Pope John XXIII

The bible tells us that God used to speak to Moses “face to face, as one man speaks to another” (Exodus 33, 11).  Exactly 50 years ago this month, I had the privilege of speaking face to face with the bishop of Rome, Pope John XXIII.

It happened this way.  I had just finished my first 7-year term as a missionary in the Philippines, and left in early May on home leave.  I spent a week in Northern Burma visiting some missionary friends there.  Then I spent a week in the Holy Land, visiting the Holy Places in Jordan and Israel.  Finally I went to Rome where I had studied for 3 years in the 1950’s.

In Rome I happened to meet up with Cardinal Rufino Santos, the Archbishop of Manila.  I knew the Cardinal well, as I had been attached to his Archdiocese during my time in the Philippines.  But I was totally unprepared for the offer he was about to make to me.

He said to me, “I have an appointment with the Holy Father tomorrow morning.  Would you like to come along with me as my secretary, just the two of us, to meet the Holy Father in his office at the Vatican?”  Needless to say, my answer was in the affirmative.

So at 10 o’clock the next morning we met at the Papal apartments and were escorted to the Papal office, where Pope John XXIII welcomed us with a beaming smile.  I could not have imagined the Holy Father would be so friendly and unassuming as he engaged us in conversation.  We spoke in Italian.

The Cardinal and the Holy Father were already acquainted, but I had to be introduced.  Pope John asked me if I had been to Rome before, and I explained that I had spent 3 years in Rome doing graduate studies at the Gregorian University.

Then came an unexpected question.  He asked me what language was used in the University when I studied there.  I explained to him that we spoke Italian with the secretariat, but in the classroom and in the examinations, both written and oral, the language was Latin.

That gave him the opportunity to speak about a letter, Veterum Sapientiae (Wisdom of the Ancients), which had issued from the Vatican 3 months previously, under his signature.  He said, “They persuaded me to write this letter to encourage the study of Latin in schools and to promote the use of Latin in the seminaries.  I don’t know if it will work, but at least I did what they asked me to do”.

The Pope seemed to be totally unaware of the near panic this document had created in seminaries, at least in the English-speaking world, because it required that major subjects like Theology and Sacred Scripture should be taught through the medium of Latin.  Because I had seen the struggle of English-speaking professors trying to conduct their classes in Latin, I had my own view that this letter would not have any lasting effect. Pope John did not seem to be fully convinced either.  He said, “They tell me that Latin is the language of the Church, and if it is, I suppose we should be speaking in Latin now”.  But he still continued speaking with us in Italian.

Pope John XXIII need not have worried about the document he had signed.  It was quickly forgotten, and in later years it was being described as the most ignored important document, or the most important ignored document of the twentieth century.

Pope John had the saintly personality which enabled him to establish a new relationship between the Church and the world, a relationship of mutual appreciation and respect.  He summed it up best in his opening address to the participants at the Second Vatican Council when he declared: “The Church prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy rather than that of severity.  She considers that she meets the needs of the present day by demonstrating the validity of her teaching rather than by condemnation”. (October 11, 1962)

As I recall my face to face meeting with Pope John, I think what impressed me most was the sense of being warmly accepted by him, and being drawn into a genuine conversation with him.  Many people will remember Pope John XXIII as the Pope who convoked the Second Vatican Council for the renewal of the Church.  I will remember him just as the kindly bishop of Rome who simply tried to be what every Pope professes to be, “the servant of the servants of God”.