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John Paul I Comes Closer to Sainthood

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The first stages of the process to make the Pope John Paul I a saint of the Roman Catholic Church have been finalised over the weekend in the northern Italian town of Belluno.

by Jennifer Gold
Posted: Monday, November 13, 2006, 14:21 (GMT)

The first stages of the process to make the Pope John Paul I a saint of the Roman Catholic Church have been finalised over the weekend in the northern Italian town of Belluno.

Pope John Paul I was pontiff for just 33 days and was known fondly as the �smiling Pope�, or �Papa Luciani�. Even though he had one of the most brief stints as pope in history, and died in 1978, his many surviving admirers feel that his saintly qualities should be officially recognised.

Pope John Paul I said during his life, �For me civic, social and political freedom coincides exactly with the message of Jesus Christ.�

His position as the Roman Catholic head was cut short following a sudden heart attack.

In 2003, the local bishop in the town of Belluno near Venice, where John Paul I was born and spent most of his life as priest and then bishop, instigated the formal investigation.

As the process has continued, almost 200 witnesses have come forward to testify evidence for the smiling Pope�s sainthood.

Historically, the process to beatify a member of the Roman Catholic Church can take decades and even in a number of cases has taken centuries.

Papa Luciani's successor, Pope John Paul II, is also himself already on the first track to sainthood.

To be successfully given the status of saint in the Church, at least one miracle such as medical cure inexplicable by ordinary science must be witnessed and confirmed by the Vatican.

I feel the need to talk about His Holiness John-Paul I, Albino Luciani, who reigned for 33 days between Paul VI and John-Paul II in 1978. He was a saintly man, whom I hope is one day Canonized. When he was in the Conclave he looked at Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, whom he called "the foreigner," and whom he stated would be the next Pope. He reluctantly accepted his election to the Papacy, saying, "May God forgive you for what you have done. I accept." He was never crowned, but only inaugurated. He was in ill health, but took upon himself the Papacy doing God's will. He was overshadowed by his successor, John-Paul II, but I believe that God chose him as the great Forerunner for that great Papacy. I do not believe for even a second that he was "poisoned" as the conspiracy theorists aver, but died of a "normal" heart attack in his sleep, no doubt in the arms of Our Lord. Had there been no John-Paul I, there would have been no John-Paul II. I ask the prayers of this holy man, the 33-day Pope, the Forerunner.)
A Prayer For The Beatification Cause
Lord Jesus,
You Who gave to us the great joy of venerating
Pope John Paul I as Your Vicar on earth,
and then in Your inscrutable designs,
gave us the immense sorrow of his unexpected departure,
grant us the graces that we ask of You... so that,
sure of his intercession with You,
we may one day venerate him on the altars;
then his goodness and humility presented as an example
to the faithful, will be a perpetual invitation
to translate his teaching into life and to spread serenity and love. Amen.
Andrew W. Smith

John Paul I's lasting mark on the Papacy is precisely that he was never crowned - John Paul II therefore did not have a coronation either, and Benedict XVI has followed suit. That leave Paul VI as the last Pope to have been crowned. I believe that there are the equivalents of full video-recordings (in the technology of the time) of the coronations of John XXIII and Paul VI, for those who would like to see what they used to do on such an occasion.

Pope Benedict's Mass to mark the formal beginning of his pontificate was quite magnificent; I hope that a DVD is available somewhere.

Father Serge

I would not be so quick to write off the possibility of assassination. Read this study before you resolve to remain fixed in your current judgment;

http://www.crc-internet.org/oct84.htm

Did you know that Patriarch Nikodim of Moscow literally died in the arms of John Paul I? I figure that might be a fact of interest on this forum.

Also worthy of mentioning so long as I ramble about JPI is the amazing manner in which he fulfills S. Malachy's prophecy concerning him. The denomination he recieved from Malachy was "Of the half moon". His very name, Albino Luciani, means "white light" such as the moon's. Furthermore, he was elected to the papal chair beneath a half moon and a month later died under another.