CHAPTER VII

ALBINO LUCIANI,
THE ELECT OF MARY’S HEART

E must now address and explain the central enigma of the Third Secret in order to understand the great drama that was prophetically revealed to the three little shepherds of Aljustrel. After the Angel’s call for penance, the vision continued with a change of scene:

«And we saw in an immense light that is God:»

«This theophany of July 13, 1917», remarks the Abbé de Nantes, «is similar to that enjoyed by the seers at the Cova da Iria on the previous May 13, regarding which Francisco said: “What I loved most was to see Our Lord in that light which Our Lady placed in our chests.¹”

«At the first apparitions, in May and in June, they had beheld themselves in this light, in accordance with the words of Saint Paul: “And we ourselves, our faces unveiled and reflecting as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, will all be transformed into that same image, as we move from one degree of glory to another; this is the work of the Lord who is Spirit.” (2 Co 3:18)²»

In her book Calls from the Message of Fatima, which she completed in 1974, Sister Lucy describes «this infinite light which is God», although she does not explicitly allude to the vision of the Third Secret, as she had been forbidden to reveal it:

«Yes, my dear pilgrims, the Angels in Heaven always behold the face of Eternal Light, and in it – as in an immense mirror before which everything passes – everything is present, everything remains as if carved in indelible characters: the past, the present and the future. Everything that exists and was created by God: Heaven and hell, the earth, the stars, the sun, the moon, worlds known and unknown, all animate and inanimate beings, absolutely everything, receives its being and life from the wish, the power, the knowledge and the wisdom of that Infinite Light which is God, the one and only Source from which is derived all life that exists, and of which every other light and life is no more than a tiny particle, a pale reflection, one of His sparks. Thus the Angels in Heaven, gazing into this mirror of light which is God, in Him see all things, know all things, understand all things through their complete union with God and their participation in His gifts.³»

The three little shepherds, on July 13, 1917, shared a foretaste of this privilege reserved for the Angels and for the Elect who enjoy the beatific vision.

«The light which is God», writes the Abbé de Nantes, «revealed its Name to Moses in the Old Testament: YHWH, I AM. In this light is reflected, as in a mirror, the course of history, past, present and future, in one eternal present.⁴»
 

THE BISHOP DRESSED IN WHITE

«And we saw in an immense light that is God: “Something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it”: a Bishop dressed in White.»

A bishop is ordinarily dressed in violet, or purple if he is a cardinal. Whence the Abbé de Nantes’ intuition:

«This “Bishop” is without doubt Christ Jesus Himself, according to the words of Saint Peter in his First Epistle: “For you had gone astray like sheep, but now you have come back to the shepherd and to the bishop (episkopos) of your souls.” (1 P 2:25)

«He is “dressed in White” as on the mountain of the Transfiguration, where “His clothes became dazzlingly white” (Lk 9:29), “whiter than any fuller on earth could bleach them” (Mk 9:3), “white like the light” (Mt 17:2).

«If we follow the evangelical and apostolic events of the first century of our era, there can be no doubt about the identification of this “Bishop dressed in White”: it is Saint Peter who follows his Lord (Jn 13:36; 21:19). Behind him march the Christians of the early community: “Bishops, priests, men and women religious”. Together they tread in the footsteps of Jesus, ascending towards the Cross under the crook of the head of the Apostles, in the midst of an unbelieving and rebellious generation.

«In our own times, which are the last, we ourselves are the Christian community, the Roman Catholic Church of the twentieth century. We are like the early community of the first century, at the centre of which was the Blessed Virgin (Acts 1:14). With Simon Peter, bar Jona, which means “son of the Dove”, as Head and Sovereign Pontiff.⁵»

Sister Lucy continues:

«We had a premonition that it was the Holy Father.»

«Our intuition», observes the Abbé de Nantes, «has not misled us. It corresponds to that of the little shepherds: it is indeed Christ, but in the person of His Vicar, “our sweet Christ on earth”, as Saint Catherine of Sienna used to call him.

«When Lucy speaks of a “premonition”, we have a sense of her heart thrilling and rushing out to what was “passing in front of” their eyes before disappearing, like a vision of the beyond.

«To understand this, we need only recall the moving history of that poilu in the Great War who was seen by his parents passing in front of their window with his bag and his rifle on his shoulder. The father and mother turned to each other: they had had the same vision at the same moment, “similar to the image that a mirror reflects when someone passes in front of it”, but there was no one there! Eight days later, the mayor told them that their son had fallen at Verdun, on such a day and at such an hour: the parents, bathed in tears, recognised the hour and the date of the mysterious vision.

«Who is this bishop? The only place to search for him is in the Heart of Mary. And what do we find in the Heart of Mary, if not Jesus, Her Only Child, Her Son who was taken from Her to be killed, as well as those who resemble Him? Because She dominates the whole of time, from the beginning to the end – as we are reminded by the presence at Her side of an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand (cf. Gn 3:24; Ap 12:7-8) –, this Blessed Virgin also has in Her Heart two distinct figures of Her Jesus: one that is anterior, two thousand years earlier, and the other that is posterior, two thousand years later...⁶»

«The three seers», writes Brother Bruno de Jésus, «had “a premonition that it was the Holy Father”, rather as if he were not going to let himself be recognised immediately or clearly, as was the case when the risen Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene (Jn 20:16-18), to the disciples of Emmaus (Lk 24:32), and to the Apostles met in the Cenacle (Lk 24:37) and on the shores of Lake Tiberias (Jn 21). Like a phantom seen through the veil of God’s glory, this Prince dressed in White is not the risen Jesus: he is a Pontiff, who disappears for a time, having been “killed by a group of soldiers”, but who returns, like a good Shepherd, to save his flock.

