Letters – Page 8 – Antipope John XXIII

An Augustinian Canon kneeling in prayer before an ancient altar in the Lateran Basilica, symbolizing devotion and the enduring values of the Order of Canons Regular of St. Augustine.

Epistula ad Ludovicum Severinum Haller… (1959.05.25)

amdg / 2025-11-12

The Latin letter under consideration is a brief congratulatory message of John XXIII to Louis Severin Haller, titular bishop of Bethlehem and abbot primate of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine, on the 900th anniversary of the 1059 Lateran Synod and the public inauguration of the confederation of the congregations of the Order. It recalls Augustinian origins, praises the canonical life, invokes the reforming decrees of 1059 on common life, extols communal discipline, obedience, charity, and urges the Canons to foster liturgy, pastoral work, and studies for the good of the Church. Beneath this apparently edifying surface, the text functions as a programmatic instrument of the conciliar revolution, neutralizing authentic reform, instrumentalizing a venerable order for the coming neo-church, and evacuating supernatural Catholicity into a safe, obedient, liturgical decor for apostasy.

Portrait of Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac in prayer, symbolizing his faith and resistance against communist persecution.

Letters

Abeunte tibi (1959.06.14)

amdg / 2025-11-12

This Latin letter of John XXIII to Aloysius Stepinac, on the 25th anniversary of his episcopal consecration, is a brief congratulatory message praising Stepinac’s constancy, piety, pastoral zeal, and sufferings under communist persecution, recalling his appointment and elevation to the cardinalate by Pius XII, and imparting a so‑called “Apostolic Blessing” upon him and the clergy and faithful of Zagreb. The entire text, however, by coming from the first public acts of the conciliar usurper and by its studied silences, functions as a pious veil over the already ongoing revolution that would soon betray precisely the Kingship of Christ and the rights of the Church for which Stepinac had suffered.

Portrait of Archbishop Alfonso Castaldo in traditional episcopal regalia before a historic basilica in Naples, surrounded by a crowd of faithful.

Letters

EPISTULA AD ALFONSUM… INITIA EPISCOPALIS (1959.06.24)

amdg / 2025-11-12

At first glance, this Latin letter of John XXIII (24 June 1959) is a brief congratulatory note to Alfonso Castaldo on the 25th anniversary of his episcopal ordination. It praises his pastoral initiatives in Pozzuoli and Naples: visitation of the diocese, multiplication of parishes, promotion of clergy and Catholic Action, care for seminaries, charitable institutions, and youth education; it grants him the faculty to impart the so‑called papal blessing with plenary indulgence on the jubilee celebration. Beneath this apparently pious surface, however, stands the programmatic glorification of an already deformed hierarchy and the quiet consolidation of the conciliar revolution that would soon devastate the Church.

Cardinal Marcello Mimmi at a traditional Eucharistic Congress in Catania, Italy, with clergy and faithful in reverent prayer before a grand altar adorned with martyrs' relics.

Letters

La epistula ad Marcellum Mimmi (1959.08.02)

amdg / 2025-11-12

Catana, a city near Mount Etna and adorned by the martyrdom of Agatha and Euplus, is indicated as the chosen place for a nationwide Eucharistic Congress; John XXIII appoints Cardinal Marcello Mimmi as his legate, exhorting clergy and faithful to increase Eucharistic devotion, promote unity and peace, and draw abundant spiritual and even civil benefits for Italy from this solemn gathering. Yet beneath this apparently pious exhortation lies an already operative program: the instrumentalization of the Most Holy Eucharist as a sentimentalist banner for a new naturalistic unity, detached from the integral doctrine of the Church and preparatory to the conciliar revolution against the reign of Christ the King.

Cardinal Ferdinando Cento leading the 1959 National Eucharistic Congress in Córdoba, Tucumán, Argentina, with clergy and laity in a solemn procession.

Letters

Non excidit (1959.08.20)

amdg / 2025-11-12

In this brief Latin letter, John XXIII appoints Ferdinando Cento as his legate to the National Eucharistic Congress of Argentina in Córdoba (Tucumán) in October 1959. He recalls with enthusiasm the 1934 International Eucharistic Congress in Buenos Aires (with Eugenio Pacelli as papal legate), praises the Argentine hierarchy’s preparations, extols civil authorities for their cooperation and acknowledgment of ties with the Holy See, and expresses paternal joy and hope that increased Eucharistic devotion will strengthen religious life and social peace. Beneath its devout language, this text already manifests the programmatic horizontalism, political flattery, and falsified notion of ecclesial communion characteristic of the conciliar revolution inaugurated by this usurping antipope.

