Apostolic Letters

Catholic depiction of the Immaculate Conception as patroness of Kisii Diocese during a Latin Mass.
Apostolic Letters

Virgo intaminata (1960.10.21)

Ad perpetuam rei memoriae: this brief Latin text of John XXIII proclaims the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the “principal heavenly patroness” of the newly erected Diocese of Kisii in Kenya, granting her all liturgical honors and privileges due to a diocesan patron and issuing the usual juridical formulae declaring the act firm and nullifying anything contrary attempted by any authority whatsoever. It appears Marian and pious in its phrasing, yet it is in reality an instrument by which an already manifestly modernist usurper exploits true Marian devotion to consolidate the conciliar sect’s colonial capture of souls in Africa under a counterfeit authority.

Image of Saint Joseph as principal patron of Maracay Diocese, with Bishop José Ali Lebrun Moratinos and clergy in solemn prayer.
Apostolic Letters

Vel in repositarum (1960.11.21)

The Latin text under consideration is a brief act of John XXIII naming Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as principal heavenly Patron before God of the Diocese of Maracay in Venezuela. It recalls long-standing devotion to Saint Joseph in Maracay, notes the erection of the diocese by Pius XII, mentions the request of Bishop José Ali Lebrun Moratinos and clergy and faithful, and, invoking supposed apostolic authority, decrees Saint Joseph as primary patron with all liturgical rights. In doing so, however pious its outward phrasing, this act is a juridical and theological façade: a token of continuity used to cloak the usurpation of Petrine authority and to integrate authentic devotion into the conciliar machinery that would soon devastate the Catholic order.

Reverent gathering of Catholics and Muslims at Notre-Dame d'Afrique Basilica in Algiers, under the crowned statue of Our Lady of Africa.
Apostolic Letters

Praefervidum erga Beata Maria Virgine (1960.11.23)

The document attributed to John XXIII, dated 23 November 1960, proclaims “Notre-Dame d’Afrique” (“Afrorum Domina”) as the principal heavenly patroness of the Archdiocese of Algiers, rehearsing the 19th–20th century history of Marian devotion in Algeria, recalling Pius IX’s elevation of the shrine to a minor basilica and the crowning of the statue, praising the continuous influx of Catholics and Muslims to the sanctuary, and formally extending to this Marian title the liturgical honours proper to a primary diocesan patron. It concludes with the typical juridical formula declaring the act firm, valid, and perpetually binding, issued “de plenitudine Apostolicae potestatis” in the third year of his “pontificate.” This apparently pious proclamation is in reality a symptom and instrument of the new syncretic, anthropocentric religion of the conciliar sect, abusing Our Lady’s holy name to veil an emerging cult of religious relativism and the displacement of the true Church by a paramasonic structure.

A traditional Catholic church interior with a statue of Our Lady of Izamal in Yucatán, set in a reverent atmosphere with devout clergy and laity praying.
Apostolic Letters

Luce collustrans (1960.12.22)

Luce collustrans is a brief Latin act of John XXIII, dated 22 December 1960, in which he, invoking Marian language and formal canonical style, declares the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated as “de Izamal” to be the principal heavenly patroness of the archdiocese of Yucatán, confirming liturgical honors and privileges, and grounding this gesture in the “Marian year” atmosphere and the approaching fourth centenary of the diocese. The text, seemingly pious and traditional in vocabulary, already manifests the juridical and theological subversion of authority characteristic of the conciliar revolution: an usurper presumes to legislate for the universal Church and to instrumentalize Marian devotion as sentimental ornament for an emerging neo‑religion that denies the Kingship of Christ and prepares the cult of man.

A solemn image depicting the usurper John XXIII signing the decree 'Qui Catholico' with a depiction of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the background.
Apostolic Letters

Qui Catholico (1960.12.16)

Qui catholico gloriantur nomine, the faithful of the Greensburg territory are here informed that the usurper in Rome, styling himself “Ioannes PP. XXIII,” by this brief Latin rescript “Qui Catholico” (16 December 1960), declares the Blessed Virgin Mary assumed into Heaven as “principal patroness” of the Diocese of Greensburg, appealing to their traditional Marian piety and continuity with Pittsburgh, and clothing the act in the full juridical solemnity of apostolic authority.