«Who is he? To him also can be applied these words of the Lord: “Take care that no one deceives you. For many will come using My name and saying: I am the Christ. And they will lead many into error.” (Mt 24:5)⁷»

Certain commentators have put forward the hypothesis that this «Bishop dressed in White» represents in an indistinct manner the popes of the twentieth century, who underwent trials and torments. Cardinal Ratzinger writes:

«In the Via Crucis of an entire century, the figure of the Pope has a special role. In his arduous ascent of the mountain we can undoubtedly see a convergence of different Popes. Beginning from Pius X [sic] up to the present Pope, they all shared the sufferings of the century and strove to go forward, through all the anguish, along the path which leads to the Cross.⁸»

Cardinal Ratzinger forgets an essential element of the vision, namely that the «Bishop dressed in White» appeared to the three little shepherds «in an immense light which is God». To neglect and overlook this as he does in his “theological commentary” is tantamount to stripping this Pontiff of his aureole of sanctity and of his status as a son of Mary’s predilection.

In order to identify him, or at least to identify his prefigurement, in order to avoid prejudging the future, we must, on the contrary, start with the following fact: he is a saint who is the elect of the Immaculate and who is very much in Her thoughts.

Therefore, this «Bishop dressed in White» cannot be one of those Popes who «set little store by» the message of Fatima, such as Pius XI and Pius XII, or even showed disdain and contempt for it, such as John XXIII, Paul VI and, as we shall shortly observe, John Paul II.

To identify and recognise this mysterious Pontiff, the Virgin Mary has given us several clues.

«In the Book of the Apocalypse», remarks Brother Bruno, «“white” clothing is the distinctive mark of the saints of one of the seven Churches, to whom Christ declares: “I know all about you: how you are reputed to be alive and yet are dead.” (Ap 3:1) However, not every trace of life had departed: “Some of you have not soiled their clothing; they are fit to come with Me, dressed in white. Those who prove victorious will be dressed like these in white; I shall not blot out their names from the book of life, but I will acknowledge them in the presence of My Father and His Angels.” (Ap 3:4-5) Consequently, “a Bishop dressed in White”, the reflection of whom was seen by the seers of Fatima “in an immense light that is God”, designates a saint born of an ailing Church.

«Sister Lucy writes Branco, in Portuguese, with a capital B, as if it were a proper name; in Italian, the word is translated Bianco, or else… Albino. “In a light”: Luciani⁹.

«“We had a premonition that it was the Holy Father”. And that even though he was not wearing the tiara», notes Brother Bruno. «For, ever since Paul VI laid down the tiara, on November 13, 1964, as a sign of the Roman Pontiff’s renunciation of his sovereignty over princes and kings, the Pope no longer appears as anything other than “a Bishop”, albeit one “dressed in White”. Albino Luciani was the first Pope to be thus “uncrowned”on the very day of his consecration!

«We had a “premonition” that it was a good Pope: “the Holy Father”! The expression is charged with all the fervent devotion with which the Church took the “smiling Pope” to her heart during the thirty-three days of his pontificate. “Another Saint Pius X without knowing it”, joyously announced the Abbé de Nantes in September 1978, before going on to mourn, in the following month, “the Saint that God gave us”, in terms which one might take to be inspired by the Secret: “Albino Luciani means white light, the lunar splendour which shines in the night sky and illuminates it with a beauty that it owes entirely to the sun whose reflection it is. Such was the humility of him who confessed that he was not the light but merely wished to be amongst us as its mirror.¹⁰”

«Is it not he whom the little shepherds of Fatima saw in this “immense light which is God: something similar to how people appear in a mirror”? The words which follow, “when they pass in front of it”, aptly express the brevity of a pontificate of thirty-three days. He did no more than “pass by”…¹¹» And the vision recounts his “Passover”¹².

John Paul I therefore seems to have been this vessel of election, so dear to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, whose death was a redemptive sacrifice, the sacrifice of the Good Shepherd who offers himself up as a victim for the salvation of his sheep.

In this chapter, therefore, we are going to present the key phases of his life and certain aspects of his personality in order to show how perfectly his spirit, his devotions and his doctrine were in harmony with the great themes of Our Lady’s revelations. For Fatima is a vast yet perfectly coherent message, whose ramifications are both theological and political. It is first of all a mystical spirituality or, to put it more simply, a devotion centred on the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is also a fully traditional theology that is orientated towards the Last Things, without any compromise with the world, nor with the fanciful notions of Christian progressivism. In a word, it is the religion of Saint Pius X. Finally, it is a politics for the Christian world, inviting the Church resolutely to confront the errors of Russia and secularism.
 

FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF SAINT PIUS X

A shaft of light, revealing the true personality of the chosen one of Mary’s Heart, has been given us by our Father Superior, the Abbé de Nantes, in his passionate editorial, published in the very first days of John Paul I’s pontificate: Albino Luciani is like a brother, or rather a disciple, of Giuseppe Sarto, who came from a poor Venetian family, and who became Pope under the name of Pius X. An astonishingly close parallel exists between these two pontiffs separated by a gap of seventy-five years¹³. «The first thing we notice is the identity of these two priestly vocations making their way by regular steps up the hierarchical ladder until they reached the summit of honour and ecclesiastical responsibility. Yet they both started so modestly and so obviously free from ambition that, in each case, the word career would be entirely out of place.¹⁴»

Albino Luciani was born on October 17, 1912 at Forno di Canale, which was named Canale d’Agordo in 1964. This town is situated in the foothills of the Dolomites, a mountainous region and border country forming the northern part of that Venetia «which to this day is still the bastion of Italian Catholicism»¹⁵.

He entered the minor seminary at Feltre when he was eleven years old, and then pursued his studies at the Gregorian major seminary in Belluno. «On July 7, 1935 he was ordained priest, at the same age and in the same climate as Saint Pius X. He was twenty-two. His bishop appointed him curate of his home parish of Forno di Canale and then of the neighbouring parish of Agordo, as well as chaplain of a technical mining institute. The path of a pious, humble and devoted priesthood, always very poor, is certainly that of Giuseppe Sarto in Salzano, in Tombolo.¹⁶»

When Don Luciani returned to Agordo forty years later, he would reveal one of the private joys of his first ministry:

«Here in this church, it is impossible not to say a few words about devotion to the Most Blessed Virgin, because She is truly the patroness of this building. The church in Agordo is dedicated to Her Nativity. When I stayed here, as a poor chaplain, with the archdeacon, we sought to develop a real devotion towards the Madonna who is truly a Mother. I see by these ex-votos that your hearts are genuinely attached to Her. It is here, at this altar, that we celebrated the month of Mary. Squeeze tightly  into this church which is the church of the Most Blessed Virgin, our Mother.¹⁷»

The professors who had taught Don Luciani never forgot their old pupil who had edified them so greatly. One of them, Msgr. Angelo Satin, managed to get him appointed Vice Rector of the Belluno seminary only two years after his priestly ordination.

