Beatifying Blessed John Paul I, Pope Francis praised the late pope for showing the world God’s goodness and for living the Gospel without compromise.
“Our new blessed lived that way: in the joy of the Gospel, without compromises, loving to the very end,” the pope said.
“He embodied the poverty of the disciple, which is not only detachment from material goods, but also victory over the temptation to put oneself at the center, to seek one’s own glory” as he followed the example of Jesus and was “a meek and humble pastor,” he said.
The pope spoke during a homily in St. Peter’s Square at a Sept. 4 Mass attended by an estimated 25,000 people under dark skies and rain, with an occasional roll of thunder and clap of lightning.
