Pope John XXIII launched Vatican II and then some

VATICAN CITY — On the night of Oct. 11, 1962, Pope John XXIII did something so natural that it’s astonishing it was so revolutionary at the time. He came to the window of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace and spoke to thousands of candle-bearing faithful below — not in the arcane, scripted words of pontiffs past but in those of a father and pastor looking out for his flock.

“Going home, you will find your children. Give them a caress and tell them ‘This is the caress of the pope,’” John said to the torch-lit cheers from St. Peter’s Square.

While much of the focus of Sunday’s dual canonization will be on the globe-trotting, 26-year papacy of Pope John Paul II and his near-record sprint to sainthood, many older Catholics will be celebrating the short but historic pontificate of the “Good Pope,” John XXIII.

John’s words, delivered on the opening night of the Second Vatican Council, came to define his papacy. The speech epitomized how John captured the hearts of Catholics with his simple, paternal affection while using his intuitive cunning to launch Vatican II and bring the 2,000-year institution into the modern world. It’s a combination embodied by the current pope, Francis.

“He was courageous. A good country priest, with a great sense of humor and great holiness,” Francis told reporters last summer when asked about John’s attributes. “He was one of the greats.”

Little John Paul II fever in Poland for canonization

WADOWICE, Poland — His death triggered a massive outpouring of grief in Poland. His beatification, an explosion of pride and jubilation. But days before John Paul II is to be declared a saint, many of his countrymen are greeting the landmark with little more than a shrug.

One reason is that John Paul has already long been a saint in Polish hearts — so making it official with Vatican pageantry is just a bit of icing on the cake. But it’s also clear that less than a decade since his death, the enthusiasm that Poles accord their great countryman seems to be dissipating, just as memories of him fade and a new generation comes of age in this young EU country that is moving toward a more secular outlook.

Only a few hundred people turned out in Warsaw’s main square for prayers before the pope’s relics on April 2, the ninth anniversary of his death. And there is little talk in Polish media of the April 27 saint-making ceremony at the Vatican. It all contrasts sharply with the pontiff’s 2011 beatification, which was preceded by months of media frenzy and church preparations across Poland.

“Who needs this canonization?” said Andrzej Grendys, stressing that he is Catholic but does not go to church. “We all know that he was a very good and decent man with a great heart and mind. That is most important and needs no official confirmation.”

And many say the country has already completed its emotional reckoning with John Paul’s life and death.