The Vatican presented the details of the cause for beatification of Albino Luciani, or John Paul I. He was a pope many people know more for the nature of his death, than for his life.
CARD. BENIAMINO STELLA
Postulator for the cause of beatification
Of Luciani I highlight three characteristics, he was a priest who prayed, lived poorly, and felt good around the people.
STEFANIA FALASCA
Vicepostulator for the cause of beatification
It is not a beatification of a pope because popes and their pontificates need to be beatified. One is beatified for having sought and offered witness to the substance of the Gospel. And he did so in an extraordinary way accessible to everyone. FLASH It's true that for many years his death consumed the substance, the magisterial depth of this man, of this pope. And that undermined his importance. Maybe this was the damage caused by a fake news that lasted too long.
During the press conference, some of the relics preserved of the former pope were also shown, such as a simple piece of paper on which he jotted down an outline to explain the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity in his first General Audience open to journalists.
His niece shared how the neighbors in their town followed her uncle's participation in the Second Vatican Council on their tiny TV. Luciani's sister was excited imagining that each bishop she saw on-screen was him.
She says that she had seen him. I don't know how she would have, of course.
Among the presenters was the second person who found John Paul I after his death. It was a religious sister her looked after him, and recalled that he asked that only the collars and cuffs of his shirts be ironed, since those were the only parts people saw. She shared what she and another sister experienced the day of his death.
SR. MARGHERITA MARIN
He would usually come and get his coffee, but he was late and we asked, how could he be late? So I said, go check on him. She went, and didn't respond, she opened the door and realized... FLASH Ultimately, that it was his time.
The last to share their story was the priest who prayed for the intercession of John Paul I to cure a little girl with pneumonia. The girl's mother didn't know of the former pope, but he convinced her to pray for his intercession, since he had a strong to devotion to John Paul I, who he credits with helping him discover his vocation.
FR. JUAN JOSÉ DABUSTI
Roxana, who didn't know anything about John Paul I, receives the little information she gained of during a rush in the intensive care unit. So we, along with two nurses, lay our hands on the body of Candela, who was 11 years old and weighed only 40 pounds. I said a spontaneous prayer that I don't remember by heart, but I am certain that I asked that the life of Candela be saved through the intercession of John Paul I.
With his beatification on Sunday, many hope that rather than for his unexpected death, that John Paul I be remembered for his simple yet infectious way of living out the Gospel.
RM TR: JM
