Pope John Paul I conspiracy theories Pope John Paul I conspiracy theories Pope John Paul I died suddenly in September 1978, 33 days after his election. Following contradictory reports about the circumstances of his death and apparent anomalies about the issuing of the death certificate and other procedures, several conspiracy theories have gained currency. Many of these concern the serious corruption in the Vatican Bank (Istituto per le Opere Religiose), possibly linked to Freemasonry, which is forbidden by church law. None of the claims have been substantiated. Discrepancies in the Vatican's account of the events surrounding John Paul I's death – its inaccurate statements about who
Pope Sisinnius Pope Sisinnius Pope Sisinnius (c. 6504 February 708) was Pope from 15 January to his death in 708. A Syrian by birth, Sisinnius' father's name was John. The paucity of donations to the papacy during his reign (42 pounds of gold and 310 pounds of silver, a fraction of the personal donations of other contemporary pontiffs) indicate that he was probably not from the aristocracy. Sisinnius was selected as pope during the Byzantine Papacy. He succeeded Pope John VII after a "sede vacante" of three months. He was consecrated around 15 January 708. Sisinnius remained pope for just twenty days.