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The 12 Popes of Christmas Vatican 2

The 12 Popes of Christmas Vatican 2

Last updated on: December 25, 2023 at 12:00 am by Mark Wilson

The 12 Popes of Christmas Vatican 2 2023-12-19T22:59:39-05:00 Mark Wilson

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Let us be inspired this Christmas with the merry mystical words of the successors of Peter with a small snapshot of the world around them. I’m going back 12 popes to the middle of the 19th century. These popes are from Vatican 2 on.

St John XXIII October 28, 1958 – June 3, 1963

Italian citizen. Opened the Second Vatican Council; called “Good Pope John”. Issued the encyclical Pacem in terris (1963) on peace and nuclear disarmament; intervened for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962).

Christmas 1959

With such a wish and with such a prayer, behold we have arrived, all of us, like Mary and Joseph, like the humble shepherds from the hills around Bethlehem and like the Wise Men from the East, before the crib of our Newborn Savior. O Jesus, how tenderly we approach the simple crib! How sweet and devout are our hearts and feelings! How eager is our desire to unite all our labors in the great work of universal peace in Thy presence, Divine Author and Prince of Peace!

At Bethlehem all men must find their place. In the first rank should be Catholics. Today especially the Church wishes to see them pledged to an effort to make His message of peace a part of themselves. And the message is an invitation to check the direction of every act by the dictates of divine law, which demands the unflinching adherence of all, even to the point of sacrifice. Along with such a deepened understanding must go action. It is utterly intolerable for Catholics to restrict themselves to the position of mere observers. They should feel clothed, as it were, with a mandate from on high.

POPE JOHN XXIII Christmas radio message to faithful, Sacred College of Cardinals, and members of the Roman Curia (December 23, 1959)

The World Around the Pope

Notable Song of the Year

“My Favorite Things” is a song from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.

In the original Broadway production, this song was introduced by Mary Martin playing Maria and Patricia Neway playing Mother Abbess. Julie Andrews, who played Maria in the 1965 film version of the musical, had previously sung it on the 1961 Christmas special for The Garry Moore Show. Although the song does not explicitly refer to the Christmas season, the list of favorite things includes sleigh bells, snowflakes and silver white winters. The song has become a holiday favorite, especially on radio, ever since.

Notable Events of the Year

Saint Lawrence of Brindisi proclaimed a Doctor of the Church
January 25 Pope John XXIII announces that the Second Vatican Council will be convened in Rome.
November 20, 1959 – The Declaration of the Rights of the Child is adopted by the United Nations.

Notable Books Published

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
Man’s Search for Meaning (1946) by Viktor Frankl is published in the U.S.

Notable Films and TV Shows Released

Ben-Hur, directed by William Wyler, starring Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins – winner of 11 Academy Awards and 4 Golden Globes.
Santa Claus (1959), a Mexican film..
The Twilight Zone (1959) with host Rod Serling premieres on TV.

Notable Arrivals and Departures

January 21, 1959 Cecil B. DeMille director of The Ten Commandments (1923, 1956) walks through the parted sea between life and death. (b. 1881)
October 23, 1959 –“Weird Al” Yankovic, enters life bringing musical comedy to the world.

St Paul VI June 21,1963 – August 6, 1978

Italian citizen. Last pope to be crowned. First pope since 1809 to travel outside Italy. Closed the Second Vatican Council. Issued the encyclical Humanae vitae (1968) condemning artificial contraception. Revised the Roman Missal (1969).

Christmas 1972

Every man can say: Christ came for me, precisely for me (cf. Gal. 2:20).

All the more so can each one of you say: God came into the world for me, to meet me, to visit me, to save me . . . Perhaps you have never clearly reflected on this direct purpose of Christmas. That is, what I am now trying to make you understand, to engrave in your memory. Christ became like one of you to reveal to you a secret about you: you are loved by Him! You are the object, the point of arrival of His coming from Heaven. You are not just any people; you are not forgotten by the heart of Christ, you are not “marginalized”, you are not a mere number among millions of other numbers; you are Man, like Him, you are the person He wants to be with. Don’t doubt it: that’s it, it’s the truth. Do not be afraid: he knows you, he loves you, he calls you by name; He has come looking for you. And if you were poor children of the world, who have lost the way of good, and do not know how to return to the house of God, the Father, He, if you will, takes you by the hand; indeed, as he is figured in the parable of the lost sheep (Lk 15:5), he is ready to take you on his shoulders and carry you as a burden into the fold of his righteousness and happiness.

