Francis remembers Pope Roncalli 50 years after his death. Peace and obedience are the traits of a man who was "a promoter of unity, inside and outside the Church community, open to dialogue with Christians of other Churches, with members of the Jewish and Muslim [traditions] and with many other men of goodwill."

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The "true wellspring of Pope John's" holiness, "of the peace that he sowed throughout the world" lies in the "daily abandonment to God's will". It is "a lesson for all of us, and also for the Church of our time. If we let ourselves be led by the Holy Spirit, if we mortify our selfishness to make room for the love of the Lord and to His will, then we will find peace, then we will be builders of peace and peace will spread around us."

Fifty years after John XXIII's death, his current successor stressed today his "wise and fatherly guidance", and "his love for the Church's tradition and awareness of the constant need of renovation, the prophetic intuition of the convocation of the II Vatican Council and the offering of his life for its success, remain as milestones in the history of the Church of the twentieth century and as a beacon of light for the journey that lies ahead."

Thousands of people from John XXIII's home province of Bergano (Italy) came to hear Francis's words in St Peter's Basilica on the anniversary of their countryman's death. At the end of the Mass celebrated by their bishop, Mgr Francesco Beschi, Francis mingled among them at length.

"Exactly fifty years ago," Francis said, "just at this moment, Blessed John XXIII left this world. Those who, like me, [are of] a certain age, retain a vivid memory of the commotion that spread everywhere in those days: St. Peter's Square had become a sanctuary in the open, day and night welcoming the faithful of all ages and social conditions, in trepidation and prayer for the Pope's health. The whole world had recognized in Pope John a pastor and a father: a shepherd because [he was] father. What made him such? How could he reach the hearts of so many different people, even many non-Christians?"

"I would like to begin from peace, because this is the most obvious aspect-that, which people perceived in Pope John: Angelo Roncalli was a man who was able to communicate peace; a natural, serene, friendly peace; a peace that, with his election to the Pontificate, was manifested to all the world and [came to be called his] 'goodness'."

Improvising, the Holy Father noted that Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, "but I don't want to do publicity for him," he said, enumerated the many qualities that a superior must have, ending the list saying, "if he does not have all of these, let him at least have goodwill."

"This," the pope reiterated, "was undoubtedly a hallmark of his personality, which enabled him to build strong friendships everywhere and in particular that stood out in his ministry as Representative of the Pope, which he carried out for nearly three decades, often in contact with environments and worlds far removed from that Catholic universe in which he was born and formed. It was in those environments that he proved an effective weaver of relationships and a good promoter of unity, inside and outside the Church community, open to dialogue with Christians of other Churches, with members of the Jewish and Muslim [traditions] and with many other men of good will. In fact, Pope John conveyed peace because he had a mind deeply at peace, the fruit of a long and challenging work on himself, an effort that has left abundant traces in [his autobiography], Journal of a Soul. There we can see the seminarian, the priest, Bishop Roncalli struggling with the path to the gradual purification of the heart."

"Here, then, we come to the second and decisive word: "obedience." If peace was the outward hallmark, obedience constituted for [Pope John] the inner disposition: obedience, in fact, was the instrument with which to achieve peace. Firstly, [obedience] meant to [Pope John] something very simple and concrete: performing that service in the Church, which his superiors asked of him, without seeking anything for himself, with no escape from anything that was required of him, even when it meant leaving his homeland, dealing with worlds unknown to him, remaining for many years in places where the presence of Catholics was very scarce."

Such "priestly path," the pope noted, saw him travel as a diplomat to Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece, then France, later becoming the bishop of Venice, and finally onto Rome. "Through this obedience, the priest and Bishop Roncalli, however, also lived a more profound faithfulness, which could be called, as he would say, abandonment to Divine Providence. He always recognized, in faith, that through that path of life apparently driven by others, led by their tastes or on the basis of their own spiritual sensitivity, God was designing a project of His own." John XXIII "was a leader, one led by the Holy Spirit."

"Even more profoundly, through this daily abandonment to the will of God, the future Pope John lived a purification, which allowed him to detach himself completely from himself, and to adhere to Christ, thus allowing the holiness to emerge, which the Church has [now] officially recognized."

"This, then, is a lesson for all of us, and also for the Church of our time. If we let ourselves be led by the Holy Spirit, if we mortify our selfishness to make room for the love of the Lord and to His will, then we will find peace, then we will be builders of peace and peace will spread around us. Fifty years after his death, the wise and fatherly guidance of Pope John, his love for the Church's tradition and awareness of the constant need of renovation, the prophetic intuition of the convocation of the II Vatican Council and the offering of his life for its success, remain as milestones in the history of the Church of the twentieth century and as a beacon of light for the journey that lies ahead."

• vatican
• francis
• anniversary
• john
• xxiii
• death