section_path: Cardinalate
section_name: Cardinalate
paragraph_text: Cardinalate
  
  Pope Paul VI created Luciani the Cardinal-Priest of San Marco in the consistory on 5 March 1973.
  
  During his time as Patriarch of Venice, Luciani clashed with priests who supported the liberalisation of divorce in Italy, eventually suspending some of them. At the same time, he was opposed to the 1974 referendum restricting divorce after it had been liberalised, feeling that such a move would fail and simply point out a divided Church with declining influence.
  
  In 1975, Luciani travelled to Germany in May. Later that year (6–21 November), he visited Brazil, where he met with members of the clergy, including Aloísio Lorscheider. Upon returning to Italy, he suffered an embolus in his right eye. Luciani also visited Fatima a few months later. While there, he met with Sister Lucia dos Santos, the surviving visionary of three children who in 1917 claimed to see apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary (revered in this form under the title Our Lady of Fatima). When Luciani met Sister Lucia, she referred to him as "Holy Father". This greeting shocked the humble cardinal. In January 1976, he published Illustrissimi ("To the Illustrious Ones"), a collection of letters penned by him in previous years, whimsically addressed to historical and literary figures such as Dickens, G. K. Chesterton, Maria Theresa of Austria, Teresa of Avila, Goethe, Figaro, Pinocchio, the Pickwick Club, King David, and Jesus.
  
  In 1975, he suggested disciplinary punishment for priests who spoke out in favour of the Communist Party or other leftist groups.
  
  In 1976, Luciani sold a gold cross and pectoral gold chain that Pope John XXIII had given to him (which once belonged to Pope Pius XII before him) to raise money for disabled children. He also urged fellow priests in Venice to sell their valuables to contribute to this cause and as a way for them to live simply and humbly. As Patriarch of Venice, Luciani established family counselling clinics to assist the poor in coping with marital, financial and sexual problems.
  
  In 1978 he forbade the Tridentine Mass in the Archdiocese of Venice.
  
  Pope Paul VI created Luciani the Cardinal-Priest of San Marco in the consistory on 5 March 1973.
  
  During his time as Patriarch of Venice, Luciani clashed with priests who supported the liberalisation of divorce in Italy, eventually suspending some of them. At the same time, he was opposed to the 1974 referendum restricting divorce after it had been liberalised, feeling that such a move would fail and simply point out a divided Church with declining influence.
  
  In 1975, Luciani travelled to Germany in May. Later that year (6–21 November), he visited Brazil, where he met with members of the clergy, including Aloísio Lorscheider. Upon returning to Italy, he suffered an embolus in his right eye. Luciani also visited Fatima a few months later. While there, he met with Sister Lucia dos Santos, the surviving visionary of three children who in 1917 claimed to see apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary (revered in this form under the title Our Lady of Fatima). When Luciani met Sister Lucia, she referred to him as "Holy Father". This greeting shocked the humble cardinal. In January 1976, he published Illustrissimi ("To the Illustrious Ones"), a collection of letters penned by him in previous years, whimsically addressed to historical and literary figures such as Dickens, G. K. Chesterton, Maria Theresa of Austria, Teresa of Avila, Goethe, Figaro, Pinocchio, the Pickwick Club, King David, and Jesus.
  
  In 1975, he suggested disciplinary punishment for priests who spoke out in favour of the Communist Party or other leftist groups.
  
  In 1976, Luciani sold a gold cross and pectoral gold chain that Pope John XXIII had given to him (which once belonged to Pope Pius XII before him) to raise money for disabled children. He also urged fellow priests in Venice to sell their valuables to contribute to this cause and as a way for them to live simply and humbly. As Patriarch of Venice, Luciani established family counselling clinics to assist the poor in coping with marital, financial and sexual problems.
  
  In 1978 he forbade the Tridentine Mass in the Archdiocese of Venice.