Catholic World News News Feature

Pope Benedict's memories of John Paul I September 29, 2008

During his midday audience on Sunday, September 28, Pope Benedict XVI invoked the memory of Pope John Paul I, whose sudden death came on the same date in 1978.

Speaking to pilgrims assembled in the courtyard at Castel Gandolfo-- in his final Sunday audience before leaving the summer residence-- the Holy Father connected the brief papacy of John Paul I with the day's Gospel reading, which recounted the story of the two sons who are sent to work in the father's vineyard. With this parable, the Pope said, "Jesus underlines His predilection for converted sinners, and teaches us that we need humility to welcome the gift of salvation."

Humility was a hallmark of Pope John Paul I, the Pontiff continued; in fact it "may be considered the spiritual legacy" of the Pope who reigned for barely one month. The episcopal motto of John Paul I, the Pope reminded his audience, was the same as that adopted by St. Charles Borromeo, a single word: "Humilitas."

That one word, Pope Benedict observed, "encapsulates the essential core of Christian life and indicates the indispensable virtue for people who are called to a service of authority within the Church."

"Thanks to this virtue, 33 days were enough for Pope John Paul I to enter into peoples' hearts," Pope Benedict continued. He remarked that "the smiling Pope" had a gift for presenting Church teaching in simple terms, mixing scholarly references with homespun stories in a way that made his words easily accessible to ordinary people. In that regard, Pope Benedict said, the catechetical style of John Paul I was similar to that of St. Pius X-- who, like John Paul I, had been Patriarch of Venice before his election to the papacy.

Pope John Paul I held only four weekly audiences during his papacy. But in one of them, Pope Benedict said, he made an observation that highlighted his humility, urging the faithful to "feel small before God." The late Pontiff said: "I am not ashamed to feel like a child before its mother: we believe our mothers, I believe in the Lord and what He revealed to me." Those simple words, Pope Benedict concluded, showed the power of his humility and the depth of his faith.