Rev. Ralph Wiltgen: The Rhine Flows Into the Tiber: A History of Vatican II

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THE SECOND SESSION

September 29 to December 4, 1963

THE LAST MONTHS OP POPE JOHN’S LIFE

After the first session, in order to prove to the world that he was in good health again. Pope John XXI 11 paid a visit to Bambino Gesu Hospital on the Janiculum Hill, where he spoke with the sick children and addressed the nurses, Sisters, and other hospital personnel: “As you can see, I am in perfect health, although 1 am not in shape to run a race or take part in some other competitive sport. But I have, thanks be to God, the excellent use of every sense and of my entire body, and so am able to admire here this imposing spectacle of charity and innocence.”

On the feast of the Epiphany, January 6, 1963, Pope John XXIII issued a lengthy letter to all Council Fathers throughout the world. He told them that the picture of them all in St. Peter’s basilica, gathered in Council, was constantly before his eyes. And nothing was dearer to him than to be occupied “in thought and word with the serious and sacred subject of the Council.” He reminded- them that the period between January 6 and September 8, 1963, when the Council was to resume its labors, “must be considered as a true continuation of the work to be accomplished by the Council.”

It also was their sacred duty, he told them, “not only for each one of them to be present at the coming meetings in the Vatican basilica, but also to be most closely united in spirit for those eight months with all their brothers in the episcopate. They must show themselves prompt in replying to letters whenever the Commission headed by our Cardinal Secretary of State should ask anything of them. Each and every one must give close study to what has been sent to him, and must fulfill his obligations regarding correspondence. As a result of such alacrity, the labors of the Council will without doubt progress wisely, and this great task, toward which the eyes of all are turned, will hasten to its desired conclusion.”

Pope John insisted that for the bishops “every matter connected with the Council must be regarded as the apple of their eye.” They should do everything “quickly” and “properly.” In studying the Council documents, they should use the services of priests “outstanding in knowledge and virtue.”

The Coordinating Commission met in the Vatican under the presidency of the Secretary of State from January 21 to January 27, On January 28, the Pope received all the members of this Commission in audience, and also some other Council officials. He told them how eager he was to keep his finger on the pulse of the Council at every stage of its development. He was satisfied with what had been done so far, and with the decisions adopted by the Coordinating Commission. As a result of these, he said, there was hope “that the Council, already off to such a good start, will very quickly be able to reach all its goals.” He stressed the importance of organic unity in the Council agenda, and said that the work of preparation “must go forward swiftly.”

There was intense activity among the commissions and subcommissions during the early part of 1963. Commissions had all been divided into subcommissions, and the subcommission members, through correspondence, were able to settle upon texts which they then presented at plenary sessions of the commissions concerned when they convened in Rome. Seven commissions and the Secretariat of Cardinal Bea held meetings in Rome in the period between February 20 and April 1.

The Coordinating Commission, which supervised and coordinated the activity of these commissions, held a number of meetings in the Vatican starting on March 25. On March 28, it examined the first two chapters of the schema on the Church, and also the revised schema on ecumenism. The latter had been prepared by a special joint commission composed of members from the Theological Commission, the Commission for Oriental Churches, and the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity. The presidents, vice-presidents, and secretaries of these two Commissions and of the Secretariat had therefore been invited to attend the meeting.

Pope John decided to attend the meeting too, and walked in at 6 p.m., accompanied by Cardinal Cicognani and Archbishop Felici. He had been receiving daily reports on the work of the Coordinating Commission, and he expressed great pleasure at all that had been accomplished. He then informed those present that on that day, March 28, he had founded a Pontifical Commission for the Revision of the Code of Canon Law. As far back as January 25, 1959, when Pope John first announced that there would be an Ecumenical Council, he had also announced that the code of canon law would have to be revised. The Pope presided over the meeting for a while, then once more exhorted all present to continue their work with enthusiasm, repeating his hopes that the Council would bear rich fruit. After imparting his Apostolic blessing, he left the hall.

The next major event in the pontificate of Pope John, now slowly drawing to a close, was his signing of his eighth encyclical, Pacem in terris (“Peace on Earth”), on April 9, 1963.

On Easter Sunday, April 14, a very disturbing close-up photograph of the Pope appeared on the front page of L'Osservatore Romano. It had been taken during the Good Friday afternoon service in St. Peter’s, and it showed him bending down to kiss the crucifix during the Veneration of the Cross. From the expression on the Pope’s face, he appeared to be in terrible agony. But the only answer given at the Vatican to inquiries was that the Pope had been very “fatigued” during the ceremony. As I later learned, the Pope’s immediate associates had been fearful that he might not get through the strenuous Holy Week services, but on Holy Saturday his condition had improved.

Some days later, on April 22, Pope John approved the texts of twelve schemas and ordered that they should be sent to the Council Fathers. They were the product of the numerous meetings held by the Coordinating Commission and the Council commissions. Pope John had been relentless in his insistence on speed. He had given no one any rest. He knew that his life was running out, and he worked all the more feverishly to move his Council ahead.

On April 25, I had an appointment with Dr. Luciano Casimirri, the Director of the Vatican Press Office, who told me—unofficially, and with great sadness—that the Pope was a very sick man. Consequently immediate preparations had to be made for press coverage of his final illness and death, and for the subsequent conclave. Once his condition became known, Dr. Casimirri said, reporters would flock to Rome to report the Pope’s death and the election of a new Pope. He asked, since he did not speak English fluently, and since English-language reporters were always the largest group, whether I might be able to assist him in case of need.

Later that day, from another source, I learned that the Pope was hemmorrhaging every other day, and his condition was rapidly deteriorating.

On April 30, Cardinal Cicognani wrote to all the Council Fathers to say that he was doing everything in his power to have the first twelve schemas sent to them as soon as possible. In the letter he added that by the end of June he hoped to have another set of schemas ready for distribution by the Secretary General. “I have the honor to inform you,” he wrote, “that the Most Holy Father is extremely concerned that these schemas should be given serious study. Then, if you judge that certain things still need reconsideration, you are invited to send your observations, advice, and amendments, written clearly and in proper form, to the General Secretariat of the Council, before the end of July. In this way, the Council commissions will have sufficient time to study these considerations attentively and to prepare their reports, which will accompany the schemas when they are presented in amended form to the General Congregation.”

As May advanced. Pope John could not understand why the twelve texts which he had approved on April 22 were not yet ready for mailing. Not even half of them were ready. Archbishop Felici then felt himself obliged to send a letter to all the Council Fathers on May 8, just one week after Cardinal Cicognani’s letter, informing them that the first six schemas would be sent “within a few days.”

The very next day, May 9, Cardinal Cicognani sent yet another letter to all the Council Fathers, containing this one sentence: “His Holiness Pope John XXIII desires to inform the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council that he has himself attentively examined the schemas which are being sent to the same Council Fathers, and intends to examine them anew after they have been discussed by the Council Fathers, before giving them his final approval.” 

Pope John gave no one any rest. He had one driving desire: to see the Second Vatican Council complete its work. He wanted to be sure that the documents would be in the hands of the Council Fathers, so that there should be no excuse for the Council’s not continuing.

He forced himself to go through the ceremonies connected with the reception of the Balzan Peace Prize on May 4. On the following day, he paid a state visit to the Quirinal, something which no Pope had done since the suppression of the Papal States. Two days later, a copy of Pacem in Terris, autographed by Pope John, was personally delivered by Cardinal Suenens to Secretary General U Thant of the United Nations in New York.

On May 18, I met Dr. Casimirri again, and he said that Pope John’s condition was “very bad.”

I Pope John wrote another long letter, on May 20, to all the bishops of the world, announcing that he would make his annual spiritual retreat, in recollection and solitude, during the Pentecostal novena from May 25 to June 2, Pentecost Sunday. He explained that he was informing the Council Fathers that he was going into spiritual retreat “so that you may accompany us in those days with your prayers and with your recollection.” He had chosen this time to make his retreat “because, as is our custom, we are acting promptly on a good inspiration.”

On May 21, Archbishop Felici finally mailed the first six schemas. On the next day. May 22, Pope John was scheduled to give one of his usual Wednesday audiences in St. Peter’s basilica at 10 a.m. At 9:55 a.m., it was announced that the Pope would not come to the basilica, but would bless everyone from his window at 10130. Pope John, I learned, had been hemorrhaging again, and had received blood transfusions throughout the night.

The following Sunday morning, the Pope told those around his bedside that he wanted to go to his window at noon as usual to bless the crowds in St. Peter’s Square, even though his spiritual retreat had begun. His doctors, however, forbade this, saying that he must refrain from all physical exertion. The next day, Italian priests in Rome were quoting Gustavo Cardinal Testa, who had access to the Pope’s room, as saying that blood had issued from the Pope’s mouth. Informed sources said that he was receiving blood transfusions every four hours.

On May 28, when Cardinal Cicognani told him that the entire world was praying for him, the Pope smiled and, after a short silence, said, “Since the whole world is praying for the sick Pope, it is only natural that some intention should be given to this prayer. If God should wish the sacrifice of the life of the Pope, then may that sacrifice succeed in obtaining abundant favors for the Ecumenical Council, for the Holy Church, and for mankind, which longs for peace.”

On Thursday, May 30, Pope John said to his doctor, ‘"I hey say that I have a tumor. But this means nothing, as long as God’s will is done. I hope to bring the Council to a conclusion, and to see peace in the world.”

Near midnight on the same day, the final crisis set in. On being informed of his condition on the following day, Pope John requested that he be given the Last Sacraments immediately. His confessor came to his bedside, and then brought him the Holy Viaticum. At his own request, Pope John received the holy anointings, and asked his confessor to remain near his bed with the Blessed Sacrament, while he said a few words. This he did in a clear and strong voice, once again offering his life for the successful outcome of the Second Vatican Council, and for peace among men. He said, too, that he wanted all Council Fathers throughout the world to know that the great work which had been started would certainly be completed.

After addressing all of those around him, he turned to his nephew, Monsignor Giovanni Baptista Roncalli, and called him to his side. Look, you arrive here, and you find me in bed! The doctors say that I am suffering from a stomach malady. But let us hope that everything will turn out for the best, and that soon I shall be able again to dedicate myself to the Council and to the Church.”

On Friday afternoon, the long vigil began in St. Peter’s Square. Day and night on Friday, Saturday, Pentecost Sunday and Monday, the crowds waited and prayed. Then, on Monday evening, June 3, at 7:49 p.m., Pope John died.

“The Council!” he had said. “God knows that with simplicity I have opened the smallness of my soul to the greatness of this inspiration. Will he allow me to finish it? Should he do so, may he be blessed. And if he does not allow me to finish it? ... Then I shall watch its joyful conclusion from heaven, where I hope 1 —rather, where I am certain—the Divine Mercy will draw me.”