Pope John Xxiii

Pope John XXIII served as an archetype for modern papacy. He had a lasting impact on the adherents of Christianity, who hailed him as ‘the people’s pope’, while the media dubbed ‘Good Pope John’, on his throne. His application of humility in turn with the instigation of the second Vatican council and the introduction of Ecumenism and Interfaith dialogue, proved a severe significance for the papal position.

                     
Pope John XXIII brought pastoral emphasis into his position, it was through visiting the sick and prisoners on significant days like Christmas Eve that lay people could relate to the Pope.

His famous words, still bring light to young men looking to pursue a life in the religious order. “Anybody can be Pope, the proof of that is I became one.”

The adherents of Christianity felt a personal relationship with the Pope, he was seen as a father figure in the Christian world.

It is the precedence that Good Pope John set that continues to influence Pope’s today. The successors of the People’s Pope have attempted to mirror the relationship that Pope John XXIII had with the people, calling them his children. Christians were enticed and felt drawn to the chuexh, because the leader of the Catholic Church was like them, Pope John XXIII was for the people and the people could relate to him. U stud



Pope John XXIII first mentions Ecumenism, in: “Mater Et Magistra – Encyclical of Pope John XXIII on Christianity and Social progress; May 15th, 1961.” It is in this document that Pope John XXIII talks about Ecumenism, he reflects on the idea that perhaps in the not too distant future, faiths might come together and work for the greater good of the world.

Good Pope John encouraged Ecumenism to promote common Gospel values, but even in old age and a withering body, Pope John XXIII, still managed to act on his words. On the second of December 1960, he met the Most Rev. Geoffrey Francis Fisher, the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was the first...