The life of Albino Luciani almost never happened. Born on October 17, 1912 in the Northern Italian town of Forno di Canale, little Albino was given an emergency baptism by the midwife, who considered him to be in danger of death. He recovered, and after being inspired by visiting Capuchin friars at age 10, Albino asked his father’s permission to enter the priesthood. His father replied, “I hope that when you become a priest you will be on the side of the workers, for Christ Himself would have been on their side.” Albino was ordained in 1935 and became a seminary professor in 1937, where he primarily taught theology and sacred art.

Albino was first named a bishop in 1958, taking “Humility” as his simple yet striking episcopal motto. He was elevated to Archbishop of Venice in 1969 and was named a cardinal in 1973, both coming at the hands of Pope Paul VI. As patriarch of Venice, Albino was well known for his service to the poor, selling a gold cross from John XXIII himself to benefit ill children, and often urging clergy to follow suit.

Everyone knows John Paul II, but few know about the first pope in history to take a double name. Elected on the fourth conclave ballot, Pope John Paul I used his new name to indicate his intent to continue the efforts of Popes John XXIII and Paul VI, and added “The First” in perhaps a prophetic acknowledgment that his reign would be short. Above all, John Paul I sought to “humanize” the papacy, doing away with both the royal “we” when addressing himself (the papal custom for centuries) and the sedia gestatoria, the plush elevated chair in which popes were carried to and from papal ceremonies.

The papacy of John Paul I was all too short, ending on September 28, 1978 after a mere 33 days. He died of an apparent heart attack, having been found in bed with a reading light on and Thomas a Kempis’ The Imitation of Christ open beside him. His cause for canonization was opened in 2003, garnering him the title “Servant of God.”

“The Smiling Pope” was immediately recognized as a gentle and genial man, not unlike St. John XXIII or Pope Francis. In fact, Francis once noted the influence John Paul I had on his own ministry, recounting that John Paul, “had been chosen because the Lord preferred that certain things not be engraved in bronze or marble but in the dust, so that if the writing had remained, it would have been clear that the merit was only God's.”

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, said of John Paul’s countenance after his death:

In tribute to his predecessor, St. John Paul II said in 1978:

Strong words from strong men.

Fun Fact: When he was still Albino Luciani, Pope John Paul I published the book Illustrissimi, a collection of 40 letters written from himself to notable historical and fictional characters, among whom included: Jesus, G.K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens, Pinocchio, King David, St. Luke, and St. Teresa of Avila.