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Pope John XXIII (Latin: Ioannes PP. XXIII ; Italian: Giovanni XXIII ), born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (November 25, 1881 - June 3, 1963), known as Blessed John XXIII since his beatification, was elected as the 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City on October 28, 1958. He called the Second Vatican Council (1962 - 1965) but did not live to see it to completion, dying on June 3, 1963, two months after the completion of his final encyclical, Pacem in Terris . He was beatified on September 3, 2000, along with Pope Pius IX, the first popes since Pope St. Pius X to receive this honor. His feast day is October 11 in the Catholic Church, the day that Vatican II’s first session opened. He is also commemorated on June 3 by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and on June 4 by the Anglican Church of Canada. In Italy he is remembered with the affectionate appellative of "Il Papa Buono" ("The Good Pope").
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