Gonzaga Preparatory School - Luigian Yearbook (Spokane, WA)

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DEDICATION In all the history of the Roman Catholic Church there has probably never been a Pope of more humble beginnings than those of Angelo Guisseppe Roncalli, John the 23rd. , Christ's Vicar on Earth, and the religious head of countless millions of Catholics throughout the World. Born in a meager farmhouse in Sotto Il Monte, Italy, Angelo grew up and worked alongside the men in the vineyards. When only eleven he decided to enter the priesthood, and after much hard Work he received a scholarship to the Pontifical Seminary in Rome. Nor is our Pope merely a pious old man ignorant of the World around him. He was drafted into the Italian Army ten years after ordination and served in World War I first as a medical corps sergeant, and later as a lieutenant chaplain. In 1925 Pius X gave him his first diplomatic assignment, Apostolic Visitor to Bulgaria. In 1935 he was sent to Turkey and Greece as Apostolic Delegate. When Ron- calli was informed he had been made Nuncio to France, he asked his superiors if they were mad. He, a poor bishop, a Nuncio to France? But his humble- ness was overshadowed by his ability, and in 1953 our dearly beloved Pius XII made Roncalli a cardinal, and Patriarch of Venice. And now as Pope, this thought typifies the character of the man who is indeed our spirtual father, Above all else think of me as a priest . 3

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I ? INTRO I2-I9 I-39 ACTIVITIES 40-65 'M