Letters – Page 16 – Antipope John XXIII

Patriarch Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira receiving Admodum gavisi letter in a traditional Catholic setting with Christ the King monument in Lisbon

Admodum gavisi (1961.03.08)

amdg / 2025-11-09

In this Latin letter dated March 8, 1961, John XXIII addresses Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira, Patriarch of Lisbon, on the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination. He heaps praise on his loyalty to the Apostolic See, his governance of the patriarchate, his promotion of liturgy, seminaries, and Catholic Action, and recalls with special satisfaction the monument to Christ the King in Lisbon and the national consecration of Portugal to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. As a “gift,” he grants the patriarch the faculty to impart, in his name, a plenary indulgence on an appointed day to the faithful present, and concludes with his “apostolic blessing.”

A reverent portrait of St. Patrick with Irish monks, symbolizing the faithfulness and missionary spirit of Ireland's Catholic heritage.

Letters

Hibernorum Apostoli (1961.02.18)

amdg / 2025-11-09

The letter issued in 1961 by the usurper John XXIII to Cardinal John D’Alton on the 15th centenary of the death of St Patrick offers praise for Ireland’s Catholic heritage, exalts St Patrick as apostle of the nation, recalls the fidelity and missionary fecundity of the Irish, highlights saints such as Columba, Columbanus, Malachy, Laurence O’Toole and the martyrs, and urges continued unity with Rome and support for the Irish College. Beneath its devout vocabulary, however, this text functions as a pious anesthetic: a calculated misuse of Ireland’s supernatural patrimony to legitimize an already advancing conciliar revolution that will dissolve precisely the faith and kingship of Christ which St Patrick preached.

A reverent portrait of Archbishop Jaime de Barros Câmara in a Brazilian cathedral, symbolizing the false piety and doctrinal emptiness of conciliar flattery.

Letters

Haud minus paterni animi votis (1961.01.09)

amdg / 2025-11-09

In this short Latin letter dated 9 January 1961, John XXIII sends congratulatory wishes to Jaime de Barros Câmara on the 25th anniversary of his episcopal consecration. He praises his activities in various dioceses of Brazil, his role for Eastern-rite faithful, his position as Military Ordinary and president of the Brazilian episcopal conference, highlights the 1955 International Eucharistic Congress in Rio de Janeiro, commends his initiatives for schools, and grants him the faculty to impart, in the name of the “pope,” a blessing with plenary indulgence on a chosen day.

Solemn portrait of Cardinal Ignatius Gabriel Tappouni receiving a chirograph from a figure resembling John XXIII in a traditional Catholic setting.

Letters

A A A LA IOANNES PP. XXIII CHIROGRAPHUM… (1960.12.16)

amdg / 2025-11-09

In this brief Latin note, John XXIII sends cordial congratulations and an “Apostolic Blessing” to Ignatius Gabriel Tappouni, Syrian Patriarch of Antioch, on the fiftieth anniversary (“quinque lustra”) of his being created cardinal, praising his merits, fidelity to the Roman See, and pastoral service, and invoking divine grace upon him and his flock.

John XXIII and Cardinal Marcello Mimmi at a Marian Congress in Buenos Aires, 1960, emphasizing pacifism over Christ the King's sovereignty.

Letters

Libenter mox (1960.10.21)

amdg / 2025-11-09

This Latin letter of John XXIII, dated 21 October 1960 and addressed to Cardinal Marcello Mimmi as his legate to a Marian Congress in Buenos Aires, offers praise for the planned gathering, extols Marian devotion, and develops a programmatic discourse on “peace,” “social justice,” and “progress” to be fostered under Mary’s patronage, especially in the context of the “social question” in Latin America. Beneath its pious veneer, it instrumentalizes Marian language in order to promote an irenic, naturalistic, and politically adaptable religion in which Christ’s kingship, the Church’s exclusive salvific claims, and the condemnation of liberal and masonic errors are methodically muted, displaced, and prepared for dissolution.

A reverent depiction of the 37th International Eucharistic Congress in Munich, 1960, led by Archbishop Joseph Wendel. The scene captures traditional Catholic devotion and the sacredness of the Eucharist.

