Apostolic Letters – Page 8 – Antipope John XXIII

Traditional Catholic basilica of the Virgin of Del Quinche in Quito, Ecuador, with ornate high altar and golden diadem-crowned statue of Our Lady. Clergy in cassocks attend to pilgrims.

Mariani cultus (1959.05.02)

amdg / 2025-11-12

The document, issued by John XXIII on 2 May 1959, grants the title and privileges of a minor basilica to the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of “Del Quinche” in the Archdiocese of Quito. It extols the antiquity of the sanctuary, the artistic beauty of the structure and its furnishings, the popular devotion to the image of the Virgin of Del Quinche, and the pastoral care provided there by clergy of the Congregation of the Oblates of the Most Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary, concluding with the solemn juridical formula conferring the basilica dignity and its associated privileges.

Solemn portrait of Marie-Marguerite d'Youville with the poor and sick in a Montreal hospital.

Apostolic Letters

Caritatis Praeconium (1959.05.03)

amdg / 2025-11-12

The apostolic letter Caritatis Praeconium, issued by John XXIII on 3 May 1959, announces the beatification of Marie-Marguerite d’Youville, foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Montreal, extolling her as a model of charity, universal benevolence, and heroic virtue. The text recounts her life: noble birth, early sufferings, widowhood, works for the poor and sick, foundation of the “Grey Nuns,” management of the Montreal hospital, and her religious virtues; it then concludes with the formal concession of liturgical cult to her person within specified dioceses and houses. The entire document presents this beatification as a pure triumph of evangelical charity and a glory for the Church in Canada. In reality, it is one of the inaugural acts of John XXIII’s programmatic subversion: the instrumentalization of “charity” to inaugurate a new cult of horizontal humanitarianism detached from integral Catholic faith and to shift the axis of sanctity from the reign of Christ the King and doctrinal militancy to naturalistic social service, thereby manifesting the embryonic theological bankruptcy of the conciliar revolution.

Augustinian canons in traditional habits praying in a historic chapel with an illuminated manuscript of Caritatis unitas.

Apostolic Letters

Caritatis unitas (1959.05.04)

amdg / 2025-11-12

Caritatis unitas is a Latin letter of the usurper John XXIII, dated May 4, 1959, by which he “approves and confirms” a Confederation (“Foedus caritatis”) of several Congregations of the Canons Regular of St Augustine, establishes the office of an “Abbas Primas” rotating among them, outlines basic principles of autonomy and cooperation (common prayers, common saints’ proper, a shared Cardinal Protector), and orders the drafting of particular statutes.

St. Isidore the Farmer as the patron saint of the Diocese of San Isidro, Argentina, depicted in a traditional Catholic setting with a bishop in liturgical vestments.

Apostolic Letters

Plantaria Novella (1959.05.21)

amdg / 2025-11-12

The document attributed to John XXIII under the title “Plantaria novella” (1959.05.21) designates St Isidore the Farmer as the principal heavenly patron of the Diocese of San Isidro in Argentina, established by Pius XII in 1957. It cloaks this act in pious language about young dioceses as “newly planted shoots” needing special celestial protection, and, invoking alleged apostolic authority, it decrees St Isidore’s patronage with the usual legal formulae declaring the act perpetual, binding, and nullifying any contrary attempts.
This seemingly innocuous text, issued in the first year of the pontificate of the initiator of the conciliar revolution, already manifests the juridical imposture and theological emptiness of a nascent neo-church which dares to speak with the voice of Peter while preparing to betray the Kingship of Christ and the integral faith.

A solemn Catholic scene depicting a traditional basilica in Rio de Janeiro dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, with faithful pilgrims gathered in prayer.

Apostolic Letters

AUGUSTAE VIRGINI (1959.05.23)

amdg / 2025-11-12

The Latin text published under the title “Augustae Virgini” (23 May 1959) is an apostolic brief of John XXIII, in which he confers the title and juridical privileges of a Minor Basilica on the parish church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Rio de Janeiro. The document praises the “Lourdes” shrine’s architecture, the frequent pilgrimages, the sick brought in hope of cure, the flourishing confraternities, and catechetical instruction, and, at the request of Jaime de Barros Câmara, grants it the dignity of Basilica Minor with all attached rights and indulgenced privileges, “contrariis quibusvis non obstantibus.”

