Encyclical Letters – Page 3 – Antipope John XXIII

Traditional Catholic missionary praying in a rustic mission church surrounded by indigenous converts.

Princeps Pastorum (1959.11.28)

amdg / 2025-11-08

Princeps pastorum, dated 28 November 1959 and issued under the name of John XXIII, is presented as an encyclical on Catholic missions, commemorating forty years since Benedict XV’s Maximum illud. It praises recent developments in mission territories, especially the formation of indigenous hierarchies and laity, calls for better training of local clergy, insists on the role of lay apostolate and “Catholic Action,” encourages social initiatives and adaptation to local cultures, and ends with a sentimental exhortation and blessing for missionaries and benefactors. Beneath its pious vocabulary, the text systematically redirects missionary purpose from the supernatural conquest of souls for the one true Church to a horizontal, politicized, and democratized program that prefigures the conciliar revolution.

A priest and faithful praying the Rosary in a traditional Catholic church setting with a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and stained-glass windows depicting Rosary mysteries.

Encyclical Letters

Grata recordatio (1959)

amdg / 2025-11-08

Grata recordatio is presented as an encyclical of John XXIII, dated September 26, 1959, exhorting the episcopate and faithful to the devout recitation of the Marian Rosary (especially in October), recalling Leo XIII’s Rosary encyclicals, evoking the memory of Pius XII, underlining the alleged continuity of the Roman Pontificate, insisting on prayer for peace and for political leaders, condemning in generic terms “laicism” and “materialism,” and finally asking for prayers for the “Roman Synod” and the forthcoming “Ecumenical Council,” portrayed as instruments for the spiritual renewal of the Church and peace among nations.

St. John Mary Vianney in his confessional at Ars, embodying priestly sanctity and devotion.

Encyclical Letters

Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia (1959.08.01)

amdg / 2025-11-08

Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia is presented as an encyclical of John XXIII on the centenary of the death of St John Mary Vianney, addressed to bishops “in peace and communion with the Apostolic See.” It exalts Vianney as model of priestly asceticism, prayer, Eucharistic devotion, pastoral zeal, and especially of tireless work in the confessional; it weaves in numerous quotations from Pius X, Pius XI, and Pius XII, and ends with an appeal for priestly holiness, vocations, and Marian devotion (notably Lourdes and the Immaculate Conception). Behind this apparently edifying presentation stands the signature and program of the one who inaugurated the conciliar revolution, making this text a manifesto for neutralizing authentic pre-conciliar doctrine and co‑opting true sanctity into the emerging conciliar sect.

Pope John XXIII seated in the Papal Throne in St. Peter's Basilica issuing the encyclical Ad Petri Cathedram, surrounded by cardinals and bishops.

Encyclical Letters

Ad Petri Cathedram (1959.06.29)

amdg / 2025-11-08

Shortly after his election, John XXIII issues the encyclical “Ad Petri Cathedram” (June 29, 1959), presenting his program under three slogans: “truth, unity, peace,” in the context of announcing an ecumenical council, a Roman synod, and a “renewal” of canon law for East and West. He denounces relativism and indifferentism in words borrowed largely from Leo XIII and Pius XII, extols the social harmony of classes and the dignity of labor, calls for concord within families and nations, and addresses “separated brethren” with an invitation to unity centered on the Roman See. He ends with paternal exhortations to bishops, clergy, religious, laity, emigrants, the suffering, and those under persecution. Behind this apparently orthodox language, the text functions as the foundational manifesto of the conciliar revolution, where the vocabulary of Catholic Tradition is subtly retooled to inaugurate a new, human-centered, ecumenical and naturalistic project opposed to the integral doctrine of the Church before 1958.