Apostolic Exhortations – Antipope John XXIII

A solemn Catholic priest recites the Divine Office in a dimly lit church, reflecting on the gravity of Vatican II and the exhortation Sacrae Laudis.

Sacrae Laudis (1962.01.06)

amdg / 2025-11-11

Venerable brethren and beloved sons are called by John XXIII to unite in intensified recitation of the Divine Office as a “sacrifice of praise” for the “happy outcome” of Vatican II, presented as a “new Pentecost” and even a “new Epiphany,” with particular emphasis on clergy as mediators whose common prayer should prepare and sustain this conciliar event in hope of ecclesial “renewal” and adaptation of discipline to “the needs of this age.” The entire text, clothed in pious language and allusions to Bethlehem, the Magi, and the heavenly liturgy, functions, however, as a devotional-anesthetic to sanctify in advance the conciliar revolution and to conscript the sacred liturgy itself into serving an already predetermined programme of aggiornamento subversive of the unchanging Catholic faith.

Bishops in traditional vestments praying in a candlelit chapel for Pentecost novena with John XXIII at the center, symbolizing both piety and spiritual deception.

Apostolic Exhortations

Novem per dies (1963.05.20)

amdg / 2025-11-09

The text presented is an exhortation of John XXIII calling the episcopate to observe a Pentecost novena, uniting in prayer with him and the universal flock to implore the Holy Ghost upon the upcoming second session of the so‑called Vatican II Council. It evokes the Cenacle with the Apostles and Our Lady, encourages interior recollection, and frames these novendial prayers as oriented to the “pastoral” aims of the council, especially “renewal of life and morals,” apostolic zeal, and preparation for a supposed new “outpouring” of Pentecostal wonders upon the conciliar assembly.

A traditional Catholic priest reciting the Divine Office in a dimly lit chapel, reflecting the solemnity and historical weight of traditional liturgical piety.

Apostolic Exhortations

Sacrae Laudis (1962.01.06)

amdg / 2025-11-09

The text is a Latin exhortation of antipope John XXIII, urging the clergy to recite the Divine Office with greater fervour for the “happy outcome” of Vatican II, presenting the coming council as a “new Pentecost” and “new Epiphany,” and uniting the global presbyterate around prayers for its success, while rooting this call in traditional themes: St Joseph and the Magi, the Breviary as “sacrifice of praise,” ecclesial unity, and the four marks of the Church.

A Catholic priest praying devoutly before an open Breviary in a dimly lit church, reflecting the theme of Sacrae Laudis by antipope John XXIII.

Apostolic Exhortations

Sacrae Laudis (1962.01.06): Liturgical Piety Enlisted for Conciliar Revolution

amdg / 2025-11-08

Vatican portal presents the Latin text of the apostolic exhortation “Sacrae Laudis” of antipope John XXIII (January 6, 1962), which solemnly calls the entire clergy “in peace and communion with the Apostolic See” to recite the Divine Office with greater fervour for the “happy outcome” of the Second Vatican Council. John XXIII frames Vatican II as a “new Epiphany” and “new Pentecost,” exhorts priests to unite daily prayers and the Most Holy Sacrifice with this intention, links the Breviary with the marks of the Church (*una, sancta, catholica, apostolica*), and presents the Council as an organic flowering of Tradition aimed at adapting ecclesiastical discipline to “the needs of this age” and attracting separated communities back to unity. In reality this document is a programmatic attempt to conscript authentic Catholic devotion, liturgy, and hierarchical obedience into serving the conciliar subversion of the Church.