Pope John Paul I, who died in 1978 after a reign of only 34 days, has taken an important step towards becoming a saint with the transfer of his canonisation dossier to the Vatican.
Few people doubt that the man known to Italians as 'Papa Luciani' is on the way to sainthood, like several other popes before him. The popularity of John Paul I in Italy was confirmed earlier this year when a television series about his life reaped widespread praise, even from non-Catholics, and became one of the country's most popular religious dramas ever.
The Patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Angelo Scola, referred to John Paul I on Friday as an "exceptional symbol of holiness" whose humility enabled him to "speak to the heart" of the people he met.
Scola, who holds the same position as archbishop of Venice as Luciani did, was speaking at a ceremony closing the first part of the fact-gathering process to which all prospective saints are subjected Since the Italian pontiff's cause was opened in 2003, officials in the northern Belluno diocese where he was born have been compiling an extensive dossier on the prospective saint on the basis of hundreds of interviews.
The collection of testimony from 190 people who knew 'the smiling pope' has been sealed and is now to be sent to the Vatican where it will be examined by theologians and cardinals.
Unless problems emerge, he could be on the way to beatification in a few years. Beatification, which entitles someone to be called 'blessed', is the final rung on the ladder to full sainthood.
Candidates for beatification must have at least one miracle to their credit. MIRACLE CURE.
Officials overseeing Luciani's cause have collected evidence on an alleged miracle attributed to the pope after his death. It concerns a man from the southern region of Puglia who amazed doctors by recovering from a tumour when all hope had been lost.
The Vatican has extensive procedures for vetting possible miracles. Once they have been certified, then the complex beatification process is almost at an end and a date can be set for the official ceremony.
Although John Paul I, born Albino Luciani, was only pope for a month, his gentle, smiling manner endeared him to millions of Italians.
Rumours have periodically resurfaced over the sudden, 'mysterious' death of the Italian pope, who the Vatican says died of a heart attack. At least one writer and a Spanish priest have even suggested the pope was killed because he had radical reform plans.
After suffering chest pains during dinner, Luciani went to bed normally on the evening of September 28, 1978. He was found dead early the next morning.
Papal beatifications often take many years because of the huge volume of writings which have to be studied and the numerous witnesses that have to be heard.
John XXIII was beatified in 2000, some 37 years after his death. The controversial pope Pius IX was beatified on the same day, but in his case the process had taken 122 years.
The cause of Pius XII, the wartime pope, is still under way some 47 years after his death, as is that of Paul VI, who died 28 years ago.
But the process can be accelerated. Pope Benedict XVI did this for his predecessor and Luciani's successor, John Paul II, by waiving a rule which says procedures for beatification can only start five years after the candidate's death.
