Blessed John XXIII, will be declared a saint on April 27.

Many things have been said about him. A reference to him that I still remember vividly was published in Life Magazine. It featured a two-page spread of the corpse of John XIII with the caption: A spiritual giant in the guise of a simple man.

He really was both.

His greatest contribution to the Church was the convocation of Vatican Council II. It is said that when he instructed the Vatican bureaucrats to prepare for an Ecumenical Council by 1963 they told him that it was “absolutely impossible” to prepare for the Council by that date. The “Papa buono” as he was also known was not impressed. In his inimitable style he answered: “Ok then, let’s open it in 1962.” And he did.

The Council helped bring about a radical reform of the Church.

Pope John reminds me of our own Bishop Cauchi, God bless his soul. Both were reformers and gentle people living in a simple way. Another very obvious reason justifying the comparison was their rotund physique. Both joked about it. This brings me to a third similarity, that is their great sense of humour which they used perfectly well to communicate their message.

All ‘jokes’ had a purpose and were not just said to get people to smile. His unassuming way of assessing himself is very clear in the following quips.

* Visiting a hospital he asked a boy what he wanted to be when he grew up. The boy said either a policeman or a pope. "I would go in for the police if I were you," the Holy Father said. "Anyone can become a pope, look at me!"

* "It often happens that I wake up at night and begin to think about the serious problems afflicting the world and I tell myself, I must talk to the pope about it. Then the next day when I wake up I remember that I am the pope."

* Pope John used to go for short walks in the Vatican Gardens. Once one of his aides told him that he could not go to the garden during the times people were allowed to walk up to St Peter’s dome. When the Pope asked for the reason he was told that otherwise people could see him while walking. Pope John XXII quickly answered: “Please don’t worry. I will do everything possible not to give them any scandals.”

* When he went to visit a friend at the nearby Hospital of the Holy Spirit in the evening, the nun answering the door said: "Holy Father, I'm the mother superior of the Holy Spirit." He replied: "Lucky you! What a job! I'm just the 'servant of the servants of God.'"

He was also a very down to earth realist who was very conscious of the situation surrounding him. When he was asked how many people work in the Vatican he replied with a smile: "About half of them." When a cardinal complained that a rise in Vatican salaries meant a particular usher earned as much as the cardinal, the pope remarked: "That usher has 10 children; I hope the cardinal doesn't."

He used humour as a means of fraternal correction. When he was still a Nuncio he was attending some important dinner. The lady sitting next to him was dressed in a very daring manner. He offered her an apple saying: “It was only after eating an apple that Eve found out that she was undressed.”

Then there were the good quips he used as ice breakers. He once wrote: "There are three ways to face ruin: women, gambling and farming. My father chose the most boring one."

The media have been making a big issue because they said that Pope Francis goes out of the Vatican unannounced. Pope Francis said that he never did such a thing. Now we know that Pope John XXIII did do that. A person who worked in the papal household under Pope John XXIII has just revealed that there were times when the Pope secretly and unannounced left the Vatican for a drive around Rome and the neighbourhood. Pope John XXIII would occasionally say that he needed to “escape,” and would leave without alerting the Swiss Guard. He made the same sort of impromptu forays while staying at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.

He will be canonised together with another great pope – John Paul II – who had a very different character perhaps reminding us of the fact that there is a place for all in the house of the Lord.

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