History of the papacy not only his deep inner resignation but also his constant abandonment to divine providence.". It is this character trait, which led to the opening of the process of beatification and canonization for Paul VI. With the accession of Pope John Paul II after the mysterious death of Pope John Paul I (who only survived as pope for 33 days), the church had, for the first time since Pope Adrian VI in the 16th century, a non-Italian pope. John Paul II has been credited with helping to bring down communism in eastern Europe by sparking what amounted to a peaceful revolution
Pope Gregory XIV Apostolic Constitution "Effraenatam" of Pope Sixtus V (1588) so that the penalty for abortion did not apply until the foetus became animated. The biographers mention that Pope Gregory XIV had a nervous tendency to laughter, which occasionally became irresistible and even manifested itself at his coronation. Gregory XIV, who was in poor health before his election to the papacy, died due to a large gallstone and was succeeded by Innocent IX. Pope Gregory XIV Pope Gregory XIV (; 11 February 1535 – 16 October 1591), born Niccolò Sfondrato or Sfondrati, was Pope from 5 December 1590 to his death in