Pope John XXIII was born in the town of Ferrara, Italy. He was the eldest son of a local butcher. He received the best education available to young men in his day, including a degree in medicine from the University of Bologna in 1894. While still in college he joined the Capuchins, a religious order that ministered to people with leprosy
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His superiors sent him to Rome to study for the priesthood, but he failed to pass his examinations after four years. Instead, he taught Latin at a nearby seminary until he obtained his doctorate in theology from the University of Bologna in 1896. That same year he was ordained to the priesthood and became assistant professor of dogmatic theology at the Catholic Institute in Vienna, Austria.
He was appointed Professor of Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in April 1897, where he lectured on preaching and pastoral theology until 1903 when he became rector. Pope Pius X named him Secretary of State on June 1, 1903, making him one of only three laymen ever to hold that office. On November 26, 1914, Pope Benedict XV elevated him to Cardinal Priest and then Pope on October 28, 1922.
Among other papal honors he also received an award from the U.S. State Department for his humanitarian work during World War I and an award from the Republic of Austria for his work during World War II. During his fifty-eight year pontificate (he died on August 6, 1958) he canonized forty-seven saints; established two new dioceses; revised many church laws; reformed Vatican finances; opened Vatican City State to visitors; increased Catholic missionary work around the world; established relations with Communist China; and declared nuclear disarmament a moral issue equivalent to racial equality or peace in outer space.