Blessed John Paul I

For thirty-four days in 1978, Pope John Paul I led the Church in one of the shortest papacies in history. In this brief period, he had no time to write encyclicals, change policy, canonize saints, or implement the primary goals of his pontificate, which included a revision of canon law—a task his successor carried out in 1983. Yet in spite of his few official actions, the humanity and holiness of John Paul I left an indelible imprint on the hearts of the faithful and helped lead to his beatification (officially, September 4, 2022).