Age, Biography, and Wiki
- Age at Death: Pope John Paul I passed away at the age of 65.
- Birth Date: October 17, 1912.
- Reign: He was the Pope of the Catholic Church from August 26, 1978, until his death on September 28, 1978.
- Wiki Page: Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_I.
| Occupation | Cat |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 17 October 1912 |
| Age | 112 Years |
| Birth Place | Forno di Canale, Veneto, Italy |
| Horoscope | Libra |
| Country | Vatican |
| Date of death | 28 September, 1978 |
| Died Place | Apostolic Palace, Vatican City |
Height, Weight & Measurements
There is limited public information available regarding Pope John Paul I's physical measurements.
The journalist and vice-postulator for John Paul I's cause of canonisation, Stefania Falasca, published a new book in 2017 titled Pope Luciani, Chronicle of a Death, in which she revealed that John Paul I had complained of chest pains hours before his death and the evening before, but paid no attention to them and ordered that his doctor not be called. Falasca confirmed, after interviewing the sisters who found him and documents from the Vatican Apostolic Archive, that John Paul I died of a heart attack in the late evening hours of 28 September 1978.
John Paul I had suffered a severe pain in his chest for about five minutes around 7:30 pm while reciting the vespers in the chapel with Magee before dinner, but insisted against calling for Doctor Renato Buzzonetti. The latter, the book claimed, was informed of that episode after the pope's death. The book also revealed that, before the conclave that elected John Paul II, the cardinals had sent a series of written questions to the doctors who had embalmed John Paul I either on 10 or 11 October to check if there had been any signs of traumatic injuries, so as to ascertain if he died naturally rather than suspiciously. Doctor Buzzonetti sent a detailed report to the Cardinal Secretary of State Agostino Casaroli on 9 October 1979 detailing that the episode of pain John Paul I suffered was in the upper part of the sternal region.
"What can we say of John Paul I? It seems to us that only yesterday he emerged from this assembly of ours to put on the papal robes — not a light weight. But what warmth of charity, nay, what 'an abundant outpouring of love' — which came forth from him in the few days of his ministry and which in his last Sunday address before the Angelus he desired should come upon the world. This is also confirmed by his wise instructions to the faithful who were present at his public audiences on faith, hope and love."
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Dating & Relationship Status
As a Catholic priest, Pope John Paul I took a vow of celibacy, which means he did not have any romantic relationships or marry.
Luciani was a restless child. In 1922, aged 10, he was awestruck when a Capuchin friar came to his village to preach the Lenten sermons. From that moment, he decided that he wanted to become a priest and went to his father to ask for his permission. His father agreed and said to him: "I hope that when you become a priest you will be on the side of the workers, for Christ Himself would have been on their side".
In 1975, Luciani travelled to Germany in May. Later that year (6–21 November), he visited Brazil, where he met with members of the clergy, including Aloísio Lorscheider. Upon returning to Italy, he suffered an embolus in his right eye. Luciani also visited Fatima a few months later. While there, he met with Sister Lucia dos Santos, the surviving visionary of three children who in 1917 claimed to see apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary (revered in this form under the title Our Lady of Fatima). When Luciani met Sister Lucia, she referred to him as "Holy Father". This greeting shocked the humble cardinal. In January 1976, he published Illustrissimi ("To the Illustrious Ones"), a collection of letters penned by him in previous years, whimsically addressed to historical and literary figures such as Dickens, G. K. Chesterton, Maria Theresa of Austria, Teresa of Avila, Goethe, Figaro, Pinocchio, the Pickwick Club, King David, and Jesus.
Luciani was elected on the fourth ballot of the August 1978 papal conclave. Luciani had previously said to his secretary, Father Diego Lorenzi, and Father Prospero Grech (later a cardinal himself), that he would decline the papacy if elected, and that he intended to vote for Aloísio Lorscheider, whom he met in Brazil. Jaime Sin of the Philippines told him: "You will be the new pope."
During the days following the conclave, the cardinals were generally elated at the reaction to Pope John Paul I, some of them happily saying that they had elected "God's candidate". Argentine Eduardo Francisco Pironio stated, "We were witnesses of a moral miracle." Mother Teresa, commenting about the new pope, "He has been the greatest gift of God, a sun beam of God's love shining in the darkness of the world." British primate Cardinal Basil Hume declared: "Once it had happened, it seemed totally and entirely right ... We felt as if our hands were being guided as we wrote his name on the paper".
