why did it happen? Some have speculated that Pope Pius moved Angelo to Bulgaria in order to remove him from Italy. Pius XI was a disappointment to many in Italy because he failed to live up to progressive expectations and made a shocking alliance with Mussolini. Monsignor Roncalli was a known supporter of the Catholic Popular Party, which Pius suppressed in favor of the Italian fascists.
It is true that by appointing him to Bulgaria, Pope Pius effectively put the monsignor’s suspect views on the shelf and segregated him, even while making him a titular archbishop. But just as the biblical Joseph was required to become a slave in Egypt for a time before rising to the lofty role God intended for him, God also had future plans for Angelo Roncalli. And as time passed and Mussolini’s fist tightened around Italy, Archbishop Roncalli would come to view it as a blessing that he had been able to leave.
And so Archbishop Roncalli found himself aboard the Orient Express on his way to Sofia. Bulgaria was an obscure outpost for the Catholic Church. Archbishop Roncalli’s job there was to protect the interests of the small Catholic community in the predominantly Eastern Orthodox country. Fortuitously, he was also able to provide broader assistance during two national tragedies, thereby attaining a great deal of good will from the Orthodox majority.
The first event occurred even before his arrival. Nine days before the new archbishop arrived in Bulgaria, an attempt was made to assassinate the king of Bulgaria, Boris III, by placing a bomb in the dome of Sofia’s main Orthodox cathedral. The horrific explosion caused the dome to crash down upon the congregants, killing 150 people and injuring 300. Arriving in Bulgaria so soon after the terrible event, the new papal visitor visited the wounded in a Catholic hospital that provided free care in the aftermath of the calamity. Archbishop Roncalli’s ecumenical kindness so favorably impressed King Boris that he received the archbishop only days later. This was an especially meaningful gesture on the part of the king because the papal visitor had no actual diplomatic standing in the country.
The second occasion was in 1928, when Bulgaria experienced a series of destructive earthquakes. Archbishop Roncalli directed food and blanket distribution in the decimated earthquake areas, and he even elected to sleep among the homeless in tents. In addition, he solicited funds for a soup kitchen that fed people for two months following the catastrophe.
Archbishop Roncalli also gained favor with the royal family by overlooking King Boris’ somewhat duplicitous behavior in connection with the Catholic Church. In 1930 this king of Orthodox Bulgaria had married Giovanna, the Catholic daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, in a Catholic ceremony in Assisi. Archbishop Roncalli was present for the occasion. The pope had granted the couple the customary dispensation when they both signed a promise that any issue from their marriage would be reared as Catholics. Nevertheless, upon their arrival in Bulgaria, the couple was remarried in a spectacular Orthodox ceremony, which the pope suffered as a slap in the face.
The children that followed were baptized Orthodox, further angering the pope. Archbishop Roncalli accepted Giovanna’s word that she had no say in the matter, and he understood enough of realpolitik to recognize that Boris, too, had little choice in this regard: to keep the wavering support of the Orthodox Bulgarian populace, Boris could hardly show weakness in his Orthodoxy. As it was, he was the frequent target of assassination attempts in his simmering country, and he did eventually die in 1943 at the age of 49 under highly suspicious circumstances.
While Roncalli did favor reconciliation and reunification of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, his mission in Bulgaria was not to be an emissary to the Orthodox but to assist the Catholics there. The majority
It is true that by appointing him to Bulgaria, Pope Pius effectively put the monsignor’s suspect views on the shelf and segregated him, even while making him a titular archbishop. But just as the biblical Joseph was required to become a slave in Egypt for a time before rising to the lofty role God intended for him, God also had future plans for Angelo Roncalli. And as time passed and Mussolini’s fist tightened around Italy, Archbishop Roncalli would come to view it as a blessing that he had been able to leave.
And so Archbishop Roncalli found himself aboard the Orient Express on his way to Sofia. Bulgaria was an obscure outpost for the Catholic Church. Archbishop Roncalli’s job there was to protect the interests of the small Catholic community in the predominantly Eastern Orthodox country. Fortuitously, he was also able to provide broader assistance during two national tragedies, thereby attaining a great deal of good will from the Orthodox majority.
The first event occurred even before his arrival. Nine days before the new archbishop arrived in Bulgaria, an attempt was made to assassinate the king of Bulgaria, Boris III, by placing a bomb in the dome of Sofia’s main Orthodox cathedral. The horrific explosion caused the dome to crash down upon the congregants, killing 150 people and injuring 300. Arriving in Bulgaria so soon after the terrible event, the new papal visitor visited the wounded in a Catholic hospital that provided free care in the aftermath of the calamity. Archbishop Roncalli’s ecumenical kindness so favorably impressed King Boris that he received the archbishop only days later. This was an especially meaningful gesture on the part of the king because the papal visitor had no actual diplomatic standing in the country.
The second occasion was in 1928, when Bulgaria experienced a series of destructive earthquakes. Archbishop Roncalli directed food and blanket distribution in the decimated earthquake areas, and he even elected to sleep among the homeless in tents. In addition, he solicited funds for a soup kitchen that fed people for two months following the catastrophe.
Archbishop Roncalli also gained favor with the royal family by overlooking King Boris’ somewhat duplicitous behavior in connection with the Catholic Church. In 1930 this king of Orthodox Bulgaria had married Giovanna, the Catholic daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, in a Catholic ceremony in Assisi. Archbishop Roncalli was present for the occasion. The pope had granted the couple the customary dispensation when they both signed a promise that any issue from their marriage would be reared as Catholics. Nevertheless, upon their arrival in Bulgaria, the couple was remarried in a spectacular Orthodox ceremony, which the pope suffered as a slap in the face.
The children that followed were baptized Orthodox, further angering the pope. Archbishop Roncalli accepted Giovanna’s word that she had no say in the matter, and he understood enough of realpolitik to recognize that Boris, too, had little choice in this regard: to keep the wavering support of the Orthodox Bulgarian populace, Boris could hardly show weakness in his Orthodoxy. As it was, he was the frequent target of assassination attempts in his simmering country, and he did eventually die in 1943 at the age of 49 under highly suspicious circumstances.
While Roncalli did favor reconciliation and reunification of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, his mission in Bulgaria was not to be an emissary to the Orthodox but to assist the Catholics there. The majority
Similar Books
We Are Not in Pakistan
Shauna Singh Baldwin
Godiva
Nicole Galland
Montana Wife (Historical)
Jillian Hart
Steel and Lace (Lace Series)
Adriane Leigh
False Charity
Veronica Heley
Founding Brothers
Joseph J. Ellis
The Electrical Experience
Frank Moorhouse
Boardwalk Mystery
Gertrude Chandler Warner