Blessed John XXIII: pope of hearts

(Vatican Radio) Blessed John XXIII is best remembered as Good Pope John, the ordinary man who astonished the world! But while he has gone down in history books as the pope to have launched the Catholic Church into one of its most momentous epochs by callling the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council it is the very human side to his personality that captures people's hearts and imaginations.

People like those you can hear in this programme who tell tales of the this Pope's natural flair for communication, of his attempts to downsize the pomp and circumstance of the papal court of the time and even of his sense of humour .

Among the archive recordings in this programme are interviews with a Roman Princess, Winston Churchill's first cousin and a Monsignor who was close to John XXIII.

Also in this programme are sound clips of the speeches and homilies of Good Pope John from our Vatican Radio archives.

A programme presented and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick.

Listen: