Angelo Guissepe Roncalli, born in...
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Angelo Guissepe Roncalli, born in 1881, dedicated himself to becoming a priest at eight
and was ordained three months before the minimum age of 23.
He earned a Ph.D. and had a scholarly disposition; yet, he continually found himself caring for the suffering. In Italy, before WWI, he organized emigration offices for thousands to seek employment outside their poor country. He served in the medical corps in the "Great War" then in 1925 served in Bulgaria, organizing relief efforts after the 1928 earthquakes and floods. During WWII, he issued baptismal certificates to Jews and influenced Bulgaria's king not to obey Hitler's orders to ship Jews to death camps.
Roncalli wasn't typical for his time. He didn't believe God penalized Christians for not being Catholic. He liked to quote Joseph, "I am your brother." By the time he died in 1963, he was recipient of the Balzan Peace Prize for being intermediary in the Cuban missile crisis between his friend, Nikita Khrushchev, and his friend, John F. Kennedy.
He said he was a brother. By the time of his death, Protestants, Catholics, and Jews believed him and affectionately called him "The Good Pope," John the Twenty- third.
He earned a Ph.D. and had a scholarly disposition; yet, he continually found himself caring for the suffering. In Italy, before WWI, he organized emigration offices for thousands to seek employment outside their poor country. He served in the medical corps in the "Great War" then in 1925 served in Bulgaria, organizing relief efforts after the 1928 earthquakes and floods. During WWII, he issued baptismal certificates to Jews and influenced Bulgaria's king not to obey Hitler's orders to ship Jews to death camps.
Roncalli wasn't typical for his time. He didn't believe God penalized Christians for not being Catholic. He liked to quote Joseph, "I am your brother." By the time he died in 1963, he was recipient of the Balzan Peace Prize for being intermediary in the Cuban missile crisis between his friend, Nikita Khrushchev, and his friend, John F. Kennedy.
He said he was a brother. By the time of his death, Protestants, Catholics, and Jews believed him and affectionately called him "The Good Pope," John the Twenty- third.
