HONORING BLESSED POPE JOHN XXIII
WHEREAS, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was born in the province of Bergamo, Italy, on November 25, 1881, to a rural farm family; and
WHEREAS, he was ordained a priest on August 10, 1904, and served in many positions, including as a Chaplain in the Italian Army in World War I; and
WHEREAS, he was appointed Bishop by Pope Pius XI and served in the Vatican Diplomatic Service in Bulgaria, Turkey, and France; and
WHEREAS, during World War II, while Apostolic Nuncio to France, he endeavored to save refugees from the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust; and
WHEREAS, on January 12, 1953 he was appointed Patriarch of Venice by Pope Pius XII and was elevated to the sacred College of Cardinals as Cardinal Priest of Santa Prisca; and
WHEREAS, on October 28, 1958, he was elected the Successor of Peter as Vicar of Christ and the 261st Supreme Pontiff and Bishop of Rome, choosing the name John XXIII; and
WHEREAS, during his pontificate he was well-known for making many pastoral visits throughout the Diocese of Rome and became the first pope to visit a Knights of Columbus sports facility in Rome on May 10, 1959; and
WHEREAS, in April 1961 he received in a private audience the Supreme Officers and Directors of the Knights of Columbus; and
WHEREAS, on October 11, 1962, Blessed John XXIII opened the Second Vatican Council to bring about a renewal in the Church and enter into a conversation on the questions and challenges that face it in the modern world; and
WHEREAS, in 1963, he issued the groundbreaking encyclical Pacem in Terris in which he reminded the faithful that social order is based on the principle of human dignity and that true peace must be founded on truth, built up on justice, nurtured and animated by charity, and brought into effect under the auspices of freedom; and
WHEREAS, on June 3, 1963, Pope John XXIII entered into eternal glory after a life dedicated to the service of God and His Church; and
WHEREAS, on September 3, 2000, John XXIII was beatified by Blessed John Paul II and, on July 5, 2013, Pope Francis, approved the votes in favor of the canonization of Blessed John XXIII from the Ordinary Session of the Cardinal Fathers and bishops, and called for a consistory to schedule his canonization.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT, RESOLVED, Knights of Columbus join in solidarity with all the faithful in offering prayers of thanksgiving for the life, pontificate, and example of Blessed John XXIII; and
FURTHER RESOLVED, that as Knights of Columbus we recommit ourselves to live out the call of Pacem in Terris by continuing to serve the poor and the disabled among us and to stand up for life from natural conception to natural death; and
FURTHER RESOLVED, that we will continue to serve the Church in the tradition of the Second Vatican Council as lay leaders who serve as the leaven of the Church’s message in the world.