Pope Paul VI (Latin: Paulus PP. VI; Italian: Paolo VI), born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, was an Italian priest of the Roman Catholic Church and the 263rd Pope from 1963 until his death in 1978.[1] Paul was a spiritual leader and the head of the church bureaucracy.[2]

Montini was born in Concesio. That is near Brescia in northern Italy.  His father was editor of a Roman Catholic newspaper.[3]  He received degrees in civil and canon law, theology and philosophy.[4]

Montini was ordained and celebrated his first mass in 1920.[3]  He worked in the Vatican diplomatic corps.[4] During World War II, he was in charge of the Vatican's work for refugees and prisoners of war.[4] He was made Archbishop of Milan in 1954.[4] Pope John XXIII made Montini a cardinal in 1958.[3]

Cardinal Montini was elected Pope in 1963.[3] Pope Paul continued the Second Vatican Council which was begun by Pope John XXIII.[5] His first encyclical is the only one in the Vatican archives which is in the handwriting of the pope who delivered it.[6] Paul VI was known as the "pilgrim" pope for his numerous travels.[7]  He was the first pope to fly in an airplane.[8]

In 1964, Paul was the first pope to travel from Rome to the Holy Land.[4] He flew first to Amman in Jordan. Then he traveled by car to Jerusalem.[9] In 1970, the pope visited Australia, the Phillipines,[10] and Indonesia.[11] In 1975, Paul declared 1975 to be a "jubilee" year with themes of renewal and reconciliation.[12]

In 1978, Prime Minister Aldo Moro was kidnapped in Rome. Pope Paul VI made an offer to exchange his life for Moro's.[13] The offer was not accepted. Moro was killed 55 days later.[14]

At the age of 80, Pope Paul VI died at Castel Gandolfo, Italy, from a heart attack.[15]

The Pope Paul VI Hall is the modern building in which mass papal audiences are held.[16]

Serafian, Michael. (1964). The Pilgrim. New York: Farrar, Straus. OCLC 386084?

Media related to Paulus VI at Wikimedia Commons





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