Today marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul I.
Born in northern Italy on October 17, 1912, Albino Luciani was elected pope on August 26, 1978. He was the first pope to take a double name. He explained in his Angelus that he took the name to honor his two immediate predecessors, John XXIII and Paul VI.
The 65-year-old pope is reported to have had a heart attack while sitting in bed on September 28, 1978. His 33-day papacy is one of the shortest reigns in history and also resulted in 1978 being the most recent Year of the Three Popes (which has happened a dozen times).