Thereafter his career progressed steadily upward:

«1937-1947, ten years of the most admirable of ministries, that of seminary professor and vice rector (vice: because of his youth). He taught every subject, just as Pius X did at his seminary in Mantua: dogmatic theology, morals, patristics, canon law, liturgy, Sacred Scripture, and the history of art! “He adores music”, says Father Martin who is a connoisseur. Make no mistake about it: a teacher of so many subjects in the provincial seminaries of the time meant a vast amount of work, resulting in a solid culture, profound and vast. Those who had met Pius X were flabbergasted when this man of the provinces went up to Rome to teach the whole world.¹⁸»

Appointed Pro-Chancellor in November 1947, he became Vicar General of the diocese of Belluno in 1954.

In the Holy Year, 1950, while Pope Pius XII was preparing to proclaim the dogma of the Assumption, he organised in the diocese a series of events in honour of the Madonna: a polychrome statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, donated by the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, was successively carried round every parish. In Belluno Cathedral one can still venerate today this Pilgrim Virgin, as it is called.

In 1954 Msgr. Luciani went up to Rome to be present on May 25 at Pius X’s canonisation ceremony, which was the solemn approbation by Pius XII of the stern combat waged by his predecessor, at the dawn of the twentieth century, for the defence of the dogmas of the faith against modernism and against the progressivist utopia of the Sillon. One may reread the memorable speech that Pius XII pronounced during the ceremony¹⁹, which Msgr. Luciani attended with a marvellous enthusiasm. This can be seen in the article he published on his return, in the Amico del popolo: «I saw the Pope, the cardinals, the bishops, an immense crowd. I saw the living faith, the pulsating Church, with all their manifest signs of catholicity and holiness.²⁰»

«A curious coincidence», remarks the Abbé de Nantes, “is that Saint Pius X climbed the steps of the hierarchical ladder at nine year intervals, while Msgr. Luciani did so, almost as regularly, at ten year intervals. On December 15, 1958 he was appointed Bishop of Vittorio Veneto, mid-way between Belluno and Venice, between the poor mountain country and the rich sea.»

Like Saint Charles Borromeo, he «chose Humilitas as his motto, not in order to stake a claim to humility but to remind others what he really was: a poor, simple man of the earth, an unassuming priest of Jesus Christ»²¹. He explained this himself, with a touching simplicity, in his homily of January 6, 1959, pronounced at Forno di Canale, whither he had come to thank relatives and friends for their gift of a golden pectoral cross:

«I cannot divine the thoughts of Our Lord in my regard, nor those of the Pope, nor those of Divine Providence. But it did seem to me, in those days, that the Lord made use of me according to His ways of old: He takes the lowly from the roadside mud and raises them up, He detaches countrymen from their fields, fishermen from their nets and their lakes, and makes Apostles out of them. There are certain things that the Lord wishes to write, not in bronze or in marble, but simply in the dust, so that, should the writing survive without being effaced or scattered by the wind, it may be plain that everything is the Lord’s work and owing to His grace alone. I am just a simple man of my times, I am one who comes from the fields, I am nothing but poor plain dust; on this dust the Lord has inscribed the episcopal dignity of the illustrious diocese of Vittorio Veneto. If ever any good should come of all this, let it now be very clear that it can only be the fruit of Our Lord’s bounty, grace and mercy […].

«When new bishops enter their dioceses, they must design their armorial bearings. I had to do mine as well. At the top of the coat of arms, I wanted to put three stars. They can represent the three theological virtues: faith, hope and charity, which are at the centre of every Christian life. I chose these three stars for myself, but I also chose them for my future people.²²»

Msgr. Luciani visited Venice when the reliquary of Saint Pius X, transported from Rome, was honoured and venerated in Saint Mark’s Basilica by a jubilant people in the spring of 1959. In several homilies given in Vittorio Veneto, he expressed his admiration for all the Saint’s works, particularly his political combats against Freemasonry:

«In Venice, in 1894, Msgr. Sarto came up against the municipality’s masonic junta which, not content with keeping to the straightforward administration of the city, was waging an anti-religious campaign, prohibiting, among other things, the sign of the Cross at the beginning of school classes. “I must act”, he said. He organised Catholic forces, divided them into committees and sub-committees, gave talks, wrote personal letters, and had this catchphrase circulated from one end of the city to the other: “Work, pray, vote!” He set in motion a formidable electoral machine. At the end of a few months the masonic junta collapsed and was replaced by a junta that was respectful towards religion. “Patriarch Sarto is a politician of the first order”, commented La Tribune. And he replied: “Oh! no. I am simply a poor defender of the faith!”

«The Patriarch was passionate about Venice […]. But when love for Venice is dissociated from religion, he again says, “I must act!” and he intervenes. “We are Venetians first and then Christians”, declared the minister Nasi at the laying of the first stone of Saint Mark’s new bell tower, in the presence of the senior authorities. “Never before in the history of Venice”, replied the Patriarch, “has anyone heard anything like this first and this then. The Venetians of old united religion and Venice in a single act of love; and we, the new Venetians, we see ourselves as Venetians and Christians without differentiation; we raise the bell-tower, not to celebrate our glory, like Noah’s descendants at the time of the Tower of Babel, but to glorify the Name of God!”²³»

In another homily on “the Pope of the Catechism and the Eucharist”, Msgr. Luciani spoke of the Blessed Virgin’s affliction. It was about this same time that Sister Lucy declared to Father Fuentes: «The Virgin Mary is very sad»… We do not know whether Msgr. Luciani was aware of this warning by the holy Carmelite. Nevertheless, he had certainly learned, several years earlier, of a statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Syracuse that had wept²⁴, and its tears recalled, in a convincing and moving manner, the essential relevance of the message of Fatima: the Immaculate Heart, so horribly outraged by men’s sins and blasphemies, was asking for reparation.

