NOW WE KNOW WHY GOD IS SMILING . . .

Pope John XXIII, who died on June 3, 1963, will
be proclaimed a saint at The Vatican on Saturday.

Sadly, it has been much too long overdue.

When Pope John XXIII's casket was opened a few years
ago, his entire body was found to be "intact" despite
the passage of nearly a half-century.

Best of all, there was still a smile on his face.

Pope John's beloved memory -- and his incredible
humility -- will never be forgotten.

http://edconrad.com/lifeafterdeath/i.../popejail2.jpg

Convicts are on their knees and applauding Pope John
as he visits a prison in Rome on Christmas Day 1958,
his very first Christmas as pope.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz8x4BbX32g

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Pope John XXIII (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli) was born on
Nov. 25, 1881 and served a Pontiff from Oct. 28, 1958 until
his death June 3, 1963.

He was the fourth of 14 children born to a family of poor
sharecroppers who lived in a village in Lombardy, Italy. He
was ordained a priest in 1904 and served in various posts
including appointments as a papal nuncio in France, and
a delegate to Bulgaria and Greece. Pope Pius XII appointed
him a cardinal in 1953.

Angelo Roncalli was elected pope on Oct. 28, 1958 at the age
of 76 after 11 ballots. No one could have been more surprised
than Roncalli himself, who had come to Rome with a return
train ticket to Venice.

He was the first pope to take the pontifical name of "John"
in more than 500 years.

Pope John surprised those who expected him to be a "caretaker"
pope by calling the historic Second Vatican Council (1962-65).
The first session opened on Oct. 11, 1962 but he didn't live
to see it to completion, dying on June 3,1963 of stomach cancer.

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THE SECOND GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD

http://www.edconrad.org

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