John XXIII

   1) (c. 1370–1419)

   Antipope.

   John was born Baldassare Cossa in Naples, and was educated at the University of Bologna. He presided over the Council of Pisa in 1409 in an attempt to bring the papal schism to an end. Both existing Popes were deposed (though neither accepted deposition) and after the sudden death of Pope Alexander V, Cossa was elected as John XXIII in 1412. At this stage there were, then, three Popes. To end this undesirable situation, John was persuaded to convoke a General Council which met at Constance. The Council deposed John in 1415 and elected martin v. John submitted to the new Pope in 1418 and was appointed Cardinal Bishop of Tusculum. He is remembered for his condemnation of both hus and wycliffe at the Synod of Rome in 1412.

   E.J. Kitts, Pope John XXIII and Master John Hus of Bohemia (1910);

   J.H. Mundy and K.M. Woody (eds), The Council of Constance (1961).

   2) (1881–1963)

   Pope and Ecumenist.

   John was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli. In 1953 he was appointed Cardinal and Patriarch of Venice, and, after a long conclave, he was elected as an elderly ‘interim’ Pope in 1958. To the amazement of everyone, he announced that he intended to summon an ecumenical council to promote the unity of all Christians. The last council had met a hundred years previously in the reign of Pius IX and was summoned to declare the infallibility of the Papacy. This was to be a different affair. In his opening speech, John urged the participants to respond to the needs of the twentieth century. During the course of the first session he gave active encouragement to those who were in favour of change. In addition he created a commission to revise the Code of Canon Law and he did a great deal to promote good relationships with leaders of other Churches. During his reign, for the first time the Roman Catholic Church was represented at the World Council of Churches and non-Catholic observers were invited to the Second Vatican Council. In addition, adherents of other faiths ceased to be described as ‘schismatic heretics’, but became ‘separated brethren’. John did not live to see the end of the Council, but it must be regarded as a landmark in the history of the Western Church. He himself was a genial, kindly man, much given to good works; his death was universally mourned.

   John XXIII, Journey of a Soul (1965);

   P. Johnson, Pope John XXIII (1975);

   P. Hebblethwaite, John XXIII: Pope of the Council (1984).