Let us quote this homily given on April 19, 1959, a week after the arrival of Saint Pius X’s reliquary in Venice:

«You know, do you not, the lovely poem of The Madonna Dressed in Blue?

«The poet, Renato Simoni, imagined that at the time of the Battle of the Piave, Pius X comes down from Paradise, at night, and exchanges several words with the Madonna in a little Venetian church. Shells whir, bombs explode, the dead and the wounded pile up, houses and churches are destroyed, the Madonna weeps, and then:

… The old Pope of the pure heart
addresses this plea to the soldiers:
“Hail Italy! Stand fast, my children!
“Long live Italy!” And to Heaven he returns.

«The fable appears to have become a reality in these days. The old Pope has truly returned. He wants to see how things are going in his Venetia. They are not going too badly: people preserve the faith of olden times and they keep the good traditions.

«However, there is something that worries him: the shells are no longer whirring as they were that night, there are no bombs or physical ruins, but ideas are circulating that are anything but Venetian and Catholic. We are afflicted by emigration, a wicked press, a corrupt cinema and other evils. In our shrines, already so beloved of the holy Pope, those of Monte Berico, Motta, Cendrole and a hundred others, the Madonna bows Her head in sadness.

«In this vision the old Pope, from his shrine in Saint Mark’s Basilica, makes us hear his vibrant appeal to combat: “Stand fast, my children!” Remain firmly attached to the faith of your fathers! Be unwavering in upholding religious instruction and frequenting the sacraments!²⁵»
 

UNITED IN HEART AND MIND WITH THE PILGRIMS OF FATIMA

In 1959, during the months preceding Italy’s solemn consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, encircled by the radiant escort of doves that so astonished the crowds, continued its triumphal march throughout the peninsula²⁶. It was then that Msgr. Luciani displayed his devotion to the Virgin of Fatima. In his letter of June 15, 1959, he keenly exhorted his diocesan faithful to make a pilgrimage to this statue:

«Next September 13, in Catania, the Italian bishops will consecrate the nation to the Blessed Virgin.

«To prepare souls for this important event, I decided some time ago to make the most of the preaching for the month of May; I have also encouraged each parish to consecrate itself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary; and today I recommend you to make a pilgrimage to the statue of Our Lady of Fatima which, carried from town to town on the wings of a helicopter and by the love of millions of souls, in a mounting triumph of the faith, is on its way to visit us.

«It will be in Treviso on July 12 and in Belluno on the 16th. I am keen to visit these two cities, with the greatest possible number of priests and members of the faithful, to consecrate, in Belluno, the deanery of Mel, and in Treviso, the rest of the diocese, to the Blessed Virgin.

«I am sure that many of you will accompany me to carry out this act of filial devotion and love. But more than our numbers, what matters to me is our spirit. We are going to pay a visit to Her who, at Fatima, said and repeated: “Pray and repent!” She who, in order to impress this message on us, made the sun spin three times before a vast number of people.

«Praying means recognising that we are weak, poor and needy, and acknowledging that God is strong, rich, helpful, magnificent, generous and ready to forgive. Repentance involves the soul going back over its past and having a complete change of heart: previously it was sin that it had sought, loved and commended; from now on sin is avoided, hated and condemned.

«This is what is important: let us all pray, let us all repent, and the rainbow of peace will no longer vanish from our skies!²⁷»

Despite the mantle of silence and indifference that fell on the message of Fatima within the Church from 1960, Msgr. Luciani retained his devotion. At the beginning of his episcopal ministry, just as at the end, as we shall see, stands Fatima, enveloping in a supernatural light the whole destiny of our good shepherd.

In 1960, at the time when John XXIII was refusing to publish the Third Secret, he welcomed with touching humility the request of the Bishop of Fatima who, we will recall, invited all the world’s bishops to organise days of prayer and penance on October 12 and 13, 1960, in a spirit of reparation and consecration to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. On September 8, Msgr. Luciani wrote the following letter to his diocese:

«Next October 13, there will take place, in Fatima, a great international pilgrimage. To emphasise the penitential aspect, pilgrims will make the final leg of the route on foot, saying the Rosary. The whole night of the 12th to the 13th will be spent in adoration before the Most Blessed Sacrament which will be exposed.

«The proposed intentions are: obtaining peace, the conversion of Russia and, above all, a sincerely Christian life.

«I would like the faithful of my diocese also to take part spiritually in this event and to pray for these same intentions. To this end, here are my instructions:

«Parish priests will invite their faithful to say the Rosary in church, before the exposed Blessed Sacrament, throughout the whole month of October. They should prepare with great care, each in his own parish church, for the vigil of the 12th. At the moment when the holy night is about to begin in Fatima, they will remind the faithful present, in a few brief words, of the necessity and duty of penance.

«On the day of October 13 itself, let them honour the Virgin Mary by an act of external penance, which could be a fast or some other voluntary sacrifice. This of course is not an obligation of conscience.

«The Most Blessed Virgin is a Mother, and She wants what is good for us. But it is precisely because She wants what is good for us that She is sad to see us enslaved to the paltry things of this world.

«When called to the hospital bedside of her gravely ill child, one of our mothers was upset to hear him talking of the motorbike he had left at home, of the books he had borrowed and of other trifling matters. “My son! Think only of getting better. The rest can wait!” The Virgin Mary acts in the same way towards us: “Come, take heart, think of your soul first! The rest comes second, a good second!”

«This is the thinking that must prevail during the pious vigil from October 12 to 13: We must save our souls! Beginning with the soul of the bishop and continuing all the way to that soul which, currently being far removed from God, might well be called to become very close to Him, through the Lord’s infinite bounty!²⁸»

One cannot but be edified by the supernatural spirit of this good pastor who preached conversion and penance, as though the Angel of Fatima’s threefold appeal had resounded in his own ears.
 

