people of all faiths.
Fifty years after he convened the Second Vatican Council, Pope
John XXIII remains one of the most beloved and remarkable fi gures
in the history of the Catholic Church. Affectionately known as Il
Buono Papa, or the Good Pope, John is remembered today by Catholics
and non-Catholics alike as an enduring symbol of peace,
ecumenicalism, and Christian spirituality. In The Good Pope, Greg
Tobin recounts John's remarkable story, from his impoverished
childhood in Bergamo, Italy, and his successful tenure as a papal
ambassador in war-torn Europe to his surprise ascendancy to the
throne of St. Peter. In the process, he traces John's legacy as the
spiritual father of the modern Church and explains why the Good
Pope and his great council are as vital, vibrant, and important to
Catholicism as ever before. Meticulously researched and engaging,
The Good Pope captures the heart, soul, and spirit of the man who
ushered in a new era of religion in the twentieth century.
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