Pope John Paul I and the Tridentine Mass

Albino Cardinal Luciani was elected 33 years ago (26 August 1978) and died on 28 September of the same year, amid rumours that he had been assassinated.

Pope John Paul I was also reported to have been ready to restore the Tridentine Mass, notwithstanding earlier opposition during the time he served as Patriarch of Venice. The late Fr Gommar De Pauw, the founder of the Catholic Traditionalist Movement in New York City on 15 March 1965, reported that within days after John Paul I's election, the priest was unexpectedly summoned to the Vatican to participate on a commission to restore the Tridentine Mass. Unfortunately, John Paul I died before the commission could meet.

It is interesting to note that, after John Paul I's death, the man whom he had selected to organise the restoration of the Tridentine Mass fell into obscurity. Most traditional Catholics today do not even know who the 'founder' of their movement in 1965 was, i.e. Fr Gommar De Pauw. They have also forgotten the Pope who was to be the "traditional" whom they had prayed for, John Paul I.

Godwin Xuereb
President, Pro Tridentina (Malta)

The picture above shows a holy card with the prayer that the Bishop of Belluno composed to obtain Albino Luciani's beatification. It has a small relic from the clothing of Pope John Paul I. Holy cards can be requested at Centro Papa Luciani: centro@papaluciani.it