Pope St. John XXIII

Pope John XXIII was born on November 25, 1881 as Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli. One of thirteen children, he was educated by a priest during his youth, and eventually joined the seminary at age 12. A scholarship from the Cerasoli Foundation (1901) enabled him to go on to the Apollinaris in Rome where he studied under Umberto Benigni, the Church historian. He was ordained in 1904. Her served in the military, once during World War I as a chaplain. His dedication to serving those involved in the war was evident through his post-war efforts: he set up an office to locate prisoners of war as well as assisting the Church's post-war efforts in France, in part, by becoming the first permanent observer of the Holy See at UNESCO. 

His pathway to the Papacy took him through Bergamo (where he was born), Paris, Turkey, Rome, and Istanbul. He was elected pope in 1958 at 76-years-old. At the time, he was the first to take the name John after... (click for more)