Today is the 35th anniversary of the sudden death of Pope John Paul I.
Fr. Z’s really old O Antiphon Page
Fr. Z’s Podcasts RSS Feed
About this blog…
“This blog is like a fusion of the Baroque ‘salon’ with its well-tuned harpsichord around which polite society gathered for entertainment and edification and, on the other hand, a Wild West “saloon” with its out-of-tune piano and swinging doors, where everyone has a gun and something to say. Nevertheless, we try to point our discussions back to what it is to be Catholic in this increasingly difficult age, to love God, and how to get to heaven.” – Fr. Z
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
YOUR RECENT COMMENTS
- on Daily Rome Shot 1206 – Fishwrap’s spittle-flecked nutty: “I wonder how many dozens of readers and their ages the writings of Mr. Winters reach?”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1206 – Fishwrap’s spittle-flecked nutty: “From NCR: ….Kathleen O’Brien, who works in ministry in northern California, said the election results have her questioning her vocation.…”
- on PRAYERCAzT: Singing the 2024 Christmas Proclamation or Kalendas in Latin (audio), – and a hard ASK FATHER question: “I’m not sure about the date differences, but if anyone thinks that science has disproven young earth creationism, keep in…”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1206 – Fishwrap’s spittle-flecked nutty: “RE: Fr. Nix We must remember that God is not legalistic while the devil is. Consecration isn’t a magic spell…”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1206 – Fishwrap’s spittle-flecked nutty: “White to move and mate in 4. [NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t…”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1204 – What … is THAT?: “The robots vestments are better than that of the real priests. It’s something.”
- on ASK FATHER: Book about Mary in the Old Testament: “Deacon John! ZedNet participant! Wonderful to hear from you. I want to get Zednet going again, but I need WB0YLE…”
- on ASK FATHER: Book about Mary in the Old Testament: “Thanks for this tip. I just ordered this book from Amazon via the link you posted and it’s on sale…”
- on WDTPRS: Collect 4th Sunday of Advent (Vetus Ordo) – “What our sins are obstructing”.: “Thank you very much. I did not know the meaning of “praepediunt”, but I just thought it was something in…”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1206 –: “I believe Our Lady is revealing the dark corners and foundations of our societies and cultures. The plight of the…”
- on ASK FATHER: Book about Mary in the Old Testament: “The Pitre book is probably more thorough and comprehensive. I have not read it, but have heard many great reviews…”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1206 –: “Our Lady of Victory is October 7th. I do not know what it all means, nor am I going to…”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1206 –: “After White plays 1. Ne7, I calculate that Black has 26 possible responses. Not one, however, can block White from…”
- on Your Sunday Sermon Notes – 4th Sunday of Advent: “TLM, better attended than last week (attendance then was noticeably lower than usual). Father based his homily on the verses…”
- on Daily Rome Shot 1206 –: “White tricky mates in 2. How long did it take you? [NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next…”
ABORTION PILL RESCUE NETWORK
Everyone, work to get this into your parish bulletins and diocesan papers.
Federated Computer… your safe and private alternative to big biz corporations that hate us while taking our money and mining our data. Have an online presence large or small? Catholic DIOCESE? Cottage industry? See what Federated has to offer. Save money and gain peace of mind.
I am an affiliate. Click and join or at least explore! If you join, I’ll get credit.
Polls
Loading ...Donate using VENMO
GREAT BEER from Traditional Benedictine Monks in Italy
CLICK and say your daily offerings!
A Daily Prayer for Priests
NEW OPPORTUNITY – 10% off with code: FATHERZ10
Fr. Z’s VOICEMAIL
Nota bene: I do not answer these numbers or this Skype address. You won't get me "live". I check for messages regularly.
WDTPRS
020 8133 4535
651-447-6265
Good coffee and tea. Help monks.
I use this when I travel both in these USA and abroad. Very useful. Fast enough for Zoom. I connect my DMR (ham radio) through it. If you use my link, they give me more data. A GREAT back up.
Help support Fr. Z’s Gospel of Life work at no cost to you. Do you need a Real Estate Agent? Calling these people is the FIRST thing you should do!
They find you a pro-life agent in your area who commits to giving a portion of the fee to a pro-life group!
This blog has to earn its keep!
PLEASE subscribe via PayPal if it is useful. Zelle and Wise are better, but PayPal is convenient.
A monthly subscription donation means I have steady income I can plan on. I put you my list of benefactors for whom I pray and for whom I often say Holy Mass.
In view of the rapidly changing challenges I now face, I would like to add more $10/month subscribers. Will you please help?
For a one time donation...
To donate monthly I prefer Zelle because it doesn't extract fees. Use
frz AT wdtprs DOT comPLEASE RESPOND. Pretty pleeeease?
Loading ...WDTPRS POLL
Loading ...Great WINE USE COUPON CODE: fatherz10
Use my code for a discount
Loading ...
God bless the Pope of the Smile! May he smile on us from Paradise.
I remember walking into the kitchen and picking up the morning paper to read. The first thing I saw was the headline that the pope had died. I asked my husband why there was a month old newspaper on the table as I thought it must be the same edition that had announced the death of PaulVI.
