With the eternal footman idling the Popemobile at the door of St. Peter's, attention has turned to who will replace Pope John Paul II as the next pontiff. Many names have been floated, among them 62-year old Angelo Scola, patriarch of Venice, who is actually considered too young for the job, according to the UPI in a recent article.
Venetian Pope trivia (great fun at tailgate parties and fashion bars): Paul II Barbo (1464-1471), Clement XIII (1769, died mysteriously), Eugenius IV (1431-1447). More?
Thomas wrote to remind me to add the ephemeral Pope John Paul I, whose 1978 papacy lasted only 33 days. Brief, true, but that's more than three times the lifecycle of a fruitfly. John Paul was born in Belluno, but was the Patriarch of Venice before being moved up to The Show for his 15 minutes. So on the list he goes.
Kurt added Pius X (pope from 1903-1914, born Giuseppe Sarto), another former patriarch of Venice, and a kind of native son. He was born in an Austrian-occupied area called "Venezia" at the time, a chunk of territory that included Riese, the actual paese where he was born, just outside Treviso. "Beppi", as his chums called him, is said to have worried himself to death owing to the start of World War I. Made a Saint in 1954. His miracles included the ability to put out fire and kill bugs via prayer (handy on camping trips, for sure). Is this Venice's only saint?
Kurt says he thought John XXII was a former Venetian Patriarch, but it looks as though this Avignon Pope didn't work the gondola circuit, unless the Catholic Encyclopedia is failing me.
Update 10-31-03: Ah, now see we. Kurt left a roman numeral off his Pope. Instead of Pope John XXI, he meant Pope John XXII (I do that all the time. If I had a dollar for every time I forgot to put an “I” at the end of a Pope’s name, I’d be a (M*C)X-aire by now.) Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, Pope John XXII (1958-63), was in fact Patriarch of Venice in 1953, later made a cardinal that year. But whatever you do, don’t confuse Pope John XIII with Antipope John XIII (1370–1419) during the Great Schism.
On Venetian popes, don't forget John Paul I (1978).
Posted by: Thomas Madden | October 08, 2003 at 06:42 AM
How about St. (pope) Pius X from Riese? I visited his home last summer. He held the chair in Venice.
As did John XXII, I believe. Both 'on display' at St. Peter's.
Posted by: Kurt | October 22, 2003 at 09:01 AM
oops should be John XXIII recently moved upstairs in St. Peter's.
Posted by: Kurt | October 27, 2003 at 12:23 PM