Pope John Paul I, the 'smiling pope'
who reigned for just 33 days before his death in September 1978,
was beatified in a Mass led by Pope Francis Sunday.
Pope John Paul I (born Albino Luciani, 17 October 1912 - 28
September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of
the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later.
His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in
the most recent year of three popes and the first to occur since
1605.
John Paul I remains the most recent Italian-born pope, the last
in a succession of such popes that started with Clement VII in
1523.
At the beatification Mass, Francis again quashed speculation
that the newly beatified pontiff's death had not been a natural
one, from a heart attack.
He paid tribute to his predecessor's "mildness" and "humility".
"With his smile he succeeded in transmitting the Lord's
goodness," said Francis.
The mass was attended in a heavily rainy St Peter's Square by
over 25,000 faithful including those from the late pope's old
diocese of Belluno-Feltre, Vittorio Veneto and Venice.
The 33-day pope, Francis said, "became the image of a Church
with a happy face, a serene face, a smiling face, a Church that
never closes its doors, that does not harshen hearts, that does
not complain and does not harbour resentment, which is not
angry, is not impatient, does not present itself in a stern way,
and does not suffer from nostalgia for the past".
Francis unveiled a picture of John Paul I, the first in the
Vatican painted by a Chinese artist, the hyper-realist Yan
Zhang.
The day of devotion to the new blessed will be August 26, the
day of his election in 1978.
The beatification required the recognition by the Vatican of a
miracle wrought by the late pope.
In John Paul I's case it was the healing of an 11-year-old
Argentinian girl who had been at death's door in 2011.
She had been on the verge of succumbing to multiple epileptic
fits, pneumonia and septic shock when the local priest, who was
a devout admirer of John Paul I, started leading prayer sessions
that brought about her full recovery, said the Dicastery for the
causes of Saints.
The smiling pope is now aiming to ascent the last rung of the
ladder to sainthood, for which at least another miracle is
needed.
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