A traditional Catholic depiction of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the heavenly patroness of Oudtshoorn, with a solemn Latin Mass in a historic church.
Apostolic Letters

EO CONTENDENTES (1960.12.16)

Ad perpetuam rei memoriam: this brief Latin act of John XXIII, EO CONTENDENTES, dated 16 December 1960, declares the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Heart as the “principal heavenly patroness” of the diocese of Oudtshoorn (erected in 1951), assigning her the liturgical honors proper to a diocesan primary patron and invoking her protection and intercession for the spread of “the Kingdom of Christ” and the strengthening of Catholics in holiness. Behind this apparently pious Marian gesture, however, stands the already active program of conciliar subversion, sentimental Marian rhetoric instrumentalized to legitimize an authority devoid of Catholic substance, and a juridical formula that presupposes a power usurped and bent to the service of the emerging neo-church.

A Catholic rural scene depicting a peasant family praying with an open letter Agri culturam by antipope John XXIII on a wooden table, St. Isidore in a radiant nimbus, emphasizing piety over Christ's social kingship.
Apostolic Letters

Agri culturam (1960.12.16)

Agri culturam is a brief Latin letter by antipope John XXIII, dated 16 December 1960, in which he extols agriculture with citations from Augustine and Cicero and, at the request of Enrique Pla y Deniel, designates St Isidore the Farmer as heavenly patron of all agricultural workers of Spain, confirming the usual liturgical privileges for such patronage.
Beneath its pious veneer, this text exemplifies the conciliatory, horizontal, and ultimately subversive spirit that paved the way for the conciliar revolution and the occupation of Catholic forms by a neo-church stripped of the social Kingship of Christ.

A solemn image of the Basilica of Notre Dame de Joie in Pontivy, France, depicting pilgrims in traditional attire praying before the Gothic architecture on a crisp autumn day.
Apostolic Letters

Gaudii Nuntia (1959.01.10)

In this Latin document dated 10 January 1959, John XXIII (Roncalli) confers the title and privileges of a Minor Basilica upon the parish church of “Notre Dame de Joie” in Pontivy (diocese of Vannes), extolling the ancient Marian devotion there, the architecture, the state recognition as historic monument, the crowning of the image by Pius XII, and the supposed protection granted during the 1696 cholera epidemic; he concludes by invoking the fullness of “Apostolic” authority to decree this dignity in perpetuity. This apparently benign act is in fact a concentrated manifesto of juridical usurpation, sentimentality, and pre-conciliar-looking but radically subverted ecclesiology, preparing the way for the conciliar revolution against the Kingship of Christ and the true Marian cult.

A serene depiction of the Patriarchal Basilica of St. Mark in Venice, highlighting its religious significance and traditional liturgical elements.
Apostolic Letters

Opere nobilissimo (1959.01.14)

The document issued by John XXIII on 14 January 1959, titled “Opere nobilissimo,” grants plenary and partial indulgences, as well as privileged altars, to the Patriarchal Basilica of St. Mark in Venice. It recalls his personal attachment as former patriarch, evokes earlier grants by Alexander III and St. Pius X, and sets precise conditions for the faithful to obtain indulgences by visiting the basilica, confessing, receiving Holy Communion, and praying “for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff.”

A traditional Catholic procession in front of the Basilica of Saint Mercurialis in Forlì, Italy, led by a bishop with faithful kneeling in reverence.
Apostolic Letters

Urbis Fori Livii (1959.01.16)

The text is a brief Latin decree in which John XXIII, at the very beginning of his usurped reign, elevates the church of Saint Mercurialis in Forlì to the title and dignity of a minor basilica, praising its antiquity, architecture, artistic treasures, the cult of Saint Mercurialis, and the piety of the faithful, and, invoking his claimed apostolic authority, confers on it all juridical rights and privileges of a minor basilica, declaring contrary provisions null and void. It is precisely in such apparently innocuous acts that the conciliar usurpation manifests its chilling strategy: to cloak an already operative revolution against the Kingship of Christ and the divine constitution of the Church under pious phrases and administrative gestures.

Scroll to Top
Antipope John XXIII
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.