Pope Paul VI On 6 August 1978 at 21:41 Paul VI died in Castel Gandolfo. According to the terms of his will, he was buried in the "true earth" and therefore, he does not have an ornate sarcophagus but in practice beneath the floor of Saint Peter's Basilica, though in an area of the basilica's crypt near the tombs of other popes. His position mirrors the statements attributed to Pius XI: "a Pope may suffer but he must be able to function" and by Pius XII. Pope Paul, reflecting on Hamlet, wrote the following in a private note in 1978: His confessor, the
Pope Paul VI overshadow the last years of his pontificate". Pope John Paul II later reaffirmed and expanded upon "Humanae vitae" with the encyclical "Evangelium vitae". By taking the name of Paul, the newly-elected Pope, showed his intention to take the Apostle Paul as a model for his papal ministry.. In 1967, when he reorganised the Roman curia, Pope Paul renamed the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith as the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Pope Paul was the first pope in history to make apostolic journeys to other continents and visited six continents.. The Pope chose the theme of evangelism