Hoc anno (1961.07.20)
In this brief Latin letter, John XXIII commemorates the fifth centenary of the canonization of St Catherine of Siena, addressing Michael Browne, Master General of the Dominicans. He praises Catherine’s virtues, her defence of the Roman Pontiff, her Eucharistic devotion, her charity and fortitude, and recalls the honours later Popes bestowed on her as patroness of Rome, of Italian Catholic women, of Italy, and of nursing sisters. He exhorts the Dominican Order and the faithful, especially Italians and the citizens of Siena, to celebrate the jubilee devoutly and invoke her intercession for a renewal of Christian life. From the standpoint of integral Catholic faith, however, this apparently pious text is a calculated exploitation of an authentic Saint to legitimize a nascent revolution and cloak John XXIII’s usurpation and the conciliar project with counterfeit “tradition.”










