John XXIII, Pope

The pope from 1958 to 1963. Pope John, who convened the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II), was a leader in liberalizing the Roman Catholic Church.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.