Pope John XXIII, was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 1963. He was among 13 children born to Marianna Mazzola and Giovanni Battista Roncalli in a family of sharecroppers who lived in Sotto il Monte, a village in the province of Bergamo, Lombardy. He was ordained to the priesthood on 10 August 1904 and served in a number of posts, as nuncio in France and a delegate to Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. In a consistory on 12 January 1953 Pope Pius XII made Roncalli a cardinal as the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Prisca in addition to naming him as the Patriarch of Venice. Roncalli was unexpectedly elected pope on 28 October 1958 at age 76 after eleven ballots. Pope John XXIII surprised those who expected him to be a caretaker pope by calling the historic Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), the first session opening on 11 October 1962.
Giuseppe Siri was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Genoa from 1946 to 1987, and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1953. He was a protege of Pope Pius XII. He was considered a likely candidate to succeed Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul I.
Papabile is an unofficial Italian term first coined by Vaticanologists and now used internationally in many languages to describe a Catholic man, in practice always a cardinal, who is thought a likely or possible candidate to be elected pope. In some cases the cardinals will choose a papabile candidate. Among the papabili cardinals who have been elected pope are Eugenio Pacelli, Giovanni Battista Montini, and Joseph Ratzinger. However, at times the College of Cardinals elects a man who was not considered papabile by most Vatican watchers. In recent years those who were elected pope though not considered papabile include John XXIII, John Paul I, John Paul II. There is a saying among Vaticanologists: "He who enters the conclave as pope, leaves it as a cardinal." This is a popular proverb in Italy as well, indicating one should never be too sure of oneself.
The Patriarch of Venice is the ordinary bishop of the Archdiocese of Venice. The bishop is one of only four patriarchs in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church. The other three are the Patriarch of Lisbon, the Patriarch of the East Indies and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Presently, the only advantage of this purely formal title is the bishop's place of honor in papal processions. In the case of Venice, an additional privilege allows the patriarch, even if he is not a cardinal, the use of the colour red in non-liturgical vestments. In that case, the red biretta is topped by a tuft, as is the custom with other bishops who are not cardinals.
A papal conclave took place from 25 to 28 October following the death of Pope Pius XII on 9 October 1958. On the eleventh ballot, the College of Cardinals elected Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli as the new pope. He accepted the election and took the name John XXIII. He was the second patriarch of Venice to be elected pontiff in the 20th century after Pius X.
Some hold the conspiracy theory which asserts that the conservative Cardinal Giuseppe Siri, then the Archbishop of Genoa, was elected pope in the 1958 papal conclave, taking the name Pope Gregory XVII, but that his election was suppressed. Siri did not associate himself with this idea.
The Italian Episcopal Conference or CEI is the episcopal conference of the Italian bishops of the Catholic Church, the official assembly of the bishops in Italy.
Giacomo Lercaro was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Ravenna from 1947 to 1952, and Archbishop of Bologna from 1952 to 1968. Pope Pius XII made him a cardinal in 1953.
Loris Francesco Capovilla was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate and a cardinal. At his death, he was the oldest living Roman Catholic bishop from Italy and the fourth oldest in the world. At the time of his elevation to the rank of cardinal in 2014, he was the oldest member of the College of Cardinals.
Alberto Melloni is an Italian church historian and a Unesco Chairholder of the Chair on Religious Pluralism & Peace, primarily known for his work on the Councils and the Second Vatican Council. Since 2020, he is one of the European Commission's Chief Scientific Advisors.
Olinto Marella was an Italian Roman Catholic priest who exercised his pastoral service in the Archdiocese of Bologna. Marella was a classmate of Pope John XXIII in Rome and the pope held him in high esteem and supported his pastoral initiatives.
The Good Pope: Pope John XXIII is a 2003 Italian television film written and directed by Ricky Tognazzi. The film is based on real life events of Pope John XXIII.
Paul VI: The Pope in the Tempest is a 2008 Italian television movie directed by Fabrizio Costa. The film is based on real life events of Roman Catholic Pope Paul VI.
Angelo De Donatis is an Italian Catholic prelate who currently serves as Cardinal Vicar, Archpriest of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Lateran University.
Antonio Guido Filipazzi is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1992.
Angelo Pedroni was a prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, with the title of nuncio from 1965 until his retirement in 1989 and the rank of archbishop from 1965 until his death.
The Permanent Observer of Holy See to UNESCO is the representative of the Holy See to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which is based in Paris. The Church also has representatives at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York and at the headquarters of a number of its other international bodies in Geneva and Nairobi.
Paolo Pappalardo was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See.
Vittore Ugo Righi was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He became an archbishop in 1963 and led the offices representing the Holy See in Paraguay and Iran.
Giuseppe Misuraca was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and served as Apostolic Nuncio to Venezuela from 1941 to 1949.
