I read with delight an article written by William Doino, Jr., on Pope John Paul I, Papa Luciani, over at First Things. Those of us who were present in Rome during those 33 days of Luciani’s papacy in the summer of 1978 will never forget him, and how he in so many ways foreshadowed Pope Francis in his approach to the papacy and church mission.
Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer of us who remain from that 1978 in Rome and the Vatican. Whenever I mention Luciani’s name to those younger than 55 years, they invariably nod and say Luciani wasn’t around long enough for them to recall him or for him to have had an effect.
Yes, his papacy was only 33 days and he wrote no major documents during those days as pope, but he in my mind had an enormous effect on the subsequent papacy of John Paul II who in turn paved the way for Benedict, only to have Francis follow – not only Benedict in succession, but Luciani in tone and emphasis.
Take a look at this link.
