Born in Northern Italy in 1881, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was trained in Roman Catholic schools from an early age. After service in the military, Roncalli was ordained as a priest in 1904. His passion for social justice for working people and for the poor was formed early and remained an important commitment of his ministry.

Roncalli often received complicated assignments. He was made an archbishop in 1925 and sent as the papal envoy to Bulgaria…