John XXIII - Part 4 : Speech of the moon...

(Vatican Radio) On the 50th anniversary of the death of Blessed John XXIII Pope Francis highlighted the ability of this twentieth century Pontiff to communicate with people:
'Exactly fifty years ago, just at this moment, Blessed John XXIII left this world. Those who, like me, [are of] a certain age, retain a vivid memory of the commotion that spread everywhere in those days: St. Peter’s Square had become a sanctuary in the open, day and night welcoming the faithful of all ages and social conditions, in trepidation and prayer for the Pope's health. The whole world had recognized in Pope John a pastor and a father: a shepherd because [he was] father. What made him such? How could he reach the hearts of so many different people, even many non-Christians? To answer this question, we can refer to his episcopal motto, oboedientia et pax: obedience and peace. “These words,” noted the then-Archbishop Roncalli on the eve of his episcopal ordination, “are [in a way] my story and my life.” ..."...
To mark this anniversary Veronica Scarisbrick brings you echoes from that era when for the first time in history a Roman Pontiff began to dialogue in an informal manner inaugurating a way of public speaking that was hardly the custom at the time.
Her story begins fifty years ago on the 11th of October 1962, at the end of an historic day marking the opening of the Second Vatican Council when Pope John XXIII appeared at the window of the Apostolic Palace in answer to the request of the huge crowds that had gathered in the Square below, making a memorable impromptu speech.
Known as the 'Speech of the Moon', it lives on in people’s hearts and minds to this day among them Jill Tyler who was in Saint Peter's Square on that occasion.
Among the other guests on this programme are a member of the papal aristocracy in those years, the late Cardinal Carlo Cardelli, the late Monsignor Carroll-Abbing who met Pope John XXIII on many an occasion and Rosminian Father John Charles-Roux who tells us about the years Angelo Roncalli spent as Apostolic nuncio in Paris.
Also in this programme a selection of recordings from our Vatican Radio archives including one in which Good Pope John as he was known, speaks in English, a language he never quite managed to master, despite valiant efforts!
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