Fr. Diego Lorenzi, F.D.P. (born 14 November 1939) is an Italian Roman Catholic priest who served as the personal secretary to Pope John Paul I. Lorenzi served as Albino Cardinal Luciani's private secretary in Venice for two years previous to his election to the papacy in 1978, and remained his secretary for his brief pontificate. [1] During his time as John Paul I's personal secretary, he was aided by John Magee, an Irish priest who would later become a bishop.
After one of the nuns who worked in the papal household and Magee, Lorenzi was one of the first people to learn of John Paul I's death, thirty-three days into his pontificate. Upon learning of that the Pope was dead, he telephoned the John Paul's doctor, despite instructions from the Secretary of State.[ citation needed ] Previous to John Paul I's death, Lorenzi reported that he had been told by the Pope's personal doctor that John Paul was in excellent health. Despite theories mentioning this as grounds for suspecting foul play in the death of John Paul I, Lorenzi has rejected these views and stated he believes John Paul died of a heart attack. [2]
In 1996, Lorenzi was sent by his superiors to Payatas, in the Philippines, to serve the community that contained Asia's biggest landfill. [3]
Pope Alexander VIII, born Pietro Vito Ottoboni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 October 1689 to his death in February 1691. He is to date the last pope to take the pontifical name of "Alexander" upon his election to the papacy.
Pope John Paul II was head of the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005, sovereign of the Vatican City State and a former actor. He was later canonised as Pope Saint John Paul II.
Pope John Paul I was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent year of three popes and the first to occur since 1605. John Paul I remains the most recent Italian-born pope, the last in a succession of such popes that started with Clement VII in 1523.
Pope Paul VI was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in August 1978. Succeeding John XXIII, he continued the Second Vatican Council, which he closed in 1965, implementing its numerous reforms. He fostered improved ecumenical relations with Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches, which resulted in many historic meetings and agreements. In January 1964, he flew to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. This was the first time a reigning pontiff had flown on an airplane, the first papal pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and the first time a Pope had left Italy in more than a century.
Pope Innocent IX, born Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 October to 30 December 1591.
Pope Leo XI, born Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 April 1605 to his death in 27 April 1605. His pontificate is one of the briefest in history, having lasted under a month. He was from the prominent House of Medici originating from Florence. Medici's mother opposed his entering the priesthood and sought to prevent it by having him given secular honours, but after her death he eventually was ordained a priest in 1567. In his career he served as Florence's ambassador to the pope, Bishop of Pistoia, Archbishop of Florence, papal legate to France, and as the cardinal Prefect for the Congregation of the Bishops and Religious. He was elected to the papacy in the March 1605 papal conclave and served as pope for 27 days.
Pope Pius IX was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican Council in 1868 and for permanently losing control of the Papal States in 1870 to the Kingdom of Italy. Thereafter, he refused to leave Vatican City, declaring himself a "prisoner of the Vatican".
Pope Adeodatus I, also called Deodatus I or Deusdedit, was the bishop of Rome from 19 October 615 to his death. He was the first priest to be elected pope since John II in 533. The first use of lead seals or bullae on papal documents is attributed to him. His feast day is 8 November.
Pope Benedict XV, born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I and its political, social, and humanitarian consequences in Europe.
Pope Pius XI, born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929. He assumed as his papal motto "Pax Christi in Regno Christi", translated "The Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ".
Pope Pius VIII, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 31 March 1829 to his death in November 1830.
The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. As of 26 March 2023, its membership is 222, of whom 123 are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appointed by the pope for life. Changes in life expectancy partly account for the increases in the size of the college.
Stanisław Jan Dziwisz is a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Metropolitan Archbishop of Kraków from 2005 until 2016. He was created a cardinal in 2006. He was a long-time and influential aide to Pope John Paul II, a friend of Pope Benedict XVI, and an ardent supporter of John Paul II's beatification.
Francesco Marchisano was an Italian Cardinal who worked in the Roman Curia from 1956 until his death.
Papal inauguration is a liturgical service of the Catholic Church within Mass celebrated in the Roman Rite but with elements of Byzantine Rite for the ecclesiastical investiture of a pope. Since the inauguration of Pope John Paul I, it has not included the 820-year-old (1143–1963) papal coronation ceremony.
John Magee SPS is a Roman Catholic bishop emeritus in Ireland. He was Bishop of Cloyne from 1987 to 2010; following scandal he resigned from that position on 24 March 2010, becoming a bishop emeritus. Magee is the only person to have been private secretary to three popes.
The history of the papacy, the office held by the pope as head of the Catholic Church, spans from the time of Peter, to the present day. Moreover, many of the bishops of Rome in the first three centuries of the Christian era are obscure figures. Most of Peter's successors in the first three centuries following his life suffered martyrdom along with members of their flock in periods of persecution.
Ernesto Ruffini was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Palermo from 1945 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946 by Pope Pius XII.
Ernesto Civardi was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as secretary of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops from 1967 to 1979, and was made a cardinal in 1979.
Carlo Maria Viganò is a bishop of the Catholic Church who served as the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States from 19 October 2011 to 12 April 2016. He previously served as secretary-general of the Governorate of Vatican City State from 16 July 2009 to 3 September 2011. He is best known for having publicized two major Vatican scandals. These were the Vatican leaks scandal of 2012, in which he revealed financial corruption in the Vatican, and a 2018 letter in which he accused Pope Francis and other church leaders of covering up sexual abuse allegations against former cardinal Theodore McCarrick.