With the smile of Pope Luciani, the Church transmits the goodness of the Lord

Francis presided over the beatification of John Paul I, the pope whose pontificate lasted just 33 days, in St. Peter’s Square. The official portrait displayed in the loggia in St. Peter’s Square is the work of the Chinese artist Yan Zhang.

Vatican City () – God’s style is not that of those who seek power, but that of those who love even if it “costs the cross of sacrifice, of silence, of misunderstanding, of loneliness, of being hindered”. and persecuted”, said Pope Francis today during the beatification ceremony of John Paul I, the pontiff who in 1978 led the Church for only 33 days, leaving everyone with the memory of his smile. The ceremony took place in Saint Peter’s Square, packed with faithful who came mainly from Belluno, Vittorio Veneto and Venice, the places where Albino Luciani lived between 1912 and his election to the throne of Peter.

Commenting on the Gospel passage proposed by today’s liturgy (Lk 14, 25-33), the Pope marked the difference between the style of Jesus and that of those who “taking advantage of the fears of society and promising that they are ‘the savior’ that he will solve all problems, he wants to increase his own satisfaction and his own power, his own figure, his own ability to have everything in one hand”. Jesus – observed Francis – “seems to worry when people follow him with euphoria and easy enthusiasm. He asks each one to carefully discern the reasons why he follows him.” Even “behind a perfect religious appearance one can hide the mere satisfaction of one’s own needs, the search for personal prestige, the desire to have a role, to having things under control, the desire to occupy space and obtain privileges, the aspiration to receive recognition and many other things. This happens today among Christians. But that is not the way of Jesus”. o- means “assuming one’s own burdens and the burdens of others, making life a gift, not a possession, living it imitating the generous and merciful love that He has for us.”

“The new blessed – said the pontiff, pointing to John Paul I – lived like this: in the joy of the Gospel, without compromise, loving to the extreme. He embodied the poverty of the disciple, which is not only freeing oneself from material goods, but above all overcoming the temptation to put oneself at the center and seek one’s own glory”.

“With a smile – Pope Francis continued – Pope Luciani was able to convey the goodness of the Lord. A Church with a cheerful face, a serene face, a smiling face is beautiful, a Church that never closes its doors, that does not harden hearts, that does not complain and does not hold grudges, that is not angry, that does not get impatient, who does not have a sullen attitude, who does not suffer from nostalgia for the past and becomes reactionary”. “Let us pray to our father and brother -he added- let us ask him to obtain for us ‘the smile of the soul’, the one that is transparent, that does not deceive. Let us ask what he himself asked: ‘Lord, take me as I am, with my flaws, with my faults, but make me what you want me to be'”.

At the time of the Angelus -finally- the Pope referred once again to the drama of the war: “We turn to Mary so that she may obtain peace throughout the world and especially in the tormented Ukraine. May she help us to follow the example and holiness of life of John Paul I “

The beatification of John Paul I was also the occasion of an important bridge between Rome and Asia. The official portrait of the new blessed, displayed on the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica and uncovered, as is customary, during the ceremony, is the work of a Chinese artist, the painter Yan Zhang. Originally from Neijiang in Sichuan province, where he was born in 1963, he lived in Tibet in the 1990s, drawing inspiration from Buddhist spirituality. An internationally renowned artist, in 2017 he had already given two of his works to Pope Francis, Iron Staff Lama (1993) and Cham Dance (1995), which are now kept in the Vatican Museums. In a video released by the John Paul I Vatican Foundation Regarding the portrait made for this beatification, Yan Zhang explains that he used typical Chinese painting techniques. “The center of the whole picture is the smile, a smile that comes from the whole body and transmits a certain spirit, a certain strength”.