Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul I (; ; born Albino Luciani; ; 17 October 191228 September 1978) served as Pope of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later. He was the first pope to have been born in the 20th century. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent year of three popes, 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
Pope Valentine papal electoral process. Not only had they managed to get one of their own elected, but they also took part in the election itself. The Lateran Council of 769, under Pope Stephen III, had mandated that the election of the pope was to be the responsibility of the Roman clergy only, and that the nobility could only offer their respects after the pope had been chosen and enthroned. This gradual encroachment into the papal electoral process would reach its nadir during the tenth century, when the papacy became the plaything of the Roman aristocracy. Pope Valentine Pope Valentine (in Latin: