Letters

Saint Peter of Alcantara in prayer, symbolizing traditional Catholic asceticism amidst the landscape of El Palancar.
Letters

Lilium (1962.01.02)

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Sanctimonious Praise of Alcantarine Asceticism in Service of a Coming Revolution

The text is a Latin letter of John XXIII to Augustine Sépinski, Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, on the 400th anniversary of the death of St Peter of Alcantara. It extols Peter’s austerity, contemplative spirit, role in reform, collaboration with St Teresa of Jesus, his Treatise on prayer and meditation, and exhorts the Franciscans and the faithful to imitate his poverty, penance, and interior life as an antidote to “naturalism.” It presents Peter as a model of evangelical perfection for clergy and laity, and wraps this commemoration in the solemn “apostolic” blessing of the writer.

Cardinal John XXIII presenting a congratulatory letter to Cardinal Aloisio Traglia in a grand Vatican hall
Letters

Quintam et vicesimam (1961.12.29)

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The text is a short Latin congratulatory letter in which John XXIII extols Aloisio Traglia on the 25th anniversary of his episcopal consecration, praising his services in the Roman Curia, as Vicar in Rome, and as president of bodies overseeing “Catholic Action” and the lay apostolate in Italy. John XXIII lauds Traglia’s diligence, affability, eloquence, and merits “for the Church,” invokes divine assistance so that he may continue his work, especially in fostering the “ancient Christian piety” of Rome, and imparts his “Apostolic Blessing.”

Traditional Catholic church interior with choir singing Gregorian chant, John XXIII addressing the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music.
Letters

Iucunda laudatio (1961.12.08)

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This Latin letter, issued on December 8, 1961 by John XXIII to Hyginus Anglès on the 50th anniversary of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, praises the Institute’s role in promoting sacred music (Gregorian chant, polyphony, Latin in the liturgy), commends its fidelity to the directives of Pius X, Pius XI, and Pius XII, encourages the cultivation of Latin and chant alongside suitable vernacular religious songs for non-solemn settings, and blesses efforts to adapt musical formation to missionary territories by integrating local melodies into Catholic worship; in short, it presents itself as a harmonious continuation of pre-1958 liturgical doctrine while quietly inaugurating the programmatic instrumentalization of sacred music for the conciliar revolution it was about to unleash.

Bishop Antonio Marià Barbieri receiving a Latin letter from John XXIII in a traditional Catholic bishop's study.
Letters

Semper exspectatus (1961.10.12)

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Dated October 12, 1961, and signed by John XXIII, this Latin letter is addressed to Antonio María Barbieri on the 25th anniversary of his episcopal consecration. It offers praise for his loyalty to the Roman See, his pastoral governance, preaching, and care for the poor; it encourages him to grow in wisdom, imitate the “good shepherd” and Franciscan ideals, serve the “Church” with pure heart and constancy, and imparts to him and his flock the “apostolic blessing” together with the grant of a plenary indulgence on a chosen day for the faithful present at his benediction. Behind this apparently benign congratulatory form lies the naked program of the conciliar revolution: the sacrilegious use of sacred language and indulgences to confirm a false hierarchy and cement obedience to a new, man‑centred religion occupying Catholic structures.

Traditional Catholic seminary in the Philippines 1961 with seminarians and bishop under neo-gothic cathedral.
Letters

Pater misericordiarum (1961.08.22)

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The document attributed to John XXIII and addressed to Rufino Santos and the other hierarchy of the Philippine islands congratulates them for the growth, material development, and organisation of their seminaries. It praises buildings, numbers, structures, the coordination of curricula, attention to spiritual directors, and encourages the promotion of vocations and the creation of a national college in Rome as a sign of ecclesial maturity. It is a serenely bureaucratic self-congratulation of a system that, on the eve of the conciliar revolution, was already internally severed from *integral Catholic faith* and preparing an army of functionaries for the future conciliar sect.

St. Catherine of Siena praying before an altar with crucifix and Eucharistic symbols in a candlelit chapel, contrasted with an anachronistic figure of antipope John XXIII holding the letter Hoc Anno (1961.07.20).
Letters

Hoc anno (1961.07.20)

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This Latin letter, issued by antipope John XXIII on July 20, 1961, commemorates the fifth centenary of the canonization of St. Catherine of Siena, addressing Michael Browne as Master General of the Order of Preachers. It rehearses Catherine’s virtues and historical role: her defense of the Roman Pontiff, efforts for the Pope’s return from Avignon, interventions for peace in Italy, love of the Most Holy Eucharist, devotion to the Passion and the Precious Blood, and spiritual influence through her letters and Dialogue. It notes how later pontiffs assigned her patronages (of Rome, of Italy, of women in Catholic Action, of certain congregations) and exhorts the Dominican family and the faithful to celebrate the jubilee in her honor. The text cloaks a grave fraud: the usurper of 1961 parasitically invokes a true medieval saint to confer borrowed legitimacy on the conciliar revolution he is engineering against the very Faith she served unto death.

A reverent Catholic image of Bishop Aloisio Rodríguez Pardo and Cardinal Richard James Cushing leading a Eucharistic procession in Bolivia, 1961. The scene captures the solemnity of the National Eucharistic Congress with traditional Catholic iconography.
Letters

Laetum allatum (1961.07.04)

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Dated 4 July 1961, this Latin letter of John XXIII appoints Richard James Cushing as papal legate to the National Eucharistic Congress in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. It praises Bishop Aloisio Rodríguez Pardo, extols Bolivian Eucharistic devotion, entrusts Cushing with representing the “pope,” proposes the motto “Omnes unum sumus in Christo” (We are all one in Christ), and links Eucharistic worship with unity, charity, social justice, and concern for the poor and indigenous. It culminates in an Apostolic Blessing as an encouragement to Eucharistic piety and fraternal concord.

A traditional Catholic priest in a church with old film reel reflecting moral dangers of cinema in Nostra Patris 1961.
Letters

Nostra Patris (1961.06.29)

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The document “Nostra Patris” (29 June 1961), issued by antipope John XXIII to Martin John O’Connor as head of the Pontifical Commission for Cinema, Radio and Television, commemorates 25 years since Pius XI’s “Vigilanti cura.” It praises the potential of cinema, warns (moderately) against its moral dangers, commends episcopal and lay initiatives for classification and oversight, and urges Catholics to shape film culture through criticism, education, and cooperation with ecclesiastical “authorities” and experts.

A traditional Catholic study with antipope John XXIII's letter to Cardinal Tisserant, highlighting earthly honors over spiritual values.
Letters

A A A ES – La Ioannes XXIII’s Cult of Humanist Prestige (1961.06.15)

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In this Latin letter dated June 15, 1961, antipope John XXIII congratulates Eugène Tisserant on the fiftieth anniversary of his elevation to the red hat by Pius XI, lauding his erudition, his work as Prefect of the Apostolic Library, his role in the Eastern Churches’ dicastery, and his admission to the Académie Française. The whole text is a polished homage to human learning, diplomatic service, and institutional prestige, culminating in a generic blessing.

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Antipope John XXIII
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