CONFRONTED WITH GRAVE FINANCIAL SCANDALS

In 1962, Msgr. Albino Luciani suffered the most terrible ordeal of his episcopate in Vittorio Veneto, when part of his diocesan curia found itself implicated in a serious financial scandal. Some brief details must be given, because this ordeal prefigures those he would face in Venice and, even more so, in the Vatican.

An unscrupulous businessman named Carlo Luigi Antoniutti, whose methods had little to commend them, had built up in Treviso a financial empire with its own “secret bank”: the funds he had borrowed were invested in shady deals and risky speculations. Now, two ecclesiastics from Vittorio Veneto, Don Cescou, the Vice-Director and Treasurer of the Diocesan Administrative Council, and Msgr. Stefani, a member of the same Administrative Council, had been taken in by his “lucrative” investment propositions and ended up being ensnared in his net. When they learned that Antoniutti had gone bankrupt, they attempted to bail his business out by drawing on the funds of the diocese. But just at this juncture, on June 17, 1962, Antoniutti died in mysterious circumstances: he had apparently committed suicide in the home of one of his backers, Dr. Roberto Dacomo.

Informed of the compromising circumstances of his two priests, Msgr. Luciani decided to act quickly: the diocese now had a deficit of 283 million lire and the anticlerical press was always on the lookout for scandal. The more one studies the young bishop’s reactions in these dramatic circumstances, the more one admires his integrity and steadfastness. He clearly saw where his duty lay and he was resolved to act on it. «He warned John XXIII twice», reveals Fr. Saez, «that he would hand in his notice if he were not allowed to settle the matter as he intended.²⁹»

Msgr. Luciani relieved the two ecclesiastics of their duties and dismissed them from Vittorio Veneto. He let them be prosecuted by the Italian legal system: Don Cescou was condemned to sixteen months in prison, on June 14, 1965.

Nevertheless, Msgr. Luciani sought to protect his two priests from public condemnation. He exhorted his diocese to practice Christian charity, particularly in the letter he wrote to them on August 9, 1962: «Where should a priest go if he wants to avoid indiscreet and painful curiosity at such a bitter moment for him, if not to a monastery? You have already pointed out five or six times that Msgr. Stefani is in the monastery of Follina! So leave him in peace if you have nothing new to say about his case.³⁰»

As for the material losses incurred by small savers through Antoniutti’s bankruptcy, Msgr. Luciani wanted to compensate them: to this end he had to sell property belonging to the diocese, despite the murmurs of disapproval from certain members of his clergy. «He consulted canonical texts», his brother Edoardo recounts, «and he saw that it was the Ordinary who had to take the decision, in other words the bishop. Then he called his priests together and told them, “It is for me to decide”, and he made his decision.³¹»

Thus, throughout this drama, Msgr. Luciani revealed himself to be a real man of government. Clearly his predecessor on the episcopal see of Vittorio Veneto, Msgr. Carraro, had not been mistaken when he declared to the members of his diocesan curia: «When necessary, Don Luciani knows how to be strong and resolute… You’ll see.³²»

The years passed. «On December 15, 1969, Pope Paul VI appointed Msgr. Luciani to be Patriarch of Venice. He was fifty-seven. Msgr. Sarto had just turned fifty-eight, just ten days beforehand, when he was appointed to this same patriarchal see. Decidedly these two lives run in parallel. The boundless generosity of Pius X is still remembered in Venice: how he had pawned his pastoral ring to help the poor; similarly, we learn that Cardinal Luciani had had no hesitation in selling pectoral crosses and their golden chains, mementos from Pius XII, and gifts from Popes John and Paul, in order to help the unemployed of his diocese… Different times, but the same evangelical virtues.» It was «extraordinary that so much good was done with so little noise»³³.
 

THE TAKEOVER OF THE BANCA CATTOLICA DEL VENETO

One day, in Venice, Msgr. Luciani discovered to his horror that his clergy had become the victims of fraud, one that was linked to financial embezzlement in which the Vatican was implicated. Wanting to put things right, he went to Rome… In vain! He could not obtain justice.

One cannot relate this story without already glimpsing the drama that would unfold in the Vatican several years later, when he would return invested in the office of the sovereign pontificate.

Let us summarise the facts.

To support their charitable works and finance church restoration, the Venetian clergy used to obtain loans at very low interest rates from the Banca cattolica del Veneto, the Catholic Bank of Venetia. Well administered and with good reason nicknamed the “priests’ bank”, it was one of the richest in the land, for «where the priests banked, the parishioners followed»³⁴.

Since 1946, the Institute for the Works of Religion (I.O.R.), usually referred to as the Vatican Bank, had held a majority share in the capital of the Catholic Bank of Venetia. «A clear understanding existed between Venice and the Vatican», writes David Yallop, «that the I.O.R.’s vast shareholding (by 1972 it was 51 per cent) was an insurance against any potential takeover by a third party.»

However, «by mid-1972 the low interest loans had stopped. The Venetian clergy were advised that in future they would have to pay the full rate of interest no matter how laudable the work.³⁵»

«For us», relates one elderly prelate, «it was a bolt out of the blue in a serene sky.³⁶»

Cardinal Luciani made some enquiries. «What he learned appalled him.³⁷» The Catholic Bank of Venetia had been sold by Msgr. Paul Marcinkus, the President of the Vatican Bank, to a certain Roberto Calvi, a freemason, of the Banco Ambrosiano in Milan. «Profoundly indignant, our saint went to voice his indignation in Rome where he found only the Substitute of the Secretariat of State, Cardinal Benelli, to share his grievance and assuage his anger.³⁸»

«Benelli», explains Yallop, «was a man who enjoyed reeling out facts and figures. He told the wide-eyed Luciani that Calvi had paid 27 billion lire (approximately $45 million) to Marcinkus; how the sale was the result of a scheme hatched jointly by Calvi, Sindona and Marcinkus, of a company called Pacchetti which had been purchased by Calvi from Sindona after its price had been grossly and criminally inflated on the Milan stock exchange, of how Marcinkus had assisted Calvi in masking the nature of this and other operations from the eyes of Bank of Italy officials by putting the Vatican bank facilities at the disposal of Calvi and Sindona.