A solemn depiction of the Marian shrine Nuestra Señora de El Soto in Iruz, Spain, during a canonical coronation ceremony. The image captures traditional Catholic devotion with the Virgin Mary's statue adorned with a golden crown.

Apostolic Letters

Potiora inter (1959.05.23)

amdg / 2025-11-12

The document under review, issued by antipope John XXIII on 23 May 1959 under the title “Potiora inter,” designates the Marian shrine known as “Nuestra Señora de El Soto” (Our Lady of the Grove) in Iruz as the principal patronal devotion of the Toranzo valley in the diocese of Santander, and authorizes the canonical coronation of its image. In solemn and affectively charged language, it extols local Marian piety, recalls alleged graces and even “prodigious” favors attributed to this image, mentions its profanation during the Spanish civil war and subsequent restoration, praises the care of the Discalced Carmelites, and formally proclaims the Virgin under this title as heavenly Patroness of the region with the usual liturgical privileges.

A solemn Catholic scene depicting the church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Rome elevated to minor basilica status, with a procession of faithful Catholics.

Apostolic Letters

URBS ROMA (1959.05.23)

amdg / 2025-11-12

Urbs Roma is a brief Latin act of John XXIII by which he elevates the Roman church dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the rank of minor basilica, praising the growth of Rome, the architectural dignity of the shrine, and the Marian devotion associated with it, especially the universal consecration to the Immaculate Heart performed by Pius XII during the world war. It is a seemingly pious, purely honorary decree whose refined juridical formula masks the deeper reality: this is one of the early juridical gestures by which the conciliar usurper quietly instrumentalizes Marian piety to legitimize a counterfeit authority and to prepare the cultic infrastructure of the coming neo-church.

A traditional Catholic church in Wollongong with a devout congregation praying before a statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Apostolic Letters

Ecclesiae filii (1959.06.06)

amdg / 2025-11-12

The document “Ecclesiae filii,” dated 6 June 1959 and issued under the name of John XXIII, is a Latin apostolic letter by which the “Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of the Immaculate Heart,” is declared the principal heavenly patroness of the diocese of Wollongong. The text, couched in standard curial formulas, presents this act as a pastoral response to the faithful “gravely situated in this age,” allegedly to strengthen Marian devotion and obtain heavenly favors. In reality, this seemingly pious gesture inaugurates, under a Marian facade, the juridical and spiritual invasion of a newly fabricated “diocese,” integrated into the nascent conciliar revolution and instrumentalized to anchor the coming apostasy in sentimental pseudo-Marian cult detached from integral Catholic doctrine.

A Catholic bishop holding 'Salutare Sidus' apostolic letter in a historic cathedral with congregation praying before the statue of the Immaculate Conception.

Apostolic Letters

Salutare Sidus (1959.06.10)

amdg / 2025-11-12

The document “Salutare Sidus,” issued in 1959 by antipope John XXIII as an apostolic letter, solemnly confirms the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the principal heavenly patroness of the Archdiocese of La Plata. In lofty Marian language, it extols Mary as “saving star” and officially approves the choice of the local hierarchy by invoking the supposed apostolic authority of John XXIII, granting liturgical privileges and declaring all contrary acts null and void. This seemingly pious text, however, functions as a cosmetic veil over an authority already in rupture with the integral Catholic faith and inaugurates the Marian rhetoric later instrumentalized to legitimize the conciliar revolution against the Kingship of Christ and the unchanging Magisterium.

Traditional Passionists in black habits praying before a historic chapel altar with liturgical art and symbols of the Passion.

Apostolic Letters

Salutiferos Cruciatus (1959.07.01)

amdg / 2025-11-12

The document “Salutiferos Cruciatus” of John XXIII (1 July 1959) purports to grant solemn apostolic approval to the revised Rule and Constitutions of the Congregation of the Passion (Passionists), adapting them “to the conditions of our times” after the 1917 Code, through a process of aggiornamento mandated, examined, and finally ratified by the Roman authorities. It praises St. Paul of the Cross, invokes the merits of the institute, recounts previous papal confirmations of its legislation (Benedict XIV, Clement XIV, Pius VI), and then, by the alleged “plenitude of Apostolic power,” abrogates all prior norms not contained in the newly conformed text.