John Paul I, who died in 1978 after only 33 days as bishop of Rome, will be blessed as a step prior to sanctity thanks to the miraculous healing of a girl in Argentina
The Murcian priest Diego Hernández González (1915-1976), born in Javalí Nuevo, is recognized by the Vatican for his “heroic virtues.” Just started the civil war, he saved the eucharistic species from the arson in the church of his town. He was sentenced to three years in prison and forced labor. Ordained a priest in Barcelona in 1940, he toured Murcia and Villena with dedication to those in need. He was spiritual director of the Orihuela Seminary. Francisco recognizes Hernández as “venerable servant of God.”
Beatification of John Paul I
John Paul I will be blessed, the last step before reaching holiness. Pope Francis has signed the decree that recognizes the miracle attributed to this pontiff, baptized with the name Albino Luciani and died in 1978 at the age of 65 after only 33 days as bishop of Rome. His beatification, which still has no date, will be produced by a miraculous cure that would have taken place on July 23, 2011 thanks to his intercession, according to the theological-medical process followed by the Catholic Church.
First blessing of John Paul I after being proclaimed Pope. /
The protagonist is an 11-year-old Argentine girl ill with a serious form of encephalopathy for which the doctors no longer had hope of a cure. The little girl suffered numerous daily epileptic seizures, among other conditions, for which she was admitted to a medical center. It was precisely the priest of the parish to which the hospital belongs who took the initiative to invoke Pope Luciani asking for his cure, according to the Vatican.
With the beatification of John Paul I, the Vatican takes a further step in granting the highest ecclesial recognition for many of the bishops of Rome who have guided the Catholic Church during the 20th century, especially after the Second Vatican Council. In 2014, a year after starting his pontificate, Francis canonized John Paul II and John XXIII. The latter’s successor, Paul VI, had his turn in 2018 together with Óscar Arnulfo Romero, the Salvadoran archbishop assassinated in 1980 by an armed ultra-right squad.
The sudden death of Pope Luciani sparked fanciful theories about his death for decades. The rumors were silenced when the book ‘Papa Luciani. Chronicle of a death ‘, written by Stefania Falasca, vice postulator for his cause of beatification and canonization. This volume brought to light the report of the pontifical doctor who examined the body, Renato Buzzonetti, for whom the cause of death was “ischemic heart disease”, of which “myocardial infarction is its most serious expression”: “A death unforeseen and this, by definition, is always natural, “he said.
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