Priest says Pope John Paul I's cause will be at Vatican by year's end

Published: 2006-08-18

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As the 28th anniversary of Pope John Paul I's brief pontificate approached, one of the priests working on his sainthood cause said the paperwork would be sent to the Vatican by the end of the year. Cardinal Albino Luciani of Venice, Italy, was elected Aug. 26, 1978, to succeed Pope Paul VI. As Pope John Paul I, he served just over a month, dying Sept. 28. The diocesan phase of his cause for sainthood formally opened in 2003 in his home Diocese of Belluno and Feltre, Italy. Vatican Radio reported that Msgr. Giorgio Lise, vice postulator of the cause, said Aug. 17 that 170 witnesses already had been interviewed about the late pope's life and ministry, and the last remaining interviews would be conducted by early November. A formal biography and the witnesses' testimony will be sent to the Congregation for Saints' Causes by the end of the year, he said.

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