I would like you to understand your own dignity deriving from the Nativity of Christ. “He is the light that enlightens every man who comes into this world” (Jn 1:9). You are in the front row. And then you understand what comfort, first of all, can be born in your heart when you think: someone (and it is Christ) has loved me, someone has an affectionate memory for me, someone has esteem for me, someone (and it is always Christ) recognizes the respect, justice, right, that are due to me . . . It’s Christ. He is the Master, He is the Deliverer, He is the Saviour; and it’s mine!

PAUL VI Midnight Mass of Christmas (Cantiere di Sant’Oreste at Monte Soratte – 24 December 1972)

The World Around the Pope

Notable Song of the (next) Year

1973: “Step into Christmas“, written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin; released by John as a stand-alone single.

Notable Events of the Year

December 14, 1972 – Apollo program: Eugene Cernan is the last person to walk on the Moon, after he and Harrison Schmitt complete the third and final Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) of Apollo 17. Planning for the next crewed mission to the Moon does not begin until 2017.

Notable Books Published

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (The Herdmans, #1) by Barbara Robinson

“They looked like the people you see on the six o’clock news—refugees, sent to wait in some strange ugly place, with all their boxes and sacks around them. It suddenly occurred to me that this was just the way it must have been for the real Holy Family, stuck away in a barn by people who didn’t much care what happened to them. They couldn’t have been very neat and tidy either, but more like this Mary and Joseph”
― Barbara Robinson, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Notable Films and TV Shows Released

Snoopy, Come Home with Charles Schultz’s Peanuts Characters
What’s Up, Doc?, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal
A Christmas Tree (1972) Festival of Family Classics premiers on TV.

Bl. John Paul I August 26, 1978 – September 28, 1978

Italian citizen. Abolished the coronation and opted for the papal inauguration. First pope to use ‘the First’ in papal name; first with two names for two immediate predecessors. Last pope to use the sedia gestatoria.

Christmas 1978

The usurer Scrooge, protagonist of your Christmas Carol. This is how you described Scrooge, the usurer: concerned only with money and business. But when he speaks of business to his “kindred spirit,” his late partner in money-lending, Marley, the latter complains mournfully: “Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were all my business. . . . Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light could have conducted me!” Trust in God: With the voice of your Marley, you wished that the Star of the Wise Men might illuminate the houses of the poor.

– Letter to Charles Dickens Illustrissimi, or “To the Illustrious Ones“, is a collection of letters written by Pope John Paul I when he was Patriarch of Venice. The letters were originally published in the Italian Christian paper Messaggero di S. Antonio between 1972 and 1975, and published in book form in 1976. The book was first published in English in 1978, when Cardinal Luciani (as he was then known) was elected Pope

The World Around the Pope

Notable Song of the Year

Boney M. – Mary’s Boy Child (1978)

Notable Events of the Year

August 6 , 1978– Pope Paul VI dies, at Castel Gandolfo.
August 26, 1978 – Pope John Paul I succeeds Pope Paul VI as the 263rd Pope.
September 28, 1978 – Pope John Paul I dies after only 33 days of papacy.
October 14 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs a bill into law which allows homebrewing of beer in the United States.
October 16 – Pope John Paul II succeeds Pope John Paul I as the 264th pope, resulting in the first Year of Three Popes since 1605. He is the first Polish pope in history, and the first non-Italian pope since Pope Adrian VI (1522–1523).

Notable Books Published

The Snowman is a wordless children’s picture book by British author Raymond Briggs,

Notable Films and TV Shows Released

Superman, directed by Richard Donner, starring Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Valerie Perrine, Ned Beatty, Glenn Ford
The Small One– Learn the backstory of the Donkey that carried Mary to Bethlehem.

Notable Arrivals and Departures

November 8, 1978 – Norman Rockwell, American artist (b. 1894)

St John Paul II October 16, 1978 – April 2, 2005

Polish citizen, first pope of Slavic origin. First non-Italian pope since Adrian VI (1522–1523). Travelled extensively, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. Second-longest reign after Pius IX. Founded World Youth Day (1984) and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (1994). Canonized more saints than all his predecessors. Youngest individual to start his papacy since Pius IX (1846).

Christmas 1996

What the carol In the deep night expressed as a story, the wonderful Polish Christmas carol God is born, written by the poet Franciszek Karpiñski, transforms into mystagogy, into a hymn that brings us into the mystery.

“God is born, man’s might is amazed: the Lord of heaven empties himself! The fire subsides, the splendour is veiled, the Infinite is encompassed”.

With these words the poet presented the mystery of the Incarnation of God’s Son, using contrasts to express what is essential to the mystery: in assuming human nature, the infinite God at the same time assumed the limitations of a creature. And he continues:

“The Infinite is encompassed. Scorned, yet clothed with glory, the mortal King of the ages!”.

And lastly the Christmas carol uses St John’s words:

“And the Word was made flesh and came to dwell amongst us”.

Thus the Christmas verses have translated into musical language what is found in the readings of the three Holy Masses of Christmas, at midnight, at dawn and during the day.

As I think of these expressions of popular piety, I remember all the other Christmas carols whose musical and theological wealth is enormous. I remember the Polish churches where the sound of the sublime melodies reechoes, full of joy and sometimes full of melancholy, touching in tone and content, telling of the profound truths connected with the event and mystery of the birth of God’s Son. I remember Nowa Huta, where at midnight on Christmas Eve I used to celebrate the “Mass of the Shepherds”, or at Bieńczyce, or at Mistrzejowice, or at Wzgórza Krzesławickie, when we had to struggle to have churches built. Then the Christmas carols were the particular sign of unity of the people who came, as in Bethlehem, to Christ who “had found no room”. Those same people wanted to invite Jesus into their hearts, into their communities and into their daily lives. These Christmas carols not only belong to our history; in a certain sense, they form our national and Christian history. They are many and of considerable spiritual richness. From the oldest to those of today, from the liturgical to the popular. I remember, for example, the so-called Christmas carol of the mountain people which we so love to hear: O little one, little one.

We must not lose this treasure. That is why, as I break the Christmas wafer with you, I hope that all of you, dear compatriots, whether in our homeland or here in Rome or anywhere in the world, may sing these Christmas carols, meditating on what they say, on their content, and that in them you may discover the truth about the love of God who became man for us.

JOHN PAUL II To a group of pilgrims from Poland (December 23, 1996)

The World Around the Pope

Notable Song of the Year

Notable Events of the Year

August 16, 1996 – Brookfield Zoo, Chicago. After a 3-year-old boy falls into the 20-foot (6.1 m) deep gorilla enclosure, Binti Jua, a female lowland gorilla sits with the injured boy until his rescue.
September 29, 1996 – The Nintendo 64 is released in North America.[

Notable Books Published

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997) by J. K. Rowling –

“One can never have enough socks,” said Dumbledore. “Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Notable Films and TV Shows Released

Veggie Tales: “The Toy That Saved Christmas”
Father Ted: A Christmassy Ted
Jingle All the Way

WARNING– Single use of profanity

Notable Arrivals and Departures

Christopher Robin Milne ( August 21, 1920 – April 20, 1996) was an English author and bookseller and the only child of author A. A. Milne. As a child, he was the basis of the character Christopher Robin in his father’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories and in two books of poems.

P. L. Travers (August 9,1899 – April 23, 1996) creator of Mary Poppins.

Benedict XVI April 19, 2005 – February 28, 2013

German citizen. Oldest to become pope since Clement XII (1730). Elevated the Tridentine Mass to a more prominent position and promoted the use of Latin; re-introduced several disused papal garments. Authorized the creation of Anglican ordinariates (2009). First pope to renounce the papacy on his own initiative since Celestine V (1294),becoming pope emeritus. Longest-living pope on record. Died on 31 December 2022, in Vatican.

Christmas 2005

With the Christmas liturgy the Church ushers us into the great Mystery of the Incarnation. Christmas, in fact, is not merely an anniversary of Jesus’ Birth; it is also this, but it is more, it is celebrating a mystery that has marked and continues to mark human history. God himself came to dwell among us (cf. Jn 1:14), he made himself one of us. It is a mystery that concerns our faith and our life; a mystery that we actually experience in the liturgical celebrations, and, in particular, in Holy Mass. Some people might ask themselves: how is it possible for me to experience this event today that happened so long ago? How can I participate fruitfully in the Birth of the Son of God that occurred more than 2,000 years ago?

