Meet John XXIII: Joyful Pope and Father to All, and: Papa Giovanni. Un cristiano e il suo concilio (review)

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who followed Pope Pius XII in October 1958 as Pope John XXIII, opened the Second Vatican Council in October 1962, and was beatified in 2000, is one of the most written about and beloved popes of the twentieth century and named one of the greatest popes of all time. Unlike his aloof and taciturn predecessor, who kept no personal journal and was little prone to reveal his inner thoughts, the outgoing and talkative John traced his spiritual development in a host of writings, including Il giornale dell' anima ed altri scritti di pietà(Journal of a Soul) published posthumously and his Lettere ai familiari(Letters to His Family). Through these and numerous other Roncalli writings we know a good deal about John's life and ecclesiastical career. Light has also been shed on his pontificate, including his threefold program of convoking a diocesan synod for Rome and an ecumenical council for the universal Church, and revising the Code of Canon Law. As a consequence, much attention has been paid to his call for aggiornamentoor updating of the Church and his call for its aperturismoor its opening up to the world. In light of the vast and growing literature on his person and pontificate over the last half century, one inevitably wonders what these two volumes add to the historiography of "good Pope John" and what contribution they make.

Although the authors of these present studies—the American Patricia Treece and the Italian Alberto Melloni—are both admirers of John, the works they have produced are strikingly different. Treece, an expert on nineteenthand twentieth-century saints, has published widely on the topic, including two volumes on Padre Pio, another on St. Maximilian Kolbe, and one on apparitions of modern saints. Not surprisingly, her study of John focuses on his sanctity. Assisted by Archbishop Loris Francesco Capovilla, who served as personal secretary to John during his pontificate and as John's literary executor after his death, she had recourse to John's journal and other writings, including Il giornale dell' animathat was edited by Melloni. During her research Treece interviewed a series of figures close to Roncalli, including his great-nephew Marco Roncalli, and has woven her findings into sixteen chapters that compose an eminently readable, popular, and accurate account of his life and pontificate. Her volume, unlike many other studies of Roncalli, concentrates more on the former than the latter, devoting eleven of its chapters to his earlier ecclesiastical life and career: his sixteen years as a priest in Bergamo; his diplomatic mission to Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey during World War I and World War II; his years as nuncio to France (1944–53); and his service as patriarch of Venice (1953–58). Only chapter 14 (pp. 169–87) concentrates on the Council.

Although political developments are not ignored, they clearly assume a secondary role in Treece's account of Roncalli's diplomacy, which she describes as "the diplomacy of the saints—simple, loving, genuine, pastoring outreach" (p. 71). Among other things she relates how Roncalli helped Jews escape from Hungary and Rumania by issuing certificates of immigration (p. 95). Treece's biography produces no startling revelations but does bring to the attention of a wide audience some little-known facts: that when Roncalli went to the conclave of 1958 "he was aware that he was going to be elected the next pope" (p. 135); that his decision to call a council was a spontaneous development rather than the fruit of prolonged meditation (p. 169); that he was told prior to the opening of the Council that he was terminally ill with stomach cancer (p. 13...