Jan XXIII. Papież odnowy Kościoła

The canonization of Pope John XXIII, which took place on the 27th of April 2014, caused many commentators of the Church and theologians to reconsider his life and work. The greatness of this Bishop of Rome shows particularly in his work on the renewal of the Church. Owing to the Good Pope, as he was often referred to, the Church opened itself to the contemporary world and started a dialogue with it, but also met with it and offered a clear answer to the problems of individual people and the whole of mankind. Throughout his short, nearly 5-year-long pontificate (1958-1963) the Bishop of Rome managed to transform the image of the Church and propose concrete projects of the new organization of the society. There are two characteristic and closely related elements of the ecclesial renewal in the papal teachings: the modernization of the Church and reading the signs of the times. Without permanent modernization the Church cannot effectively fulfil its mission of continuing Christ’s work and preaching the Good News of salvation. John XXIII looked optimistically on contemporary processes and perceived God’s intentions revealed through them – the signs of the times which are the characteristic features of an epoch transpiring in the course of history. Discerning the signs of the times is a necessary condition for the Church to understand the ever changing reality of the world to which it is sent. The most important event of John XXIII’s pontificate was the preparation and convention of the Second Vatican Council.