I had become Catholic at some point just before Paul VI died. It is telling about my confirmation that I’m not even sure when it was or much about the event, which was tagged onto an ordinary evening Mass. It was startling to have the first pope I was much aware of die so soon, then the next one who seemed such a lovely man died, then came a pope from Poland. There was much chaos in my own life then; your picture brings back some reminiscences.
bernadette, I had a similar experience when a student walked into our dorm room and said the pope had died. My first thought was something like, yeah, and the Bicentennial was two years ago, what’s your point?
The next day a small newspaper in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood had the memorable headline:
“Pope Dies Again.” It became an instant, prized collector’s item.
Please: don’t let’s turn this comment into a rabbit hole.
I remember having the same reaction (although I was only 10, and not yet Catholic) as I have read here. Then I remember, later – perhaps much later -, that two distinct groups claimed that he had been murdered. The first group was the one which claimed that he was intending to ordain women, and the second claimed that he was going to reveal the “third secret” of Fatima. When, within the last year, I introduced these claims to people holding the opposite opinion, each was – being polite, mind – stunned.
He was my second pope; I was 2.5 at the time, so I don’t remember him. When I learned about him later, he became my favourite pope … until Benedict!
I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing. I was studying for my GRE exams when one of my roomates came into my room to tell me. She told me to sit down as she had something shocking to tell me. She was a journalist for the Catholic paper in Minneapolis, where I was living at the time, and got the news before most of the world.
I remember thinking that God did not want him to be pope and took him home for some reason. The Holy Spirit is in charge of the Church, not men. And we should remember that now.
I also remember thinking that God had a surprise for us, and the election of a Polish pope was definitely a welcomed surprise.
God bless Pope John Paul I and may we ever remember that the Church is bigger than one man, even the man who is called, for how ever long, to be pope.
I was in the hospital with my one day old daughter. When my non-Catholic mother came to visit, her first words were “Your pope died _again_”. Having become a Catholic a few years earlier, I found the upheaval of the last years of Paul VI’s pontificate demoralizing. Blessed John Paul II brought hope and joy back.
Every time I see that picture I remember Supertradmum’s observing the “KGB agent” in the lower right-hand corner. I wasn’t Catholic yet… not for thirteen more years… but I cried that he died. I didn’t know why I was crying. I remember that day. Thirty-five years??
Supertradmum: I remember thinking that God did not want him to be pope and took him home for some reason.
I think that sometimes, especially as his reign lasted only 33 days – a number associated with Our Lord. I am sure he is praying for us all down here!
I was 17 years old then, and really in a haze of adolescent goofiness. Still, I did go to Church and don’t remember hearing anything about any Pope dying.
I do, naturally, remember when JPII died. It was the first time in our parish he was brought to our attention outside the canon of the Mass.
FR.Z WHAT IS GOING ON WITH SHARING THIS POST???? [Breathe. Breathe deeply.] I shared this blog post to facebook AND along with the picture, under the title of the post, it says what I have posted below in quotes WHY? I can’t find that article anywhere? and I didn’t really want that with the picture…Why did it do that ? When I click the link it comes back to this page…
The Pope People Forget to Remember
“I would underline the need for much prayer and fasting. The alarming rapidity of the realization of the homosexual agenda ought to awaken all of us and frighten us with regard to the future of our nation. This is”
Urs: it’s text in the sidebar under “Food for thought”. Facebook pulls in what it thinks is relevant. You can click on that text in the FB share before you post it and change it to whatever you like.
HyacinthClare, that was a joke….with a bit of bite.
I got the joke, Supertradmum. But you’re RIGHT. That guy looks like a young Putin; and definitely sneaky.
I think of him every time The Godfather, Part III is re-run on basic cable. Did the Immobiliare deal ever go through?
I was a senior in college at the time. I will never forget how I found out. I was on my way to the dorm cafeteria for breakfast on September 29, and stopped in the little lounge just outside it to look at the newspaper for a moment — the headline slapped me in the face. I was devastated, because I already loved Pope John Paul I a great deal. That was the beginning of years of study about him.
Today is the official launch date of my translation of his pre-papal writings in a book called A Passionate Adventure: Living the Catholic Faith Today. You can get it here:
https://taucrossbooks.com
It’s available only as an e-book now, but a print version is coming soon. It’s only $3.99 until Sept 30. This has been almost my lifetime’s work, so I can’t help writing about it. :-)
I remember my grandmother and I were very upset about his passing on. He was really special. May he rest in peace.
This has more to do with Pope John Paul I’s election than with his death, and its implicit journalist-despising attitude, nourished by C. S. Lewis, today for me mitigated by G. K. Chesterton and Father Zuhlsdorf, I may not now so strongly hold and in any event apologize to Father Zuhlsdorf for, but:
I was thrilled beyond measure that after the death of Pope Paul VI in Time Magazine’s article on possible new popes some 50 or 60 were mentioned, including Karol Wojtyla, but ALBINO LUCIANI WAS NOT ONE OF THEM!
Thanks RuralVirologist! Sorry, FatherZ… I get a little excited when I have been trying to figure something out for a while, that seems like it should be simple… and I just cannot seem to make it make sense…