Iconic image of JFK and Pope John XXIII

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his work as president concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba. A Democrat, Kennedy represented Massachusetts in both houses of the U.S. Congress prior to becoming president.

Pope John XXIII (Latin: Ioannes; Italian: Giovanni; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, 25 November 1881 – 3 June 1963) was Bishop of Rome and hence head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 to his death in 1963. Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was one of thirteen children born to a family of sharecroppers who lived in a village in Lombardy.

He was ordained to the priesthood on 10 August 1904 and served in a number of posts, as nuncio in France and a delegate to Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. In a consistory on 12 January 1953 Pope Pius XII made Roncalli a cardinal as the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Prisca in addition to naming him as the Patriarch of Venice. Roncalli was unexpectedly elected pope on 28 October 1958 at age 76 after 11 ballots. Pope John XXIII surprised those who expected him to be a caretaker pope by calling the historic Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), the first session opening on 11 October 1962.

Artist:

Walter Molino (Sten, J.W. Symes)

Walter Molino (5 November 1915 – 8 December 1997)  was an Italian comic artist and illustrator, notorious for his sensational cover paintings for Domenica del Corriere, that depicted mayhem and disaster in everyday situations. His illustrations for the women’s weekly Grand Hotel popularized the “cineromanzi” genre, in which the lead characters in picture stories were based on popular film stars. Prior to this, he worked for Italy’s pre-war comic magazines, most notably co-creating ‘Virus, il Mago della Foresta Morta’ (1939-1940) and ‘Captain l’Audace’ (1939) with writer Federico Pedrocchi.

cont. Lambiek

Magazine: Domenica del Corriere was an Italian weekly newspaper which ran from 1899 to 1989.

It came out every Sunday free with Corriere della Sera, but was also sold separately.

It was famous for its cover drawings, and its issues are still collected.

In the 2 May 1972 issue of the paper Father Pellegrino Maria Ernetti (1925-1994) claimed to have seen the actual crucifixion through a device called a Chronovisor which allowed individuals to view events from the past (and possibly the future) by looking through a tube. Father Ernetti submitted a photograph of this so-called peek into the past in this date’s issue however it is contested whether or not the claim contains any truth, as an almost identical (though mirrored left to right) photograph of a wood carving by the sculptor Cullot Valera, turned up, thus casting doubt upon Ernetti’s divine claim. On his deathbed, Ernetti confessed that the “photo” of Christ was a “lie”.