Cardinal Sean O’Malley celebrated the canonization of Pope John XXIII on Oct. 14 at Pope John XXIII High School. Students, teachers, and family honored the special day with a Mass in honor of Pope Saint John’s exceptional virtue and dedication to proclaiming the Gospel.
“He was a man of great holiness. He was anxious to reach out to people of different faiths,” said Cardinal O’Malley. “He made an extraordinary contribution and huge impact to the church.”
Pope Saint John was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli in Italy in Nov. 1881 to a humble family with 12 siblings. He was a courageous man who was dedicated to peace. Pope Saint John helped save the lives of many Jews fleeing the Holocaust during WWII, and was the founder of the Second Vatican Council.
During his papacy, he performed miracles such as curing a French nun of Parkinson’s disease, and curing a Costa Rican woman of a cerebral aneurism.
“The only real success in life is to be able to make a gift of yourself,” Cardinal O’Malley said.