Not only is it the birthday of Mother Teresa, as noted below, but it is also the 32nd anniversary of the election of Pope John Paul I.
As you know from my previous posts, I have vivid memories of that day, as I stood in St. Peter’s Square and saw him come out on the central loggia of the basilica to give us his first blessing. The videos of the event that you can view easily on YouTube give a fairly accurate account of that afternoon. Yes, the smoke from the Sistine was confusing at first. My friends and I who saw it belching forth asked each other, “Was it black or white?” We really didn’t know until the doors of the loggia were opened and everyone who already hadn’t left the piazza ran to get as close as they could to the new pope.
I did not know back then in 1978 that he had been elected on Mother Teresa’s birthday. A wonderful coincidence??
God bless Papa Luciani. Holy Father, pray for us now and always. Amen.