A solemn Catholic ceremony in 1959 with Cardinal Ottaviani presiding over Canadian hierarchy centenary celebrations, reflecting traditional piety and historical faith.

Letters

Si summo (1959.08.25)

amdg / 2025-11-12

The letter “Si summo,” dated 25 August 1959 and signed by John XXIII, appoints Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani as legate to the centenary celebrations of the establishment of the hierarchy in Canada. In solemn Latin, it praises divine beneficence, extols the foundation and growth of the Canadian hierarchy, commemorates François de Laval, urges Canadian bishops and faithful to defend pure doctrine and to promote Christian life amid modern errors, promises spiritual favors including a plenary indulgence, and extends an apostolic blessing.

A critical depiction of the Pontifical North American College in Rome, highlighting institutional complacency and doctrinal drift under John XXIII.

Letters

SAECULO EXEUNTE AB EODEM COLLEGIO CONDITO (1959.08.28)

amdg / 2025-11-12

Venerable John O’Connor and his collaborators are congratulated on the centenary of the Pontifical North American College in Rome; John XXIII praises the generosity of the American hierarchy, the distinguished clergy formed there, the new Janiculum building blessed by Pius XII, and extols Rome as the privileged place to form a mature, intellectually equipped American clergy for the service of Church and nation, concluding with a solemn benediction. From the first to the last line this text is a polished hymn to institutional self-satisfaction, revealing a conception of priestly formation and ecclesial mission already detached from the integral Catholic understanding of the Church as a supernatural bastion against liberalism, naturalism, and Masonic subversion, and thus it stands as a quiet but unmistakable prologue to the conciliar catastrophe.

A traditional Catholic scene depicting John XXIII blessing Cardinal Pietro Ciriaci in a somber cathedral setting.

Letters

Quinquagesimum natalem sacerdotii (1959.11.28)

amdg / 2025-11-11

The text is a brief congratulatory letter in Latin from John XXIII to Pietro Ciriaci on the fiftieth anniversary of Ciriaci’s priestly ordination. It praises his academic, curial, and diplomatic career; commends his service to the Holy See in Czechoslovakia and Portugal; extols his role as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Council and head of the Pontifical Commission for interpreting the Tridentine decrees; and imparts an “Apostolic Blessing” upon him and those celebrating this jubilee. It is presented as a simple paternal commendation of a “faithful servant” of the Apostolic See. In reality, this letter is a concise manifesto of the conciliar revolution: a humanistic cult of career, diplomacy, and bureaucratic expertise, entirely devoid of supernatural gravity, issued by an antipope to an accomplice in the dismantling of Catholic authority.

A solemn portrait of Cardinal Iacobus Aloisius Copello in a traditional Catholic cathedral, reflecting the contrast between Church tradition and modern flattery.

Letters

Benevolentiae caritatis (1959.11.29)

amdg / 2025-11-11

The brief Latin epistle “Benevolentiae caritatis,” dated 29 November 1959 and signed by Ioannes XXIII, is presented as a congratulatory letter to Cardinal Iacobus Aloisius Copello on the occasion of his 80th birthday. In courtly phrases it recalls Copello’s long life, his work for the Church (especially in Buenos Aires), praises his diligence as Chancellor of the Roman Church, and imparts an “Apostolic Blessing” to him and those celebrating around him. Behind its polished surface, however, this text exemplifies the vacuity, anthropocentrism, and internal corruption that characterize the conciliar revolution: a pseudo-pontifical rhetoric that replaces supernatural doctrine with humanistic compliments, masks grave scandal under sugary courtesies, and reduces the Petrine office to a dispenser of banal civilities.

Reverent image depicting the 1959 Fulda meeting of German bishops with John XXIII, symbolizing the soft launch of the conciliar revolution behind a facade of piety.

Letters

Apostolici muneris (1959.11.29)

amdg / 2025-11-11

In this Latin letter, John XXIII responds to a collective message of the German hierarchy (Frings, Wendel, Döpfner and others) after their Fulda meeting. He congratulates them on pastoral initiatives, praises devotion to the Holy Tunic of Trier, exalts the planned Munich International Eucharistic Congress, commends aid to Catholics in the “Diaspora,” encourages outreach to non-Catholics, and links all this to his announced “ecumenical council,” expressing hope that its decisions will benefit individuals and nations and foster unity. Behind a façade of piety and benign courtesies, this text reveals the operative program of a new religion: the soft launch of the conciliar revolution, masking doctrinal relativization and ecclesiological subversion under sentimental devotions, bureaucratic optimism, and ecumenical rhetoric.