Pope Francis died April 21, 2025. He was 88 years old and had been very ill for a long time. He was known as “The People’s Pope,” and many videos of him blessing sickly children have been playing on TV. His funeral was conducted in late April, and the Conclave to elect a new Pope begins today.
I was reminded of the events of August and September, 1978. I attended a Board of Directors Meeting for a state professional association. In the interest of economy, I roomed with another association officer. Carole was a lovely young woman, and we got along well. When we woke up the first meeting day, we turned the news on and learned that Pope Paul VI had died. He had been Pope for fifteen years. We shared a cup of coffee and talked about his death, got dressed and spent the rest of the long day in meetings.
Some six weeks later, we again roomed together. Again, we were attending a Board of Directors Meeting but in a different city. When we woke up on the first morning, we learned that the new Pope, John Paul I, had died after serving only thirty-three days. It was quite a remarkable coincidence as Board Meetings were rare, Carole and I had never before roomed together, and Popes always served long terms. The last time there had been three different Popes in a single year was way back in 1605.
Carole and I resolved, somewhat jokingly, in the interest of papal longevity, never to room together again. Pope John Paul I was succeeded by Pope John Paul II who was critically wounded in an assassination attempt in 1981, but survived and served twenty-seven years as Pope.