A Blast from the Past – More on Papa Luciani

I was going through a trunk I have in which I have put many things from my more distant past. In the bottom were newpapers I have kept from 1978, the year of Pope Paul VI’s death and funeral, Papa Luciani’s election, death and funeral, and the election and installation of Pope John Paul II. 

Our Sunday Visitor, 9-10-78 edition, was completely about Papa Luciani’s election. In the opinion column, they addressed whether he should be called John Paul or John Paul I, arguing that the former is correct despite the Vatican’s assertion of latter. The comment at the end is amusing, as it shows how OSV got something very wrong too!

Here is the quote: 

“Everyone is getting it wrong. Even at the Vatican. The new Pope is not Pope John Paul the First. He is simply Pope John Paul.

Since it has been more than a thousand years since we’ve had the experience of a pope who chose an entirely new name, it is understandable there should be some confusion. 

But in his lifetime no pope can ever be called the first, that designation is added only after his reign if another pope chooses the same name. There might one day be a Pope John Paul II. When a pope chooses that name, and not before, the first Pope John Paul becomes Pope John Paul I.

Just to make it clear by an example in common life, you cannot refer to John Smith as John Smith, Sr., until there is a John Smith, Jr.

So in the Church it is not Pope Peter I who was the first pope but, because no other chose his name, it remains simply Peter. So also speaking of popes of the past we speak of Pope Linus, Pope Anacletus and Pope Evaristus with no numerical designation because no other popes chose these names. But their successor we refer to as Pope Alexander I because in the year of 1061, 946 years after the death of Pope Alexander, Anselmo da Baggio, chose the name of Alexander. In doing so he became Pope Alexander I.

Since everyone has started off wrong, calling him Pope John Paul I, it will take awhile to get it straightened out. We admit to some schizophrenia on the question in this issue. But it really is true that our new Pope can be referred to properly only as Pope John Paul, that designation of the first is not proper until some distant date when someone else chooses the same name.”

How wrong OSV was! Someone did choose the same name a month later, not in some distant future. Fortunately, OSV does not tell popes what their name will be. Only the pope himself decides that, and it is my understanding Albino Luciani said he name would be John Paul the First.

You know what? I think Papa Luciani knew Karol Wojtyla was soon to be elected.