From Rome
The Pope Francisco beatific this Sunday in Saint Peter’s Square John Paul I, Pope Albino Luciani, the fifth Pontiff of the 20th century to reach the altars and one of those who lasted the least as Pope in the history of the Church since he died on September 28, 1978, 34 days after being elected. Despite the heavy rain and thunder that unleashed all over Rome on Sunday, St. Peter’s Square was packed with the faithful (some 25,000 people, the Holy See said), cardinals, bishops, priests and politicians, including Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella. .
The new blessed “He embodied the poverty of the disciple, which does not only imply getting rid of material goods, but above all overcoming the temptation to put one’s own ‘I’ at the center and seek one’s own glory,” Pope Francis said at the celebration. “It was a gentle and humble shepherd” (…) And with his smile Pope Luciani managed to convey the goodness of the Lord. It is beautiful a Church with a cheerful, serene and smiling face, that never closes its doors, that does not harden hearts, that does not complain or harbor resentments, that is not angry or impatient, that does not appear harsh or suffer because of nostalgia for the past.
And to explain the context in which some leaders move, Francis cited the crowd that followed Jesus on his way to Jerusalem and compared it to the crowds that follow certain figures today, perhaps in a tacit allusion to the electoral campaign. that Italy is experiencing where there will be elections on September 25. “We may wonder what a shrewd leader would have done seeing his words and his charisma draw crowds and increase his popularity. It also happens today, in moments of personal and social crisis, when we are more exposed to feelings of anger or are afraid of something that threatens our future, we become more vulnerable; and, thus, letting ourselves be carried away by our emotions, we place ourselves in the hands of someone who knows how to deal with this situation with skill and cunning, taking advantage of society’s fears and promising to be the “savior” who will solve problems, while in reality what he wants is that your acceptance and power increase. But Jesus doesn’t act that way, he doesn’t instrumentalize our needs,” he explained.
The Argentine Pope always celebrated sitting in an armchair due to knee problems. The rest of the mass, which had to be celebrated standing, was done by several cardinals, including the secretary of state, Pietro Parolin.
During the ceremony, Pope Francis was presented with a relic of Pope Luciani, on behalf of the John Paul I Foundation. But this time it was not a bone of the deceased, as is usually the case, but rather a page written by his hand on the that reflects on faith, hope and charity.
The miracle
For what el pope Luciani could be beatified, it was necessary to demonstrate before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints that the candidate for saint had performed a miracle. And the officially recognized miracle referred to an 11-year-old Argentine girl, Candela Giarda, from Paraná, who in 2011 began to manifest a serious brain disease that, after being transferred to Buenos Aires and admitted to the Favaloro Hospital, the doctors considered that there was nothing more they could do to save her. Her mother spoke with the priest of the parish near the hospital, Father José Ignacio Dabusti, and he promised her that he would commend John Paul I in her prayers so that he would save her. The girl was in intensive care. On July 22, 2011 the situation got much worse but on July 23 -considered today the date of the miracle- “surprisingly”, according to Vatican documents, there was a rapid improvement and gradually the girl was cured. Today she is 21 years old and she lives in Paraná where she studies Animal Hygiene and Health at the university. Candela and her mother Roxana Sosa were scheduled to travel to Rome for the beatification. But the young woman broke her foot and they canceled the trip. Both sent a video to the press conference to present the beatification that took place on Friday, where they regretted not being able to travel but said they were very excited about the beatification.
Instead, Father Dabusti was present at the press conference and at the ceremony. He told the press why he had asked Pope Luciani for Candela’s health. “John Paul I had two traits that caught my attention and inspired me since I was a child (he was only 13 years old when he was elected): his permanent joy and his humility,” he said.
How do you get blessed?
The main steps of the canonization process are three: recognition of heroic virtues, that is, that the person has qualities to become a saint; to be consecrated blessed, for which the demonstration of a miracle is required, and to be consecrated saint, for which the demonstration of a miracle is required. a second miracle.
And to fulfill each one of these steps, a long process of investigation is required by the people in charge of the cause directed by the so-called postulator, who consult files, speak with people who have known him and even with his relatives. In the case of John Paul I, the statements of two of his nieces were included, among others. One of them, Lina Petri, recounted, among other things, at the conference on Friday, that she was in Rome having dinner with her uncle when she received a phone call telling her that Paul VI was very ill. Paul VI died the next day.
John Paul I’s miracle was subjected to a long process of verification by the Congregation for the Cause of Saints but also by doctors who studied the case and declared it a “scientifically inexplicable cure.” With an official decree of October 13, 2021, Francis recognized the miracle.
Why beatify a Pope who lasted so little?
“Sanctification is the ecclesiastical recognition of an exemplary Christian life. A blessed or a saint is not necessarily a martyr, it is enough that he or she is a good example to follow and helps to establish unity in difference”, he explained to PageI1 Argentine theologian Emilce Cuda, current secretary of the Holy See’s Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
“The beatification and canonization are not a prize, nor is it the recognition of a pontiff who thinks like him. On the contrary, they are the public recognition that the Catholic Church makes of a Christian practice as a model to imitate, ”he added. And he concluded: “Many wonder why people of the same creed, but with different positions in society, are equally beatified and/or canonized, even under the same pontificate. The answer lies in the Catholic Church itself constituted as a unity in difference. Saving the distances, cultures also recognize as heroes or heroes those who have had exemplary behavior in the processes of independence, liberation and unity.
Who was John Paul I
Born in Forno di Canale (today known as Canale d’Agordo), in the province of Belluno belonging to the Veneto region (northeastern Italy), on October 17, 1912. He was the first of four children of a socialist worker who worked as an immigrant in Switzerland for several years.
In the card that his father wrote him where he gave his consent to enter the first seminary in 1923, he said: “I hope that when you are a priest you are on the side of the poor because Christ was on their side.” Luciani was ordained a priest in 1935, and in 1958 he was appointed Bishop of Vittorio Veneto by Pope John XXIII. Starting in 1962, he participated in all the sessions of the Second Vatican Council, which caused great changes in the Church, making it simpler and closer to the population, allowing the use of national languages in celebrations that until then were only in Latin. approaching culture and popular music. In 1970 he was named bishop of Venice and in 1973 consecrated cardinal by Paul VI.
After August 6, 1978, the day of the death of Paul VI who, like John XXIII, had carried out all these changes in the Church, the synod of cardinals was convened on August 25 for the election of the new Pope. And Luciani was elected after little more than 24 hours of sessions, which is quite rare because in general there are several candidates and the discussions make the synod prolong. He chose the name John Paul in clear reference to the two popes he considered fundamental to the Church: John XXIII and Paul VI.
On September 28, 1978 John Paul I was found dead in his room in the Vatican, by the nun who normally brought him breakfast. According to doctors because of a heart attack. But since autopsies were not performed on the body of the Popes in the Vatican at that time (autopsies were authorized in 1983), it was never known for sure what happened to him. Many hypotheses arose about alleged plots and assassination attempts that did not reach any true conclusion.