^Lot 339 Pope John XXIII

Italian pope (1881–1963), born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who ascended the papal throne in 1958 and served until his death. As the guiding force behind the historic Second Vatican Council, John ushered in the most sweeping reforms the Catholic Church had undergone in centuries. Rare TLS in Italian, as apostolic nuntio to France, signed “Angelo Gius. Roncalli, n.a” one page, 8 x 10.5, Nonciature Apostolique de France letterhead, Paris, June 25, 1945. To Alessandro Zanchi, signed at the conclusion as ‘nonce apostolique’ (n.a). At the end of the war, exactly two months before the liberation of Paris, Roncalli, as papal envoy, approves of his correspondent taking a leave to come to Paris. The letter bears an official stamp of the censorship of French occupation authorities, allowing it to go through. In very good condition, with a couple of small separations along central horizontal and vertical folds, a couple of pin holes to left edge, scattered light toning and soiling, and an office stamp and pencil notation near top.