Pope Francis will beatify Pope John Paul 1 September 4 during a Mass at St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican Press Office has announced. Bishop Renato Marangoni will read the Rite of Beatification at the Mass, together with the Cardinal Beniamino Stella, po-stulator for the Cause of Canonization, and Stefania Falasca, the deputy postulator, the press office said.
Pope John Paul I was born as Albino Luciani in the northern Italian town of Forno di Canale (now Canale d’Agordo) on October 17, 1912.
“During the beatification, the team of postulators will gift the Holy Father with a reliquary containing the relics of the new Blessed,” according to the July 11 statement from the Press Office.
Ahead of the beatification, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis will preside over a prayer vigil in the Basilica of St. John Lateran on the evening of September 3.
The Pope’s Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome will celebrate the vigil in the Basilica which houses the Chair of the Bishop of Rome, of which John Paul I took possession on September 23, 1978.