The month of October, in addition to being dedicated to the rosary, is dedicated to the Second Vatican Council. This month not only marks the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council (Oct. 11) it also contains two papal feast days and a canonization anniversary of three “major players” in the Second Vatican Council.
St. Pope John XXIII, whose feast day was Oct. 11, and St. John Paul II, whose feast day is Oct. 22, were canonized saints in the first dual canonization performed in church history. Pope Francis, with Pope Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI concelebrating the Mass, canonized his three predecessors April 27, 2014, the feast of Divine Mercy (Divine Mercy Sunday).
The date is significant in that Pope John Paul II canonized his fellow Poland native St. Faustina Kowalska, who introduced the Divine Mercy devotion.
St. John Paul XXIII was apparently a pope of nick names. He was affectionately known as “the good pope” and “Johnny Walker” (for walking around the streets of Rome). The first son of a farming family, St. John Paul XXIII was a robust man with a good sense of humor. Also commonly known as “Il Papa Buono,” he called for the opening of the Second Vatican Council.
The first of four sessions was held on Oct. 11, 1962 in Rome. Unfortunately, St. John Paul XXIII was not able to see the council to its ending, as he died on June 3, 1963 at the age of 81.
At the conclusion, an extraordinary Jubilee Year was proclaimed to help familiarize people with the results of the teachings of the council.
His successor, Pope Paul VI, whom Pope Francis also canonized on Oct. 14, 2018, was known as the “pilgrim pope” for his numerous travels outside of the Holy Land. He was the first pope to fly in an airplane. He was the first pope to travel to the Holy Land. He guided the Second Vatican Council through the turbulent times of reform until the solemn end of the council on Dec. 8, 1965.
At the conclusion, an extraordinary Jubilee Year was proclaimed to help familiarize people with the results of the teachings of the council.
Heavily involvement with public affairs issues, Pope Paul VI was also known for his bravery. In 1978 his close friend and Italian prime minister, Aldo Moro, was kidnapped by the terrorist movement “Red Brigades.” The pope offered his life in exchange for the prime minister’s. The terrorists refused his offer and Moro was executed on May 10, 1978. Upon hearing the news, the pope was then known to have a public, “broken papal heart.”
St. John Paul II was the first non-native Italian to be elected pope since the 16th century. He had a love of nature, and youth (as evidenced by his institution of World Youth Day in 1985) and was the second longest serving pope in modern history. Born Karol Wojtyla, as a young man he was involved in an underground theater group and wrote poetry. As a young priest in Poland, he took many young people on hiking excursions and retreats. He also had a passion for skiing. As pope, he wrote a “Letter to Artists” in which he encouraged them in their vocation as artists.
He was also known as one of the “Council Fathers.” Cardinal Wajtyla contributed to two of its most influential documents: “The Decree on Religious Freedom” (“Dignitatis Humane”) and, “The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World” (“Gaudium et spes”).
In a speech during a conference about Vatican II in Rome in 1986, St. John Paul II affirmed the work of the Second Vatican Council:
“(The Second Vatican Council) remains the fundamental event of the life of the contemporary church; fundamental for the deepening of the richness given to them by Christ; fundamental for the fecundal contact with the contemporary world in a prospective of evangelization and of dialogue on every level with all men of attentive consciences,” the pope said.