Pope John Paul I’s sudden death

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 8 February 2023

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Cardinal Albino Luciani became Pope John Paul I on 26 August 1978. He died unexpectedly 33 days later. He was discovered in the early morning lying on his bed, a collection of sermons in his hand. He was considered an excellent communicator, and his warm personality earned him the nickname of "the smiling Pope". But his death shook the Catholic Church. Rebecca Kesby spoke to Cardinal Beniamino Stella who knew him well. This programme was first broadcast in 2017. (Photo: Pope John Paul I. Credit: Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Witness History Podcast from the BBC World Service.
0:10.5	Today we're taking you back to 1978, which became known as the year of the three popes
0:16.1	following the sudden death of Pope John Paul I, just 33 days into his reign.
0:22.6	In 2017, Rebecca Kesby spoke to Cardinal Benjamin Nostela, who was close with the former
0:28.8	Pope, within half an hour of the announcement of the Pope's death on Italian radio, thousands
0:33.3	of people began crowding into St. Peter's Square.
0:36.3	Early in the morning of September 29, 1978, the body of Pope John Paul I was discovered
0:42.5	by a nun, working in his household.
0:45.5	Official Vatican reports say she found him sitting up in bed, the reading lights still on, and
0:50.7	a collection of sermons in his hand.
0:53.2	His death shocked the world.
0:55.0	Groups of nuns and priests waited patiently throughout the day, hoping to pay their respects
0:59.7	to Pope John Paul.
1:00.9	I remember very well the day the news came of his death.
1:06.2	For me, like so many others, it seemed incredibly incredible.
1:11.0	Cardinal Benjamin Nostela, new Pope John Paul I, well, I remember feeling a deep sense
1:19.2	of loss, because I'd lost not just the Pope, but also someone who encouraged my development
1:24.8	and who was very dear to my heart.
1:27.0	Benjamin Nostela met him in the 1950s.
1:30.2	He was a trainee priest, and the man who would be Pope was Albino Luciani, the bishop of
1:35.7	Vittorio Veneto, and one of his teachers.
1:38.8	I'd say he was a real priest of the people, very much like Pope Francis' today.
	...

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