Albino Luciani was born into a modest family in Canale d’Agordo, Belluno province, on 17 October 1912. He studied at the Belluno seminary and was ordained on 7 July 1935, then continued his studies at the Gregorian University in Rome. John XXIII appointed him Bishop of Vittorio Veneto on 15 December 1958; Paul VI made him Patriarch of Venice on 15 December 1969 and a cardinal on 5 March 1973. He took part in the Second Vatican Council. A conclave following Paul VI’s death elected him pope as John Paul I on 26 August 1978. His election mediated among differing positions: conservative members of the Curia supported Cardinal Giuseppe Siri, Archbishop of Genoa; supporters of the Council’s reforms backed Cardinal Giovanni Benelli, Archbishop of Florence. Other views reflected the College of Cardinals’ wish for an international opening, with Cardinal Karol Wojtyła and Cardinal Sergio Pignedoli also candidates. John Paul I was the first pope without a diplomatic career, as Pius XI and John XXIII had, or a career in the Curia, as Pius XII and Paul VI had. Humility was his most immediate characteristic. He replaced the papal coronation with a simpler ritual. He died after only 34 days, on 28 September 1978, one of the shortest pontificates in history.
His election resulted from mediation between different positions: the conservative Curia supported Cardinal Giuseppe Siri of Genoa, while supporters of the Council’s reforms backed Cardinal Giovanni Benelli of Florence. Other views reflected the College of Cardinals’ wish for an international opening, with Karol Wojtyła and Sergio Pignedoli also candidates. John Paul I was the first pope without a diplomatic career like Pius XI and John XXIII or a Curia career like Pius XII and Paul VI.
Humility was his most immediate characteristic. After his election he replaced the papal coronation ceremony with a simpler ritual. He died only 34 days later, on 28 September 1978, one of the shortest pontificates in history.
Pope John Paul II succeeded him and kept the chosen name to recall the two preceding popes, John XXIII and Paul VI.