In an interview before the death of Pope Paul VI in 1978, when asked for his reaction to the birth of the first test-tube baby Louise Brown, Luciani expressed concerns about the possibility that artificial insemination could lead to women being used as "baby factories", but he refused to condemn the parents, noting that they simply wanted to have a baby.
His view was that "from every side the press is sending its congratulations to the English couple and best wishes to their baby girl. In imitation of God, who desires and loves human life, I too offer my best wishes to the baby girl. As for her parents, I do not have any right to condemn them; subjectively, if they have acted with the right intention and in good faith, they may even obtain great merit before God for what they have decided on and asked the doctors to carry out." Luciani added, "Getting down, however, to the act in itself, and good faith aside, the moral problem which is posed is: is extrauterine fertilization in vitro or in a test tube, licit?... I do not find any valid reasons to deviate from this norm, by declaring licit the separation of the transmission of life from the marriage act."
"Because of this virtue of his, it only took 33 days for Pope Luciani to win people's hearts. In his addresses he always referred to events in practical life, from his family memories and from popular wisdom. His simplicity was a vehicle for a solid, rich teaching which, thanks to the gift of an exceptional memory and a vast knowledge, he embellished with numerous citations from ecclesiastical and secular writers. Thus, he was an incomparable catechist, following in the footsteps of St Pius X, who came from the same region and was his predecessor first on the throne of St Mark and then on that of St Peter. 'We must feel small before God,' he said during the same Audience. And he added, 'I am not ashamed to feel like a child before his mother; one believes in one's mother; I believe in the Lord, in what he has revealed to me.' These words reveal the full depth of his faith. As we thank God for having given him to the church and to the world, let us treasure his example, striving to cultivate his same humility which enabled him to talk to everyone, especially the small and the 'distant.' For this, let us invoke Mary Most Holy, the humble handmaid of the Lord."
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Net Worth and Salary
Popes traditionally do not have a personal net worth in the modern sense, as they do not receive salaries and their living expenses are covered by the Church. However, the Vatican's wealth is substantial, with estimates ranging between $10 billion and $15 billion. Pope John Paul I's focus was on spiritual leadership rather than personal wealth.
At the Synod of Bishops held in Rome in 1971, to which he was personally invited by Pope Paul VI, Luciani suggested to the bishops assembled that dioceses in countries that were heavily industrialised should relinquish around 1% of all their income to Third World nations to be given "not as alms, but something that is owed. Owed to compensate for the injustices that our consumer-oriented world is committing towards the 'world on the way to development' and to in some way make reparation for social sin, of which we must become aware".
Career, Business, and Investments
- Career: Pope John Paul I's career was marked by his ascension through the ranks of the Catholic Church. He was the Patriarch of Venice before becoming Pope.
- Business and Investments: There is no public information indicating that Pope John Paul I was involved in personal business or investments. His role was centered on spiritual leadership and Church governance.
In 1947, he was named chancellor to Bishop Girolamo Bortignon of Belluno, and was appointed a Supernumerary Privy Chamberlain of His Holiness, the most junior class of papal prelate, on 15 December. In 1954, he was named the vicar general for the Belluno diocese. Luciani was nominated for the position of bishop several times, but he was passed over each time due to his poor health, stature, and resigned appearance. In 1949, he published a book titled Catechesis in crumbs. This book, his first, was about teaching the truths of the faith in a simple way, directly and comprehensible to all people.
After his election, John Paul I quickly made several decisions that would "humanise" the office of the pope. He was the first modern pope to speak in the singular form, using 'I' instead of the royal we. However, the official records of his speeches were often rewritten in a more formal style by aides, who reinstated the royal we in press releases and L'Osservatore Romano. He initially refused to use the sedia gestatoria until others convinced him of its need to allow himself to be seen by crowds. He was the last pope to use it. He was the first pope to refuse to be crowned. Instead of a coronation, he inaugurated his papacy with a "papal inauguration" where he received the papal pallium as the symbol of his position as Bishop of Rome.