«Luciani was bewildered. “What does all this mean?” he asked.

«“Tax evasion, illegal movement of shares. I also believe that Marcinkus sold the shares in your Venice bank at a deliberately low price and Calvi paid the balance, a separate 31 billion lire deal on Credito Varesino. I think the real value Marcinkus put on this was in the region of 47 million dollars.”³⁹»

The Patriarch immediately went to ask Msgr. Marcinkus for an explanation. «He received a very unfriendly welcome», indicates Father Francesco Farusi, the then editor of the Vatican Radio newspaper. “Occupy yourself with your faithful and not with the banks”, the archbishop is supposed to have told him in an insolent tone.⁴⁰»

The Patriarch informed the bishops of Venetia of the unhappy outcome of his enquiry: their “priests’ bank” was for ever lost.

«Albino Luciani and many others in Venice», recounts Yallop, «closed their accounts at the Banca Cattolica. For the Patriarch of Venice to move the official diocesan accounts to the small Banco San Marco was an extraordinary step. He confided to one colleague, “Calvi’s money is tainted. The man is tainted. After what I have learned of Roberto Calvi, I would not leave the accounts in his bank if the loans they granted to the diocese were totally free of interest.”

«Luciani then attempted to get the directors of Banca Cattolica to change the name of the bank. He insisted that for the word Catholic to appear in their title was an outrage and a libel on all Catholics.⁴¹»

Don Ennio Innocenti, a contributor to the newspaper Il Gazzettino of Venice, remarked that the Patriarch judged the Institute for the Works of Religion very severely. Yet, Don Innocenti advised him that Msgr. Marcinkus could not have sold the “priests’ bank” without the backing of the Secretariat of State. The Patriarch then held his peace⁴².

However, he would never forget what he had learned, namely that the Milanese mafia were deep in collusion with the Vatican. Once, when Paul VI reproached him for never coming to see him in Rome, the Patriarch gave him a very feeling answer: «What can one do, I am very busy in Venice, and then Your Holiness already has so many cares! I would not wish to burden you with others.⁴³»
 

IN IMITATION OF THE FIRST MARTYRS...

«Having made a close study of his nine years in the patriarchate», continues the Abbé de Nantes whose analysis we are following, «we have to recognise that Cardinal Luciani possessed heroic virtue, comprising a calm, placating wisdom, perfect self-control in filial obedience to the Pope, and a firm hand on all occasions where God’s rights were mocked or where faith and morals were disturbed. But let no one talk about him making “unpopular decisions”, please! for the people had nothing in common with that small group of red priests who sought to bring down their bishop, viewed by them as reactionary.⁴⁴»

During the postconciliar turmoil, when the Church was ravaged by apostasy, Patriarch Luciani, who had officially gone along with all the acts of Vatican Council II – and therefore with its novel teachings⁴⁵ –, nevertheless defended Catholic dogmas energetically.

«Today», he observed in his homily for Saint Lucy’s day, on December 13, 1975, «the faith is imperilled not only by the assaults of her enemies, but also by the silence of him whose duty is to speak out, the bishop, “the servant of God’s word”. A bishop must strive above all to please God, however much he may become the target of men’s criticism.⁴⁶»

Roman in both heart and mind, the Patriarch took pains in his preaching to demonstrate his fidelity to the teaching and directives of Pope Paul VI. But the latter was failing to govern: not wishing to go back on the very principles of the reform decreed at Vatican II, he had become tolerant of the postconciliar aberrations and scandals. These disorders caused the Patriarch great suffering, but he hid his pain under a smile, which every day became more heroic.

«The duty I must fulfil», he noted in 1975, «becomes ever more difficult, painful and misunderstood. Nevertheless, it remains my duty. People say to me: “Can’t you see that nowadays few people take their instructions from the episcopate?” I see it very clearly: today a poor bishop’s battles are often like Don Quixote’s struggle against windmills.

«I mention Don Quixote in order to avoid over-dramatising. Others will say that, when bishops preach, they are at times rather like John the Baptist addressing Herod. In Portugal and in certain other countries, bishops are unable to preach either on the radio or in the press, even in the newspapers they themselves own! So what advice would you give these bishops? To say nothing except what pleases those in government?

«My brothers, I repeat: Today each of us only keeps the faith to the extent that he defends it, to the extent that he remains firm, courageous and determined, in imitation of the first martyrs.⁴⁷»

Msgr. Luciani always remained opposed to any compromise, to any conciliation with the errors of Russia. We recall that in 1960, in his stirring funeral oration in honour of the memory of Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac, he had declared: «Socialo-communism, in its ideas, in its whole terrifying system, is a scourge, a true scourge of the soul, with which no suspension of hostilities is possible, precisely because of the good that we desire for communists.⁴⁸»

In Venice, Msgr. Luciani distinguished himself by his vigorous and perspicacious words of warning: «Experts deny the scientific character of the marxist analysis, totally belied by the facts […]. I have in mind the tragic case of certain people, including priests, who started off embracing not the ideology, but merely the marxist analysis, and who ended up losing the faith.

«I add that leninist-stalinist tactics and strategy, utilised by the marxists, are even more dangerous still than the marxist doctrine. What strategy? To infiltrate every institution, even Catholic institutions, with a smile on their face and with outstretched hands; to use every means to increase divisions and confusion among Catholics so as to weaken them; to adapt themselves to countries and circumstances. Are the Americans intervening in Vietnam? Then they are loathsome imperialists. Are Russian tanks crushing “the Spring of Prague” in blood? Then they were simply going for an innocent excursion to “normalise” the situation.⁴⁹»

We have already seen how in these years of the 70’s, Patriarch Luciani had echoed the moving appeals of the confessors of the faith⁵⁰.

