Saint Paul VI
The pope who brought Vatican II to a close and began the modern papal journeys
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Pope
- Life
- 1897 – 1978
- Era
- 20th century
- Feast
- 29 May
- Countries
- Italy, Vatican City
Life story
Giovanni Battista Montini was born on 26 September 1897 at Concesio near Brescia in northern Italy, in a family whose father was a journalist and active in Catholic politics. He was ordained a priest on 29 May 1920, studied in Rome and worked for many years in the Secretariat of State, assisting Pius XI and Pius XII in the Church's foreign affairs. In 1954 he was named Archbishop of Milan, where he paid particular attention to workers and students in a large industrial city.
On 21 June 1963 the cardinals elected him pope, and he took the name Paul VI. He reopened the Second Vatican Council after the death of John XXIII and brought it to its close in 1965. He travelled to the Holy Land in 1964 and to the United Nations in 1965, and visited other countries, the first pope to travel so widely in modern times. In 1968 he issued the encyclical Humanae Vitae on marriage and procreation, a document that provoked much debate.
His pontificate was marked by tensions after the council. In 1978 the kidnapping and murder of former prime minister Aldo Moro deeply grieved him, and he publicly appealed to the kidnappers. He died at Castel Gandolfo on 6 August 1978. He was beatified in 2014 and canonised by Pope Francis on 14 October 2018.
He also reformed the Roman Curia, established the Synod of Bishops in 1965, and issued documents on the liturgy, evangelisation and ecumenical dialogue. His meeting with Patriarch Athenagoras in Jerusalem in 1964 was an important step in relations with the Orthodox Church.
Works and witness
- Worked in the Secretariat of State for years; Archbishop of Milan from 1954
- Elected pope on 21 June 1963
- Brought the Second Vatican Council to its close in 1965
- Visited the Holy Land and the United Nations; issued Humanae Vitae in 1968
Saints from the same country
References
- Martyrologium Romanum
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis (Paul VI pontificate)
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.