The postulator for the cause was Bishop Enrico dal Covolo from 2003 until 2016 when Beniamino Stella was appointed to that position. Stefania Falasca is the current vice-postulator.
Social Network
Pope John Paul I did not utilize social networks as they did not exist during his lifetime.
In 1969, Luciani was cautious of de facto relationships as a lesser evil to divorce. He said that unions like those should not be the same as marriage. However, he added that "there are, in undeniably pathological family situations, painful cases. To remedy that, some propose a divorce, which, conversely, would aggravate this. But some remedy outside of divorce, you can't really find? Once the legitimate family is protected and made a place of honour, you will not be able to recognise with all appropriate precautions some civil effect to de facto unions."
John Paul I impressed people with his personal warmth. He was seen by some as an intellectual lightweight not up to the responsibilities of the papacy, although David Yallop (In God's Name) says that this is the result of a whispering campaign by people in the Vatican who were opposed to Luciani's policies. In the words of John Cornwell, "they treated him with condescension"; one senior cleric discussing Luciani said "they have elected Peter Sellers." Critics contrasted his sermons mentioning Pinocchio to the learned intellectual discourses of Pius XII or Paul VI. Visitors spoke of his isolation and loneliness and the fact that he was the first pope in decades not to have previously held either a diplomatic role (like Pius XI and John XXIII) or Curial role (like Pius XII and Paul VI) in the Church.
Education
- Pope John Paul I was educated at the Gregorian University in Rome, where he studied philosophy and theology.
- He later earned a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Ordained a priest on 7 July 1935, Luciani then served as a curate in his native Forno de Canale before becoming a professor and the vice-rector of the Belluno seminary in 1937. Among the different subjects, he taught dogmatic and moral theology, canon law and sacred art.
In 1941, Luciani started to work on a Doctorate of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. This required at least one year's attendance in Rome. However, the Belluno seminary's superiors wanted him to continue teaching during his doctoral studies. The situation was resolved by a special dispensation by Pope Pius XII on 27 March 1941. His thesis (The origin of the human soul according to Antonio Rosmini) largely attacked Rosmini's theology and earned him his doctorate magna cum laude in 1947.
On 15 December 1958, Luciani was appointed Bishop of Vittorio Veneto by Pope John XXIII. He received his episcopal consecration later that month from Pope John XXIII himself, with Bishops Bortignon and Gioacchino Muccin serving as the co-consecrators. Luciani took possession of the diocese on 11 January 1959, with Humilitas (Humility) as his episcopal motto. In his first address to his new diocese, he told the people that he sought to be "a bishop who is a teacher and a servant".
Pope Paul VI died on 6 August 1978, ending a papacy of fifteen years. Luciani was summoned to Rome for the conclave to elect the new pope. Time reported that the Dean of the college, Carlo Confalonieri, who was excluded from participating because of age, had been the first to suggest Luciani.
Observers have suggested that his selection was a compromise to satisfy rumoured divisions among seemingly rival camps within the College of Cardinals:
* The cardinals within the increasingly international College of Cardinals, beyond the Italians who were experiencing diminished influence, such as Karol Wojtyła.
To determine whether or not the late pontiff should be declared Venerable, theologians and the members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints must determine if the late pope lived a life of heroic virtue. This meeting took place on 1 June 2017 in which theologians unanimously approved the fact that the late pope exercised virtues to a heroic degree. The cardinal and bishop members discussed the cause on 7 November 2017 and issued their unanimous approval. Pope Francis named John Paul I as Venerable on 8 November 2017 after confirming his heroic virtue per the cardinal and theological virtues.
Karol Wojtyła was elected John Paul I's successor as Pope on Monday, 16 October 1978. The next day he celebrated Mass together with the College of Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel. After the Mass, he delivered his first Urbi et Orbi (a traditional blessing) message, broadcast worldwide via radio. In it he pledged fidelity to the Second Vatican Council and paid tribute to his predecessor:
Conclusion
Pope John Paul I's legacy is one of humility and spiritual leadership. His brief tenure as Pope was marked by a commitment to simplicity and a focus on the Church's mission. His impact on the Catholic Church continues to be felt through his teachings and the example he set during his short time as the Head of the Church.