In Holy Mass on Christmas Night we shall repeat these words in the refrain of the Responsorial Psalm: “Today is born our Saviour, Christ the Lord”. This adverb of time, “today”, recurs several times throughout the Christmas celebrations and is applied to the event of the Birth of Jesus and to the salvation that the Incarnation of the Son of God comes to bring us. In the liturgy this event goes beyond the limits of time and space and becomes real, becomes present; its effect endures, even with the passing of days, years and centuries. In pointing out that Jesus is born “today”, the liturgy is not using a meaningless sentence but stresses that this Birth invests and permeates the whole of history and that today too it remains a reality we can attain in the liturgy itself.

For us believers the celebration of Christmas renews our certainty that God is really present with us, still “flesh” and not far away: although he is with the Father he is close to us. In the Child born in Bethlehem God came close to man: we can still encounter him now, in a “today” on which the sun never sets.

BENEDICT XVI General Audience of 21 December 2011

The World Around the Pope

Notable Song of the Year

She & Him – Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Notable Events of the Year

April 29, 1996 – An estimated two billion people watch the royal wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London.
November 18, 1996 – Mojang Studios releases the blockbuster video game Minecraft.

Notable Books Published

Notable Films and TV Shows Released

Francis March 13, 2013 – present

Argentine citizen. First pope to be born outside Europe since Gregory III (731–741) and the first from the Americas; first pope from the Southern Hemisphere. First pope from a religious institute since Gregory XVI (1831–1846); first Jesuit pope. First to use a new and non-composed regnal name since Lando (913–914). First pope to visit and celebrate a mass on the Arabian Peninsula.

Christmas 2016

The Nativity scene in Saint Peter’s Square, created by artist Manwel Grech of Gozo, portrays the Maltese countryside, and integrates the traditional Maltese cross and the luzzu, a typical Maltese sea vessel, which also recalls the sad and tragic reality of seafaring migrants making their way toward Italy. In the painful experience of these brothers and sisters, we are reminded that at the moment of baby Jesus’ birth, he found no shelter at the inn and instead was born in a stable in Bethlehem. He was later taken to Egypt to escape the threat of Herod. Those who visit this Nativity scene will be invited to rediscover its symbolic value, which is a message of fraternity, sharing, welcome and solidarity. Nativity scenes in churches, homes and many public places are also an invitation to make room in our lives and in society for God, hidden in the faces of so many people confronting hardship, poverty and suffering.

The Christmas tree placed beside the Nativity scene comes from the Scurelle forest, at the foot of the Lagorai mountain range, surrounded by beautiful nature, with flowers, plants and crystal clear streams that run along its trails. The beauty of that scenery is an invitation to contemplate the Creator and to respect nature, the work of His hands. We are all called to draw near to creation with reflective wonder.

The tree and the Nativity scene thus form a message of hope and love, and help to create a Christmas spirit that can draw us closer to living with faith in the mystery of the birth of the Redeemer, who came to this earth humble and meek. Let us be drawn to the manger in a childlike spirit, because it is there that one understands God’s goodness and one can contemplate his mercy which was made flesh in order to soften our gaze.

Pope Francis To the donors of the Crib and the Christmas Tree in Saint Peter’s Square (9 December 2016)

The World Around the Pope

Notable Song of the Year

Pentatonix – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Notable Events of the Year

November 1, 2016 – The number of people globally using mobile devices to access the internet overtakes those using desktop computers for the first time, having been preceded by the U.S. two years prior.
November 2, 2016 – The Chicago Cubs win the World Series for the first time since 1908, ending the longest championship drought in North American sports history.

Notable Books Published

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two (Harry Potter, #8) J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany (Adaptation)

Notable Films and TV Shows Released

Notable Arrivals and Departures

Alan Rickman (February 21, 1946 –January 14, 2016) Star of Harry Potter and Die Hard

George Michael (June 25, 1963 – December 25, 2016) singer of Last Christmas died on Christmas.

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