In the autumn of 1977, he openly rose up against the historic compromise between Italian Christian Democracy and the Communist Party. The Abbé de Nantes admired his perspicacity in seeing through and denouncing one of the stratagems of Berlinguer, the Secretary General of the Communist Party, when the latter publicly responded to a letter from the very progressivist Bishop of Ivrea, Msgr. Luigi Bettazzi. Here, in abridged form, is the statement published by the Patriarch in the journal Prospettive nel Mondo:

«“Watch out! This is a classic manoeuvre. We know it well”, a Polish bishop told me when I met him at the Synod. “The communists do everything to divide the episcopate. They exploit the slightest weakness to jump in and widen the breach with a wedge. You Italian bishops are more exposed than anyone. They already have you down as preconciliar and they claim you’re going against the tide of history. Should one of you distance himself ever so slightly from your group and show any regard, albeit highly qualified, for the Communist Party, then the press will ensure that there will converge upon him the full sympathies of Democrat Catholics, of Christians for Socialism, and of the whole left-wing public. The Polish episcopate stood up to these tactics with a united front, and this has been and continues to be our strength.”

«For myself», continued the Patriarch of Venice, «I would like to draw your attention to the following points:

«Berlinguer refers to Article 2 of the Statutes of the Italian Communist Party, not to Article 5. Article 2 invites citizens to subscribe to the Italian Communist Party “irrespective of race, religious faith or philosophical convictions”. Article 5, on the other hand, obliges members of this party to profess “marxist-leninism”.

«Berlinguer contrasts “the lamb” on one side, meaning the Italian Communist Party with its policy of entente and collaboration, with “the wolves” on the other side, meaning retrograde Catholics, zealous to preach the most violent kind of anticommunism. I have difficulty recognising the angelic figure of Pius XII amongst these wolves.

«Berlinguer had already given a private answer to Msgr. Bettazzi’s letter. So why, precisely at this moment, does he formulate another answer, a public one adapted for promotion by the media?⁵¹»

This Polish bishop who had given Cardinal Luciani such pertinent advice was Cardinal Wyszynski. They had come to know and esteem each other during the Council, and the Polish primate loved to stop over at Venice to visit his friend when he returned to Warsaw after his brief visits to Rome.
 

RECOURSE TO THE IMMACULATE MEDIATRIX

The Patriarch of Venice used to treasure a Black Madonna, probably Our Lady of Czestochowa, given him one day by Cardinal Wyszynski. Both men counted on the all-powerful intercession of the Virgin Mary to preserve and fortify the faith of their faithful. Cardinal Luciani was clearly convinced, like the Polish primate, that the remedy for keeping the dogma of the faith was the Immaculate, the established Safeguard of the Church and Christians. This was one of the themes of his homily given on November 21, 1975, on the Feast of Santa Maria della Salute⁵²:

«My dear brethren, I am convinced that among the numerous problems suffered by the Church, the most serious today is that of evangelisation, that is to say the faith we must keep, defend and spread.» He then referred to the Council’s teaching on “the Blessed Virgin’s free faith and obedience” (Lumen gentium, 58). «So it is to the Virgin Mary that today we go to ask for the protection of the faith. And also for the grace needed by the Church of Venice to preserve its ancient faith pure and unsullied, upright and healthy, always accepting with humility that which God has revealed and what the Magisterium proposes. Would that our Church might ever have before it the shining examples of a living faith, in the lives of its bishop, its priests and its fathers of families!⁵³»

(continued below)

«We are all poor sinners. When you see a true Christian, you say, “If he is good, it because he has made a lot of effort.” But then comes the reward, not in this world where there are only a few moments of happiness. True happiness only exists in Paradise. So let us seek to be good and Our Lord will give us the crown.»

(Msgr. Luciani, homily at Forno di Canale, January 6, 1959)

«How many Rosaries are said at Lourdes! And yet I know some people of our acquaintance who oppose this practice, in the name, they say, of the liturgy and charismatic spontaneity, and who set out to attack formalism and stereotyped repetition. But I am sure they have never been to Lourdes. Otherwise, how would they have the courage to snatch the rosary from the hands of the sick, from good people, from priests, from men and women who say it to their great profit and consolation?»

(Msgr. Luciani, Pastoral letter on the Message of Lourdes, June 6, 1971)

«“New theology?” It is most welcome! But sometimes we deceive ourselves: it is not new theology, but ancient Gnosticism. It is often the reappearance of the presumptuous mentality of the old Gnostics: “We provide explanations of a very high scientific level; we no longer accept the poor, old-fashioned, outdated explanations of the Magisterium!” The tactics used by Gnosticism have also returned, namely that of taking their themes and terms from the Catholic faith, but only partially, arrogating to themselves the right of going through them with a fine tooth comb and of making a selection from them, of understanding them in a subjective manner, of mixing them up with strange ideologies and of basing their attachment to the faith no longer on divine authority, but on human reasons, on this or that philosophical option for example, on the compatibility of one given theme with deliberate political choices already made.»

(Cardinal Luciani, homily of March 7, 1973)
 

Despite the orientations and acts of Vatican II, Msgr. Luciani retained his devotion as well as his faith in the privileges and prerogatives of the Virgin Mary, founded on the teaching of the Fathers, the doctors and magisterium of the Church.

While many bishops read with an indifferent eye the blasphemies of modernists who denied Mary’s perpetual virginity, Msgr. Luciani firmly defended this signal privilege of the Immaculate Mother of God. For example, in his homily of September 12, 1969:

«Her virginity, during both conception and childbirth, is a miracle that surpasses the laws of philosophy and biology: we profess it by an act of faith, based on the evidence of God […].

«Matthew and Luke expressly say that Jesus was born “of the Holy Spirit”. Can we go along with the Dutch Catechism and interpret this phrase as follows, namely that Jesus, unlike any other person, is the son of the prophecies and promises inspired by the Holy Spirit over the centuries preceding His coming? Doubtless we can, but only on this condition: that with the Gospel, with the ancient symbols of the faith and the magisterium of all time, we add that Jesus was engendered without the intervention of man and that He “was born of the Virgin Mary”.

«The preface of the Blessed Virgin expresses it thus:

“Father, through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, Mary didst conceive Thine only-begotten Son; and, retaining the glory of Her virginity, didst pour forth upon the world the everlasting light, Jesus Christ, Our Lord.”

