Good Pope John: A Communicator Who Embraced Joy and Humor

It’s been 60 years since the close of Vatican II, aka, the Second Vatican Council (1962-65).

Pope John XXIII called the council to modernize the Catholic Church and bring it up to date. He died in 1963, and didn’t live to see the end of the Council.

His birth name was Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli. He was elected pope on October 28, 1958, at the age of 77.

When all the Catholic cardinals convene to elect a pope, that gathering is called a conclave. With that in mind, here’s one of my favorite stories about Pope John.

Security was not a major issue back in 1958. Pope John liked to get out of the Vatican and meet people, and he’d often stroll the streets of Rome dressed as an ordinary priest.

He was a huge guy, and as he walked along one day he overheard a woman talking about how fat the pope was. He turned to her and said:

“But, Madame, you must know that the conclave is not exactly a beauty contest!”¹

OK, two more:

He was once asked how many people worked at the Vatican. His reply: “About half.”¹ He must have been channeling Elon Musk.

A 12-year-old boy wrote to him asking advice: “I am undecided. I want to be a policeman or a pope. What do you think?”

Pope John replied: “Learn how to be a policeman… Anybody can be pope. The proof of this is that I have become one.”¹

I’ve made the case for humor in many of my posts. I think humor and optimism inspire and reinforce each other. They keep you moving forward and get you through tough times.

I think Pope John would agree. He once wrote in his spiritual diary:

“I have never met a pessimist who accomplished any good.”²

I’ll close with two other jottings from his diary. Don’t worry, they only require short-term commitments: “Only for today.” 😊