My Dad and Pope John XXIII

As long as I can remember my dad had an interest in the history of the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania.  He read all the books that he could find on the subject and enjoyed attending Mass at Old St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia and at Most Blessed Sacrament in Bally, the earliest sites of churches in the area.   We have notes that he took while he read and we always imagined that he was working on his own historical text.   

A quite different Catholic subject also commanded dad's attention: the papacy of John XXIII (1958-1963) and his call for the renewal of Vatican II.   In 1968 during Vatican II some years after the Pope’s death, an accomplished Philadelphia artist and sculptor by the name of Charles L. Madden drew a wonderful likeness of the Pope.  My father saw it years later, liked it so much and secured a copy of it from Mr. Madden in 1977.    

My parents were faithful Catholics who knew that the Church was ready for the “aggiornamento”, the spirit of change and open-mindedness of the Second Vatican Council that sparked especially the new liturgy and the Church’s outreach to the world.    They were excited when Pope John Paul II came to Philadelphia.   And I am sorry that they are not alive to see the day of Pope Francis.   But I am happy to have this portrait of John, a reminder of my dad's open-hearted faith, hanging in my office at the Jesuit Center.