{"id":2037,"date":"2015-06-03T20:19:25","date_gmt":"2015-06-04T01:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/?page_id=2037"},"modified":"2015-06-24T09:32:57","modified_gmt":"2015-06-24T14:32:57","slug":"pope-st-john-xxiii-1881-1963","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/interfaith-dialogue\/jewish-christian-relations\/pioneers-of-dialogue-in-the-modern-jewish-christian-relationship\/pope-st-john-xxiii-1881-1963","title":{"rendered":"Pope St. John XXIII (1881-1963)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"After<\/a><\/p>\n

The man who would go on to become one of the most beloved Catholic leaders of modern times was born into a large peasant family on November 25, 1881, in the village of Sotto Il Monte, in Bergamo, and was named Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli. After his seminary studies, he was ordained a priest in 1904, and was sent to pursue further studies in canon law., and he later served as a professor of Church history at the local seminary. During the First World War, he served as a stretcher-bearer, a role that brought him face-to-face with the brutal reality of modern war and its victims.<\/p>\n

In 1925, Angelo Roncalli began his career in Church diplomacy; he would serve, in turn, as the papal nuncio to Bulgaria, (1925-35) Turkey and Greece (1935-44) and France (1944-58). During the Second World War, he distinguished himself by his consistent, effective efforts to defend and save many of the victims of the Nazis, especially Jews who were threatened by death. Many historians say that, as a Vatican diplomat, he provided numerous immigration certificates (and, some say. false baptismal papers) which enabled thousands of Jews to escape to safety. In more than one case, his efforts succeeded in the liberation of Jews who had already been deported to concentration camps. Sometimes, Roncalli\u2019s efforts involved sympathetic Nazi officials, such as the German Ambassador to Turkey, Franz von Papen; Roncalli would later write that von Papen\u2019s actions had allowed Roncalli to try to save the lives of 24,000 Jews. In 1944, Isaac Herzog, the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, wrote to Roncalli:<\/p>\n