Pope John Paul I

Pope John Paul I (; , 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978), born Albino Luciani, was an Italian priest of the Roman Catholic Church and the 264th Pope for 33 days in 1978. "List of Popes,"  Catholic Encyclopedia (2009); retrieved 2011-11-02.  His name was a combination of the names of the two popes who came before him.  The name "John Paul" honors Pope John XXIII who made him a bishop and Pope Paul VI who raised him to the rank of cardinal. "Obituaries: The Smiling Pope," New York Times. November 6, 1978; retrieved 2011-10-30. Pope John Paul I was beatified by Pope Francis on 4 September 2022.

Early life
Luciani was born in Canale d'Agordo, a small town between Venice and the Austrian border with Italy.  His father was a migrant worker in Switzerland.

Priest
Luciani began his priesthood in the parishes of his home region.  In 1937, he became a professor of theology and vice-rector of Belluno seminary.

Bishop
He was made Bishop of Vittorio Veneto in 1969.  He understood his role as bishop in a modest way:


Cardinal
In 1972, Pope Paul VI made Luciani a cardinalHoffman, Paul.  "Vatican Focuses on New Cardinals," New York Times. December 13, 1972; retrieved 2011-10-20. and the Patriarch of Venice.Friendly, Alfred Jr.  "Pope Admonishes Italian Bishops," New York Times. April 12, 1970; retrieved 2011-10-30.

Pope
Cardinal Luciani was elected Pope in 1978, "On This Day: August 26," New York Times.; retrieved 2011-10-27. John Paul I was the first pope to combine the names of John and Paul as a Pope as his way of paying tribute to Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI.  He was the first Pope to call himself by a new name since Pope Lando in 913.

He was known as "the Smiling Pope".

 Death 
John Paul I died of a heart attack on 28 September 1978, 33 days after his election.

Selected works
 In a list made of writings by and about John Paul I, OCLC/WorldCat has over 250 works in 370 publications in 17 languages and 11,300 library holdings. WorldCat Identities: John Paul I Pope 1912-1978
 Illustrissimi (1978)Mitgang, Herbert.  "Publishing: Writers Who Became Popes," New York Times. November 10, 1978; retrieved 2011-1030.

Related pages
 List of popes
 List of popes by length of reign

References

More reading
 Cornwell, John. (1989). A Thief in the Night: the Death of Pope John Paul I. New York: Simon & Schuster. ;  OCLC 20013469
 Seabeck, Raymond, ed. (2004). The Smiling Pope: the Life and Teaching of John Paul I. 	Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division. ;  OCLC 438570516
 David Yallop.  In God’s Name. An investigation into the murder of Pope John Paul I

Other websites

  Catholic Hierarchy,  Pope John Paul I
 Vatican webpage, John Paul I biography
  Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church ,  Cardinal Luciani 

Category:1912 births
Category:1978 deaths
Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction
Category:Italian popes
Category:People from Veneto
Category:Beatified people