About Us - History of the Parish & Bl. John XXIII

The History of the Parish

Newman clubs have been a part of college campus life for decades, and so it was in Ft. Collins in the 1940's and 1950's. The Newman Club at Colorado A and M College had many homes over the years -- the homes of faculty members, space in several different houses in the vicinity of the campus, and the basement of St. Joseph's Church. In 1957, the college became Colorado State University, and as it and Ft. Collins continued to grow, the numbers of Catholic students and faculty members grew as well. With the renewed enthusiasm engendered by the Second Vatican Council and the growing demands for a committed Catholic presence at C.S.U., John XXIII University Center was conceived in 1967. It took two years from concept to completion, and in the Fall of 1969, the community moved into its new home.

A primary focus of the community effort at John XXIII has been to campus ministry at C.S.U. John XXIII Parish was created to serve the needs of the students and faculty at the university. The physical plant was designed in a way that would offer to students, and eventually to the parish at large, multi-use spaces. The lounge, patio and courtyard offer a relaxing atmosphere for discussion, study and informal dinners. Classrooms provide space for workshops, classes, luncheons, meetings and private study. The small chapel hosts the daily Masses and Communion Services, small weddings, baptisms, prayer groups, and is a quiet place to meditate and pray. And the main chapel serves as the worship center for the weekly gathering of the community, as well as the place for Mardi Gras, Thanksgiving Dinner for Seniors, talent shows and many other activities.

But John XXIII is not a building. We are a community of loving and welcoming people who are committed to make real in our daily lives the transforming power of the gospel. We are students seeking to deepen our understanding of the challenges of faith and celebrating our being Church and who find in John XXIII a home away from home. We are faculty members and university personnel who have chosen to unite together on a journey of faith. We are members of the business, medical, legal, educational, technological and artistic communities of Ft. Collins and surrounding areas. We are young and we are old; we are teenagers and committed singles; we are young married couples without families and we are parents who want our children to grow and be nurtured in a loving faith family.

Over the years, many hundreds of individuals and families have come to identify with John XXIII as their parish, even though they are not directly connected to university life. And so today John XXIII is a major center in Ft. Collins for Catholic Christian life and growth. To the university community and to the community at large we offer a variety of activities and programs. In addition to the many programs in University Ministry, we have Basic Spiritual Communities, a vibrant youth ministry for teenagers, a social justice outreach to the Ft. Collins community, many self-help groups, and one of the most enduring Religious Education programs in the Archdiocese, SMEP (Sunday Mass Education Program) which began in 1977 and has guided thousands of adults and children in the life of faith. And at the heart of it all are the weekend liturgies -- spirit-filled, musically alive celebrations which bind us together in faith, hope and love.

The History of Pope John XXIII (1958-1963)

When on October 20, 1958 the cardinals, assembled in conclave, elected Angelo Roncalli as pope many regarded him, because of his age and ambiguous reputation, as a transitional pope, little realizing that the pontificate of this man of 76 years would mark a turning point in history and initiate a new age for the Church. He took the name John in honor of John the Baptist and John the Beloved Disciple - but also because it was the name of a long line of popes whose pontificates had been short.

Angelo Guiseppe Roncalli, the third of thirteen children, was born on November 25, 1881 at Sotto il Monte (Bergamo) of a family of sharecroppers. He attended elementary school in the town, was tutored by a priest of Carvico, and at the age of twelve entered the seminary at Bergamo. A scholarship from the Cesaroli Foundation (1901) enabled him to go on to the Apollinaris in Rome where he studeid under (among others) Umberto Benigni, the Church historian. He interrupted his studies for service in the Italian Army but returned to the seminary, completed his work for a doctorate in theology, and was ordained in 1904. Continuing his studies in canon law he was appointed secretary to the new bishop of Bergamo, Giacomo Radini-Tedeschi. Angelo served this social-minded prelate for nine years, acquiring first-hand experience and a broad understanding of the problems of the working class. He also taught apologetics, church history and patrology.

With the entry of Italy into World War I in 1915 he was recalled to miltary service as a chaplain. On leaving the service in 1918 he was appointed spiritual director of the seminary, but found time to open a hostel for students in Bergamo. It was at this time also that he began the research for a multi-volume work on the episcopal visitation by St. Charles Borromeo, the last volume of which was published after his elevation as pope.

In 1921 he was called to Rome to reorganize the Society for the Propogation of the Faith. Nominated titular archbishop of Areopolis and apostolic visitator to Bulgaria (1925), he immediately concerned himself with the problems of the Eastern Churches. Transferred in 1934 to Turkey and Greece as Apostolic Delegate, he set up an office in Istanbul for locating prisoners of war. He made it possible for hundreds of Jewish children to escape Nazi terror by providing fake baptism certificates and transportation for them to Israel. In 1944 he was appointed nuncio to Paris to assist in the Church's post-war efforts in France, and became the first permanent observer of the Holy See at UNESCO, addressing its sixth and seventh general assemblies in 1951 and 1952. In 1953 he became cardinal-patriarch of Venice, and expected to spend his last days there in pastoral work. He was correcting proofs of the synodal Acts of his first diocesan Synod (1958) when he was called to Rome to participate in the conclave that elected him pope.

In his first public address Pope John expressed his concern for reunion with separated Christians and for world peace. In his coronation address he asserted "vigorously and sincerely" that it was his intention to be a pastoral pope since "all other human gifts and accomplishments -- learning, practical experience, diplomatic finesse -- can broaden and enrich pastoral work, but they cannot replace it." One of his first acts was to annul the regulation of Pope Sixtus IV limiting the membership of the College of Cardinals to 70; within the next four years he enlarged it to 87 with the largest international representation in history. Less than three months after his election he announced that he would hold a diocesan synod for Rome, convoke an ecumenical council for the universal Church, and revise the Code of Canon Law. The synod, the first in the history of Rome, was held in 1960; Vatican Council II was convoked in 1962; and the Pontifical Commission for the Revision of the Code was appointed in 1963.

His progressive encyclical, Mater et Magistra, was issued in 1961 to commemorate the anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum. Pacem in Terris, advocating human freedom and dignity as the basis for world order and peace, came out in 1963. He elevated the Pontifical Commission for Cinema, Radio and Television to curial status, approved a new code of rubrics for the Breviary and Missal, made notable advances in ecumenical relations by creating a new Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity and by appointing the first representative to the Assembly of the World Council of Churches held in New Delhi (1961). In 1960 he consecrated fourteen bishops for Asia, Africa and Oceania. The International Balzan Foundation awarded him its Peace Prize in 1962.

Since his death on June 3, 1963, much has been written and spoken about the warmth and holiness of the beloved Pope John. Perhaps the testimony of the world was best expressed by a newspaper drawing of the earth shrouded in mourning with the simple caption, "A Death in the Family."

[Much of this material on Pope John XXIII was taken from the Vatican website]