«This is the style employed by the Fathers of old who all, in order to tell us how Jesus came forth from His Mother’s womb, leaving it intact, and without causing His Mother any inconvenience or suffering, resorted to the following examples: Christ came out of the sepulchre and appeared to His disciples gathered in locked rooms; a ray of light passes through crystal without shattering it; thoughts pass from one mind to another.⁵⁴»

The quotation on which Msgr. Luciani ended his homily shows that he had noted down and retained Pius XII’s most explicit words concerning the Virgin Mary’s universal mediation:

«If Peter holds the keys of the Church, Mary holds the keys of God’s Heart; if Peter binds and unbinds, Mary also binds with chains of love; She also unbinds with the art of forgiveness. If Peter is the guardian and minister of indulgences, Mary is the magnanimous and skilful treasurer of the divine favours. Those who look for grace but have not recourse to the Virgin Mary to accomplish their journey, are looking to fly without wings.⁵⁵»

Msgr. Luciani said his Rosary every day, while taking a short walk after lunch or dinner, and also, when his programme allowed, early in the morning, in the linen room, along with Sister Vincenza and the other sisters assigned to serve in his episcopal house.

One of our friends in the Catholic Counter-Reformation, Madame de Marsac, joyfully remarked that, on her visits and pilgrimages to Venice, the clergy used to say the Rosary every evening in the churches, where portraits of Saint Pius X were held in great honour. The Cardinal had reacted against the scandalous campaigns of the progressivists in their attacks on the Rosary, trotting out as always the same grievances. In an appendix to this chapter we will quote the homily he gave during the celebrations organised for the fourth centenary of the institution of the Feast of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. His teaching on the Rosary was very much in line with that of the seer of Fatima which we have already presented⁵⁶.

The Patriarch rehabilitated the ancient forms of popular preaching and devotion, particularly when he preached on the Feast of Santa Maria della Salute, in the splendid basilica of white marble where this Virgin is honoured. Always close to the lowly and the poor, he made himself their defender against the perverse and woolly theories of left-wing intellectuals: «These traditional ceremonies are a magnificent occasion for catechesis and are a form of worship celebrated with great splendour, but also with great devotion.⁵⁷»

Consequently he justified the practices of piety and the old tales, despised by the moderns, but which nourish popular religion:

«We must agree that the numerous examples of miracles contained in the work of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, The Glories of Mary, are often naïve, legendary or historically false; at any rate, they are not adapted to “smart” readers like ourselves! Our saint, for his own part, used these examples for the benefit of a poorly instructed public, not so much to prove the truths taught as to make them come more alive. In other words, he is like a grown-up who is happy to stammer so that he might be understood by children; a future doctor of the Church who earns his stripes as a doctor by teaching solid doctrine but in the style of an elementary class teacher. In this we may regard him as a model theologian. Not only does he speak of Mary, but he speaks to Mary, continually interspersing his writings with tender words. Let us write about the Virgin Mary and let us speak of Her often, but in a way that can be understood by everyone and can touch all hearts. This requires that we ourselves have had our hearts touched.⁵⁸»

Cardinal Luciani himself had had his heart touched by seeing the Virgin Mary so afflicted: «The Madonna, from all time, is a virgin and totally pure. When She looks on our society, termed permissive because it permits and excuses everything in matters of immorality, the Virgin Mary becomes a “weeping Madonna”. She weeps on account of the evil we commit and tolerate, and on account of the chastisements we are heading for.⁵⁹»

That is why the Patriarch of Venice set great store by Heaven’s special interventions and providential aids. In opposition to rationalist and modern criticism, he applied himself to discern the importance, in the economy of salvation, of the apparitions of the Most Blessed Virgin and of the great pilgrimage sites:

«People often ask us the theological meaning of the Marian shrines and their existence. The answer seems to me to be as follows: taken as a whole and including their particularities – and without dwelling on certain manifestations which are not really commendable – these shrines represent one of the signs promised by Our Lord: “Miracles will accompany those who have believed: in My Name they will cast out devils, they will speak in tongues… they will lay their hands on the sick, who will be cured.” (Mk 16:17-18) The ex-votos displayed at the Shrine of Pietralba tell us something of this.

«When people visit these shrines, they find themselves remarking that the Virgin always appears to those who are poor and simple, to children, as at Lourdes or Fatima, to country people, as at Motta di Livenza and Pietralba. Some will take advantage of this to laugh or shrug their shoulders. More observant Christians will see in this phenomenon, on the contrary, the continuance of God’s approach already proclaimed by Mary: “He has put down the mighty, He has exalted the lowly. The hungry He has filled with good things, and the rich sent empty away.”

«At Lourdes, Fatima, La Salette and elsewhere, the Madonna helps and guides us by saying almost only one thing: Prayer and Penance. She echoes Jesus’ admonition: “Unless you do penance, you will all perish… You should pray without ceasing.”⁶⁰»

If we run through the principal pilgrimages made by the Patriarch of Venice – Pietralba, Loreto, Santa Maria do Sul, Lourdes –, we can see that they were for him like so many stages preparing the way for his pilgrimage to Fatima and especially – oh, how wonderful! – for his meeting with Sister Lucy, Our Lady’s messenger. His meditation on so many heavenly messages, his heartfelt admiration for the piety of the pilgrim crowds in whom he rediscovered «the biblical receptivity of Yahweh’s poor», had disposed his heart and soul to receive the revelations of the holy Carmelite.

APPENDIX

CARDINAL LUCIANI’S HOMILY ON THE ROSARY

HE faithful in the diocese of Vittorio Veneto, and subsequently in Venice, frequently saw Msgr. Luciani saying his Rosary with devotion, especially during his pastoral visits. Moreover, one had only to hear him defending the Holy Rosary against the attacks of the progressivists to understand that he practised this devotion with great joy. Here is the full text of the homily he preached in the church of the Jesuates¹ in Venice, on the occasion of the celebrations marking the fourth centenary of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, on Sunday, October 7, 1973: