His 33-day reign was one of the shortest in the history of the papacy: John Paul I, a short-lived pontiff who died in 1978, was beatified Sunday in Rome by Pope Francis. Thousands of people are expected in Saint Peter’s Square for the beatification mass – a step before the canonization and becoming “saint” – of the “smiling pope”, who had already been declared “venerable” in 2017.
The last Italian Pope, Albino Luciani, popular and close to the people, succeeded Paul VI in August 1978, at the age of 65. He but he died 33 days and six hours later of a heart attack.
speculations
In the early morning of September 29, 1978, a nun discovered his lifeless body, sitting on the bed with his glasses on his nose and some typewritten sheets in his hands. However, no autopsy was performed to confirm his cause of death.
The announcement of his death was surrounded by many inconsistencies and false information and even fed the theory of a murder by poisoning, because the new sovereign pontiff wanted to put order in the affairs of the Church, and in particular in the financial embezzlement within the Vatican. bank. This “conspiracy hypothesis” was reinforced by “a dire communication” from the Vatican at the time, Christophe Henning, journalist and author of the book Petite vie de Jean Paul Ier, told AFP.
Like him, many specialists have questioned this hypothesis, believing that it is based more on a set of coincidences than on tangible elements.
a man of consensus
During his brief pontificate, John Paul I, seen as a man of consensus, managed to impress a simpler style on his way of being Pope. He defended the Church’s opposition to abortion and contraception, while initiating internal reform. Very sensitive to poverty, he also affirmed the importance of giving a “fair salary” to everyone.
Among the recent popes, the Italians John XXIII (1958-1963) and Paul VI (1963-1978) have been canonized, as well as the Polish John Paul II (1978-2005).
Source: BFM TV
