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PARENTS OF POPE JOHN XXIII
The^e reproductions of oil paintings show the parents of
Pope John XXIII. His mother, Maria Anna Mazzola
Roncalli, died at the age of 96. His father, Giovanni
Batista Roncalli, died at the age of 98. Pope John’s par
ents were farmers near the town of Sotto il Monte in
Lombardy, Italy.
BIRTHPLACE OF THE POPE
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In this modest farm home. Angelo Guiseppe Roncalli, the
future Pope John XXIII, was born on November 25, 1881.
The Roncalli home was near the little village of Sotto il
Monte, "under the mountain” in Lombardy, Italy, not far
from Bergamo. The farm property has been cultivated
by the Roncalli family for 500 years.
PAPAL NUNCIO VISITS PW'S
V
While serving as Papal Nuncio to France in 1944, Arch
bishop Angelo Roncalli, assisted by Vicar General Bohan
of Paris, visits a prisoner of war camp near Chartres to
aid in the distribution of relief materials supplied by War
Relief Service-* of the National Catholic Welfare Confer
ence, agency of the INS. Catholic bishops.
REMOTE VILLAGE IS PONTIFF'S HOME TOWN
In 1892, at the age of 11 years of age, Angelo Roncalli left his home village of Sotto
il Monte (above) to become a student at the seminary in Bergamo only five miles away.
Members of his family still reside in the picturesque hillside town.
THE POPE AND HIS BROTHERS
In this picture taken at Paris in August, 1952, Archbishop Roncalli, Apostolic Nuncio to
France is shown with his four brothers. From the left, they are: Giovanni (deceased);
Saverio, 79; Alfredo, 73; and Guiseppe, 68. His surviving brothers still live in Sotto il
Monte, Italy.
POPE JOHN AS A SEMINARIAN
Angelo Roncalli (seated), later Pope John XXIII, poses with two friends during his
seminary days at the Pontifical Seminary in Rome. It was here he received a laureate
in theology. He was ordained a priest in the Church of Santa Maria in Monte Santo on
August 10, 1904 and offered his first Mass in St, Peter’s Basilica that same year.
In these early photos the future Pope John XXIII is shown as he appeared on his
ordination day, August 10. 1904; in the uniform of a medical sergeant in the Italian
army during World War I in 1915 (the only time ha wore a mustache); and as he looked
on March 3, 1925, when Pope Pius XI raised him to the episcopate.
EARLY LIFE OF POPE JOHN
Pope's Sister
Assunta, 76-year-old sister
of His Holiness Pope John
XXIII, fondles a kitten in
her farm home near Sesto
San Giovanni not far from
Milan. The Pontiff’s three
brothers still reside in
Sotto il Monte. Pope John
was one of 13 children,
three of whom died at
birth.
POPE S BAPTISMAL RECORD
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This fragment of the baptismal record of Pope John
shows his name and date of birth in the upper left
margin. His entry was the 30th in the record book of the
local parish church. He was the third of thirteen children
and the eldest son.
NEW VENICE PATRIARCH ARRIVES
Archbishop Angelo Roncalli, created a Cardinal by Pope Pius XII in the consistory of
January 12, 1953, was a few days later appointed Patriarch of Venice. He chose a
motor launch, not a gondola, for his arrival there. He served in this capacity until elected
Pope in October, 1958.
