Pope John XXIII made an historic declaration only three months into his papacy by announcing a second ecumenical council to discuss the issues of religious unity he desired to promote within the Catholic Church in 1959. 

At 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 1, more than 150 students and residents gathered in the Gallery Room of the Memorial Union to listen to Anne Clifford, associate professor of philosophy and religious studies, who also holds the Msgr. James A. Supple chair at Iowa State University.

The theme for the lecture was religious unity and Pope John XXIII’s calling of an ecumenical council, or a worldwide gathering of Catholic Church officials to discuss issues of doctrine and practice.

The purpose of this council was to promote the principle of religious unity within the Christian faiths, as well as other religions such as Judaism and Islam, Clifford said.

Clifford began by thanking the students of the St. Thomas Aquinas Student Center and the Lutheran Campus Ministry Center, an ISU spiritual organization, for inspiring her lecture.

“Students active in both centers invited me to join them for a retreat day. It was fantastic,” Clifford said. “While I was walking in the door a thought struck me. There was a time when this would not have been possible.

“I kept thinking about that, and what percolated to the surface was ‘I’m going to do something on Pope John XXIII and his insight to try and bring people of a different religion together.'”

Clifford began by examining the life of Pope John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, to provide context for how he came to believe in and promote the importance of unity between people from different religions.

Through appointments as a Vatican diplomat in Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and France, Roncalli had occasion to deal with people of numerous faiths, both within the Christian religion as well as outside of it, Clifford said.

An archbishop by the time of his appointment in Turkey, Roncolli developed respect and admiration for the Muslims he encountered there due to their deep religious devotion as well as their warm welcome of him, Clifford said.

Archbishop Roncolli was still residing in Istanbul, Clifford said, when news reached him of the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis in the years leading up to and including World War II.

“He tried to influence Vatican officials back home to assist Jews in any way possible, especially Jewish orphans,” Clifford said.”He also directly assisted Jewish refugees who were able to reach Turkey. He assisted in saving thousands of Jews by becoming a channel for the distribution of immigration certificates.”

On Oct. 28, 1958, Roncolli was named the successor to Pope Pius XII and officially took the name Pope John XIII.

“Ninety days after becoming pope, John XXII made the historical announcement that there would be a second Vatican Council,” Clifford said. “This event harkens across the centuries, not only back to Paul, the apostle who reached out to the Gentiles, and in a sense beyond the walls of Israel, but also to Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation.”

Pope John XXIII broke precedents when he invited observers and representatives from Orthodox and Protestant denominations to attend the council, Clifford said. He not only included them, but encouraged his bishops to actively engage with these guests as to achieve mutual understanding.

“It really tied in with two classes that I’m taking this semester,” said Jake Hanrahan, senior in kinesiology and international studies. “I know that the knowledge that I got there will come into play at some point this semester.”