Letters

Gratulationis (1960.08.21)

amdg / 2025-11-09

The Latin letter “Gratulationis” of 21 August 1960, issued by John XXIII to Joseph Wendel, archbishop of Munich-Freising, is an adulatory note of thanks for organizing the 37th International Eucharistic Congress in Munich. John XXIII praises the “magnificent liberality” of the event, the public display of faith, the collaboration of clergy, laity, and civil authorities, and especially the emotional spectacle of crowds, televised ceremonies, and mass “Communions,” from which he expects fruits of peace, concord, and mutual understanding among nations. He presents this Congress as an “orbis Statio” — a kind of world station of peoples around the Eucharist — and expresses the hope that it will yield enduring spiritual benefits and social peace for all nations redeemed by Christ’s Blood.

Already in this short document, stripped of pious varnish, we see the program of the conciliar sect in nuce: a sentimental, horizontal, media-spectacle “Eucharistic” religiosity instrumentalized to serve humanistic pacifism and inter-national fraternization, with no mention of sin, conversion, doctrinal combat, or the social Kingship of Christ in the integral Catholic sense taught consistently until 1958.

John XXIII presenting a letter to Cardinal Joseph Frings in the Vatican Library, symbolizing the betrayal of tradition for secular achievements.

Letters

Proximo mense Augusto (1960.07.05)

amdg / 2025-11-09

On 5 July 1960, John XXIII issues a Latin congratulatory letter to Joseph Frings, celebrating the approaching 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination. The text enumerates Frings’ alleged natural virtues and pastoral merits: social sensitivity, organizational achievements in Cologne, international charitable initiatives, and his professed attachment to the Roman See, crowned by a gift of technical equipment for Vatican Radio so that the “voice” of Rome might better reach the world. The tone is uncritical eulogy, glorifying both the recipient and the new orientation of the structures occupying the Vatican.

A reverent depiction of the 1960 National Eucharistic Congress in Piura, Peru, featuring Cardinal Richard James Cushing reading the letter 'Alta stirpe' during a solemn Mass.

Letters

Alta stirpe (1960.06.27)

amdg / 2025-11-09

The letter “Alta stirpe” of John XXIII appoints Richard James Cushing as papal legate to the National Eucharistic Congress in Piura, Peru, praising the memory of the 1954 Lima congress, extolling Eucharistic devotion, urging frequent Communion, and stressing the need for more clergy—especially for regions of South America exposed to enemies of the Catholic faith—while bestowing an “apostolic blessing” as a pledge of heavenly aid. Already in this short text, the spirit, vocabulary, and implied ecclesiology reveal not Catholic restoration, but the programmatic consolidation of the conciliar revolution under a pious Eucharistic varnish.

A solemn procession during the 1960 International Eucharistic Congress in Munich, reflecting traditional Catholic devotion to the Eucharist as the propitiatory sacrifice of Calvary.

Letters

LA IOANNES PP. XXIII (1960.06.27)

amdg / 2025-11-09

Monachium, the 1960 International Eucharistic Congress, is presented in this letter of John XXIII as a triumphant “liturgical station” of the whole world, a symbol of Eucharistic unity, moral renewal, and a preparatory resonance with his decision to convene the so‑called ecumenical council; he commissions Cardinal Testa as his legate to personify his presence, promote Eucharistic devotion, pray for social order, moral reform, and the spread of “Christ’s religion” throughout the world, framing the entire event as a luminous manifestation of “orthodox faith” and Christian humanism radiating from Munich. One must say it plainly from the outset: this text is a polished manifesto of the conciliar revolution, which instrumentalizes Eucharistic language to inaugurate a naturalistic, ecumenical, and anthropocentric program alien to integral Catholic doctrine.

Image of Pope John XXIII and Cardinal Amleto Giovanni Cicognani exchanging a congratulatory letter with the Vatican in the background, symbolizing bureaucratic praise and doctrinal emptiness.

Letters

Octogesimum mox (1963.02.24)

amdg / 2025-11-09

The text under review is a short Latin congratulatory letter from John XXIII to Amleto Giovanni Cicognani on the occasion of Cicognani’s approaching 80th birthday, sent in February 1963, praising his diligence in handling the “public affairs of the Church,” recalling his curial and diplomatic services (especially as Delegate in the USA and in matters concerning the Eastern Churches and Vatican II), and imparting an “Apostolic” blessing. It is a self-referential, courtly panegyric that silently presupposes the legitimacy of the conciliar revolution it serves.