Journal of a Soul: The Autobiography of Pope John XXIII
by Papa Giovanni XXIII, Pope John XXIII (Author)
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From the age of fourteen until his death at the age of eighty-two, Pope John XXIII kept what he called his 'Journal of a Soul' - the record of his growth in holiness. Elected Pope at the age of seventy-eight he impressed the world with the breadth of his mind but also with his simplicity and his will to be at the service of others. This book covers the full span of his long career from the seminary at Bergamo to his brief but transformative papacy.His journal is a rare and intimate record of show more the spiritual life of a much-loved figure. As he wrote, 'my soul is in these pages.' show lessTags
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A journal kept by one of the most revered men in our history from the time he entered the seminary until he died as Pope in 1963. A journal was kept in his early years; later it becomes more of a collection of his inspiring writings. This book also includes a number of prayers that he composed for different feats that he celebrated.
Now when I feel lost and alone, I can think of his writings and remember that he who we would think was always with God's favor, most of the time felt that he was never quite there. He was someone who shouldn't have felt sinful, but who felt terribly so and was always seeking to atone for his failings. He was a model to us all.
Now when I feel lost and alone, I can think of his writings and remember that he who we would think was always with God's favor, most of the time felt that he was never quite there. He was someone who shouldn't have felt sinful, but who felt terribly so and was always seeking to atone for his failings. He was a model to us all.
Very interesting book. It's fascinating to see how a holy man's mind works.
his journal from age 14
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Born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, the son of peasants who rented land as sharecroppers, Pope John XXIII early demonstrated intellectual abilities that saw him through seminary studies in Bergamo, near his home, and on to his ordination in 1904. For a number of years he worked with Catholic women's and youth organizations under the bishop of Bergamo. show more In World War I he served as a medical sergeant and as a chaplain and after the war was active in the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, with its headquarters in Rome. In 1925 he was appointed to the first of several diplomatic missions, first among the Catholic minority in Bulgaria, then in Turkey, where he set the precedent of introducing Turkish into the Mass, and in Greece, where during World War II military operations destroyed any opportunity he might have had to work with the Orthodox majority and confronted him with a hatred of Italians fueled by the Italian army's occupation of the country. As the war began to heat up on French soil, he was appointed papal nuncio to France and arrived in Paris at the very end of 1944. There, for almost a decade, he worked with first the Germans and then the French government to heal the wounds of warfare, to keep the church intact through rapid changes of government, to keep Catholic schools alive, and to deal with the French bishops who saw the increasing secularization of the nation and the failing religious allegiance of the people as signs pointing to the need for radical new measures to propagate the faith. Nevertheless, it is true that the worker-priest movement, which he watched at first with approval, received its deathblow during his pontificate. After serving as patriarch of Venice and being made cardinal (1953), he was elected by the College of Cardinals in 1958 to succeed Pius XII. The major accomplishment of his pontificate was the calling of the Second Vatican Council, whose arguments and decrees seemed revolutionary in their time (1962--65) and whose ripples continue to move the barque of Rome to this day. Thirty-nine non-Catholic observers attended with his blessing, special provision being made for translation from Latin documents and speeches, and it is perhaps not surprising that one of the first conciliar decrees was to allow the vernacular to replace Latin in the liturgy. He died of a gastric ulcer on June 3, 1963. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- Journal of a Soul: The Autobiography of Pope John XXIII
- People/Characters
- Pope John XXIII
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- Genres
- Religion & Spirituality, Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, History
- DDC/MDS
- 282.092 — Religion Christian denominations Roman Catholic Church Catholic Biography And History Biography
- LCC
- BX1378.2 .A383 — Philosophy, Psychology and Religion Christian Denominations Christian Denominations Catholic Church History
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- Reviews
- 4
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- (4.45)
- Languages
- English, French, Italian
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 10
- ASINs
- 27
