RNS-POPE-XXII

(1969) Pope John XXIII, 76 when he was elected in 1958, caught the imagination of the world through his pastoral goodness, his strides for peace and his convening of the Second Vatican Council. At his death in 1963, between the first and second session of the Council, he had become one of the most loved men in history and a Pope whose impact has remained undiminished. Religion News Service file photo