Successors of Peter

There have been seven Popes in my lifetime, beginning with Pius XII, and continuing with John XXIII... Paul VI... John Paul I... John Paul II... Benedict XVI... and the present occupant of the Chair of St. Peter, Francis. I have busts of all of them in my dining room except for one: John Paul the First reigned for only thirty-three days in 1978, giving sculptors insufficient time to create a small bust such as can be purchased on the streets of Rome. I have, instead, a photo of him among the representations of the others. An interesting factoid is that one of the briefest reigns, those thirty-three days of John Paul I, immediately preceded one of the longest reigns, the twenty-six years of Pope John Paul II. (Pope Urban VII had the briefest reign:13 days in 1590; Pope Pius IX reigned the longest: nearly 32 years in 1846 through 1878.)
 
I have seen three Popes in person: John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. These same three Popes have extended me a written blessing, as evidenced in documents in the front hall of the Rectory. I even had the rare opportunity of a private audience with John Paul II, where he gave a small gathering of priests his Apostolic Blessing, and came close enough to me that I was able to touch his outstretched arm. Later, I was given a Rosary that he had personally used and blessed. A question frequently asked is “Why isn’t Pope Francis called Francis the First?” This is because the first Pope to choose a name is never called “the First,” but his successors are given numerals. The obvious exception is John Paul the First, who, when he signed the document of succession as “the First,” was corrected by the Camerlengo. At that moment, he predicted that “The Second will be coming soon.”
 
I write of recent Popes because we have the Feast Days of two of them in October: Saint John XXIII last Monday, the 11th, and Saint John Paul II this Friday, the 22nd. Pope Saint Paul VI (Feast Day, September 26) was canonized in 2018. Pope Pius XII was declared “Venerable" in 2009, and Pope John Paul I was declared “Venerable” in 2017. The Vatican Correspondent for America Magazine wrote recently that it is very likely that both of these men will be canonized in 2022. This means that five of the Popes of my lifetime lived lives of heroic sanctity to the point of “being raised to the Altars” and canonized Saints. The other two are still living, so it will be up to the future work of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to study their lives and make a decision. This Congregation merely makes recommendations; the reigning Pope has final say.
 
Although the Church has been in upheaval since the days of the Second Vatican Council, we have also lived in an era of giants in the Papacy. Saints are judged not by the era in which they lived, nor entirely by their accomplishments, but by study into their virtue. In the process of beatification and eventual canonization, miracles worked by them from heaven in response to human prayer are sought, but not absolutely required. Who knows what will happen in the future following the deaths of Benedict XVI and Francis? Would that all future successors of Peter were saints…