On 11 October, the Church celebrates St John XXIII. The good Pope, the Pope of the ‘Sermon to the Moon’, the Pope of the caress to children. Above all, the Pope of the Council, since the date chosen by Pope Francis for his liturgical memorial recalls the opening of Vatican II, 11th October 1962, that prophetic event that opened the Church to embrace modernity.
On Friday 11th October 2024, in the Papal Basilica of St Peter's in the Vatican, the memory of St John XXIII will be commemorated with the solemn Eucharistic celebration at the Altar of the Cathedra, at 6pm. This will be followed by a procession to the altar of the Holy Pontiff. Priests who wish to do so may concelebrate by presenting themselves in the sacristy at least a quarter of an hour in advance.
Saint John XXIII died on 3 June 1963. But the Church celebrates him not on this date, that of the dies natalis (the day of his ‘birth into heaven’). He is inscribed in the Roll of Saints of the Roman Calendar after his canonisation on 27 April 2014.