Editing Pope John Paul I (section)

===Election===

{{Main|August 1978 papal conclave}}

[[File:Juan Pablo I.jpg|thumb|First appearance of Pope John Paul I following his election on 26 August 1978]]

Pope Paul VI died on 6 August 1978, ending a papacy of fifteen years. Luciani was summoned to Rome for the conclave to elect the new pope. ''Time'' reported that the Dean of the college, [[Carlo Confalonieri]], who was excluded from participating because of age, had been the first to suggest Luciani.<ref>"[https://time.com/archive/6845866/religion-a-swift-stunning-choice/ A Swift, Stunning Choice]", ''Time'', 4 September 1978</ref>

Luciani was elected on the fourth ballot of the [[Papal conclave, August 1978|August 1978]] [[papal conclave]]. Luciani had previously said to his secretary, Father [[Diego Lorenzi]], and Father [[Prospero Grech]] (later a cardinal himself), that he would decline the papacy if elected, and that he intended to vote for [[Aloísio Lorscheider]], whom he met in [[Brazil]].<ref name=ncr2012/> [[Jaime Sin]] of the Philippines told him: "You will be the new pope."<ref name="Google Books"/>

However, when he was asked by [[Jean-Marie Villot]] if he accepted his election, Luciani replied, "May God forgive you for what you have done", but accepted the election. After his election, when Sin paid him homage, the new pope said: "You were a prophet, but my reign will be a short one".<ref name="Google Books"/> On the balcony of St Peter's Basilica, [[Pericle Felici]] announced that the cardinals had elected Albino Luciani, Patriarch of Venice, who had chosen the name Pope John Paul I.<ref name="papaluciani.com">{{cite web|first=Gloria C. |last=Molinari|title=The Conclave August 25th–26th, 1978 |url=http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1978/The-Election-of-Pope-John-Paul-II/12309251197005-5/|website=John Paul I The Smiling Pope|access-date= 20 May 2015}}</ref> It was the first time that a pope had chosen a double name. He later explained that the double name was taken to gratefully honour his two immediate predecessors: [[Pope John XXIII|John XXIII]], who had named him a bishop, and [[Pope Paul VI|Paul VI]], who had named him [[Patriarch of Venice]] and [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal]].<ref name="papaluciani.com"/> He was also the first pope to designate himself "the First" with the name.<ref>Yallop, p. 75.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://johnpauli.wordpress.com/2014/08/26/habemus-papam-day-1/|title=Habemus Papam! — Day 1|date=26 August 1978|website=Blogging the John Paul I Papacy|first=Fr. Victor|last= Feltes}}</ref> ([[Pope Francis]], elected in 2013, also took a previously unused papal name but chose not to be called "the First".)

In the aftermath of the election, the pope confided to his brother Edoardo that his first thought was to call himself "Pius XIII" in honour of [[Pope Pius XI]], but he gave up on the idea, worried that the traditionalist members of the Church might exploit this choice of regnal name.<ref>{{Citation|title =La speranza è aspettare qualcosa di bello dal Signore (di Stefania Falasca) | publisher =30 Giorni| url =http://www.30giorni.it/articoli_id_72_l1.htm|access-date = 9 February 2014 }}</ref>

Observers have suggested that his selection was a compromise to satisfy rumoured divisions among seemingly rival camps within the [[College of Cardinals]]:<ref name="papaluciani.com"/>

* [[Conservatism|Conservatives]] and [[Roman Curia|Curialists]] supporting [[Giuseppe Siri]], who favoured a more conservative interpretation or even reversal of controversial ideas being promoted as "in the spirit of [[Vatican II]]" but which had never been discussed at the recent council.
* Those who favoured a more liberal interpretation of Vatican II's reforms along with some Italian cardinals who supported [[Giovanni Benelli]], who had created some opposition due to alleged "[[autocracy|autocratic]]" tendencies.
* The cardinals within the increasingly international [[College of Cardinals]], beyond the Italians who were experiencing diminished influence, such as [[Pope John Paul II|Karol Wojtyła]].<ref name="papaluciani.com" />

During the days following the conclave, the cardinals were generally elated at the reaction to Pope John Paul I, some of them happily saying that they had elected "God's candidate".<ref name="papaluciani.com" /> [[Argentina|Argentine]] [[Eduardo Francisco Pironio]] stated, "We were witnesses of a moral miracle."<ref name="papaluciani.com" /> [[Mother Teresa]], commenting about the new pope, "He has been the greatest gift of God, a sun beam of God's love shining in the darkness of the world."<ref name="papaluciani.com" /> British primate Cardinal [[Basil Hume]] declared: "Once it had happened, it seemed totally and entirely right ... We felt as if our hands were being guided as we wrote his name on the paper".<ref name="Google Books"/>

A dramatic event, soon after the election, occurred when the leader of the delegation from the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], [[Nikodim (Rotov)|Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) of Leningrad]], collapsed and died during an audience with the Pope on 5 September 1978. The new pope immediately came over and prayed for him.<ref>{{cite news| title = Russian Archbishop Dies During Papal Audience| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19780906&id=N0wNAAAAIBAJ&pg=7076,622971| agency = [[Associated Press]]| newspaper= [[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]| date = 6 September 1978| page = 6| access-date = 30 August 2013}}</ref>