Today, 3 June 2013, marks 50 years since the passing of a great Pope, Blessed Pope John XXIII, who died from stomach cancer he had suffered for years, on 3 June 1963.

Blessed Pope John XXIII was Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, the former Patriarch of Venice, who was elected to the Pontificate in 1958 succeeding Pope Pius XII. He was a poor farmer’s son, who joined the Vatican diplomatic career and eventually was made the Patriarch of Venice, before succeeding as Pope in the 1958 Conclave.

Blessed Pope John XXIII was most well-known for his role in convoking and planning for the Second Vatican Council, which ultimately would take place between 1962 and 1965, with the Council works continued by his successor Pope Paul VI in 1963 upon his passing.

But Blessed Pope John XXIII was also well-known for another work, that is peace, which is one of the hallmark of his pontificate. He managed to help arrange peace talks between the USA and the USSR, the Cold War superpowers, which due to the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962 and preceding conflicts, almost went into an all-out nuclear war at the time.

Blessed Pope John XXIII published the well-known encyclical on peace, Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth) just months before his death, but his works on peace help ensure that the destruction of mankind and God’s creation did not happen.

Pray for us, o Blessed Pope John XXIII, that all of God’s children can truly become peacemakers on their own, and truly practice the love that God has planted in them, that love and peace will reign in this world, triumphant over evil, hatred, and violence.