Under dark skies and rain, with an occasional roll of thunder and flash of lightning, Pope Francis last Sunday beatified Pope John Paul I, whose pontificate in 1978 lasted just 33 days. Francis praised the late Pope for showing the world God’s goodness and for living the Gospel “without compromise”.
“Our new blessed lived that way: in the joy of the Gospel, without compromise, loving to the very end,” the Pope said.“He embodied ... detachment from material goods, but also victory over the temptation to put oneself at the centre, to seek one’s own glory.” In this way he followed the example of Jesus and was “a meek and humble pastor”.
In his homily at the Mass, Francis told an estimated 25,000 people in St Peter’s Square that Pope John Paul expressed the beauty of the Church. “How beautiful is a Church with a happy, serene and smiling face, a Church that never closes doors,” the Pope said. “Let us ... ask him to obtain for us ‘the smile of the soul’ ... This was something transparent, that does not deceive.”
For the ceremony, an image of the new blessed was unveiled on a huge tapestry affixed to the fac¸ade of the basilica. The image was a reproduction of an oil painting, The Smiling Pope, created by Chinese artist Zhang Yan.
Lina Petri, niece of the late Pope, carried as a relic a piece of paper, yellowed with age, upon which the Pope had written an outline for a spiritual reflection on the three theological virtues – faith, hope and charity: the themes of three of his only four audience talks. Alluding to certain Christ-like qualities of the man born Albino Luciani, who died just three weeks shy of his 66th birthday, the Pope said while Jesus attracted large crowds, he did not exploit this popularity.
“Especially at times of personal or societal crisis [like today] we look to those, who with skill and cunning, take advantage of the situation, profiting from society’s fears and promising to be the saviour who can solve all its problems, whereas in reality they are looking for wider approval and for greater power,” Pope Francis said. Christians must “love even at the cost of sacrifice”, Francis added. Because, as John Paul said, “if you want to kiss Jesus crucified, you cannot help bending over the Cross and letting yourself be pricked by a few thorns of the crown on the Lord’s head.”
Among the family members and devotees who carried candles to place before the relic was Sr Margherita Marin, a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Child Mary, who assisted in the papal apartments and was one of sisters who found the deceased Pope in September 1978.
Candela Giarda, the young Argentine woman whose miracle cleared the path for Blessed John Paul’s beatification, was unable to come to Rome because of a fractured foot from playing sports. She was 11 when, on the brink of death, she experienced a complete recovery that has been attributed to John Paul I’s intercession.
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