On the 20th anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II, MAL ROGERS looks back at 1978 when Karol Józef Wojtyła became Bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church — at the end of a series of tumultuous events for the Vatican
A woman walks past a mural in Wadowice, the birthplace of Pope John Paul II (Photo by Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images)THE town of Wadowice in southern Poland, 50km southwest of Kraków, is the birthplace of Karol Wojtyła, better known to the World as Pope John Paul II
Next month Wadowice will mark the 20th anniversary of the pope's death with a series of events. A museum at the house he grew up on Kościelna Street carries a permanent exhibition to Pope John Paul, Supreme Pontiff and Bishop of Rome from 1978 until his death on April 2, 2005.
Pope John Paul II (picture Wikimedia)The town is planning a series of events, including religious ceremonies, cultural programmes, exhibitions, special Masses and a series of concerts in the main square and venues in the town.
The John Paul II Family Home Museum in Wadowice will play a central role, with a special exhibition focused on his legacy and connection to the town. Pilgrims and visitors from Poland and abroad are expected to attend. A special exhibition titled "Witness to Hope: The Legacy of Saint John Paul II" will feature rare artifacts, photographs, and multimedia displays highlighting his papacy, personal items from his childhood in Wadowice — and a display dedicated to his Irish visit.
Several Irish dioceses are organising pilgrimages to Wadowice and Kraków for the occasion.
The main commemorative Mass will take place at the Basilica of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on April 2, 2025 – where Karol Wojtyła (John Paul II) was baptised.
Senior clergy from across Poland and the Vatican will attend and officiate at church services and Masses.
Pilgrims welcome Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Wadowice (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)1978 — the year that saw three popes
POPE John Paul was the third pope in the year of 1978. On August 6, Cardinal Jean-Marie Villot, the Vatican’s Secretary of State — known as the cardinal camerlengo — approached the body of Pope Paul VI. He verified the pope was dead, and would have said probably in Latin “Vere Papa mortuus est” (the pope is truly dead) and would have removed the Fisherman’s Ring from the Holy Father. This would have been subsequently hammered to destruction to ensure no forgeries could be made.
Funeral arrangements the were put in motion.
Pope Paul VI (picture in public domain)By the summer of 1978, Pope Paul VI, then aged 80, had been Bishop of Rome for 15 years. But the papal duties were weighing heavily on him as he faced opposition from various groups within the Church — both conservatives and progressives.
On August 6, Pope Paul suffered a heart attack, his death sparking off a series of events that would mire the church in controversy and gossip.
The conclave subsequently elected Albino Luciani, Patriarch of Venice, as pope.
Pope John Paul I (picture in public domain)Luciani appeared genuinely reluctant to take on the job, with many of his friends believing he might well refuse. But he was duly elected as Supreme Pontiff of the Western Church.
In honour of his two predecessors Cardinal Luciano took the name John Paul I.
New name decided on, the pope phoned Monsignor Matteo Ducoli, Bishop of his own diocese of Belluno, to tell him he had a new boss.
Some 33 days after his election, at 5.30am on September 29, his private secretary Father John Magee — emeritus Bishop of Cloyne — was reported to have found Pope John Paul dead in his bed.
It later emerged that it was one of the nuns who cared for the pope who had in fact made the discovery. But to announce to the world that a woman had found the pope in his bed seemed not quite de rigueur to the Vatican authorities, so a story was concocted round the Newry-born Father Magee.
The pope’s niece drove down to the local church in Canale d’Agordo to give the news to the parish priest. Don Rinaldo Andrich had just finished Mass. He turned to the small congregation before it dispersed and said, “They tell me the pope is dead.” The first official announcement of his death.
The conspiracy theories
CONSPIRACY theories that Pope John Paul I Had been murdered soon surfaced. Certainly, there were suspicions of wrongdoing. For a man of 67 he appeared to be in good health.
The fact that no post mortem was carried out further fuelled gossip; in aaddition the timing of contacting the undertakers came under scrutiny.
In the days following John Paul’s death a rumour circulated that he may have been on the point of exposing a major financial scandal within the Vatican Bank. Major criminals would certainly have gone to any lengths to prevent this.
But in reality, Pope John Paul I almost certainly died of natural causes. The Curia panicked, and subsequently got caught out in a catalogue of needless lies about his death and discovery of his body.
The vastly experienced Father John Magee, who had been privatesecretary to Pope Paul VI, was caught up in events. The circumstances around the Pope's death were confusing and poorly managed by the Vatican, fuelling rumours of foul play or a cover-up.
Magee’s somewhat conflicting accounts contributed to the confusion
But in reality Pope John Paul I had probably died of a heart attack the evening before his body was discovered
In the event, at 6.20 am on September 29, 1978 Albino Luciano’s family were phoned once again. Magee, the papal secretary and a fluent Italian speaker, simply said: “Zio Albino e morto.” Uncle Albino is dead.
After the death of Pope John Paul I the conclave reconvened at the Sistine Chapel on October 14.
On October 15, 1978 a wisp of white smoke appeared. Cardinal Felici, the Cardinal Deacon, announced from the central balcony of St Peter’s, “Habemus papam!” Cardinal Karl Wojtyla, Archbishop of Krakow, had been elected Pope John Paul II.
It seems likely that Cardinal Wojtyla only emerged after all the Italian candidatures had failed due to a split between liberals and hard line conservatives. For the first time since 1522, the Catholic world had a non-Italian Pope.
Pope Clement VIII (attributed to Antonio Scalvati - public domain)Surprisingly, 1978 isn’t the only year in the history of the Catholic Church were three popes have sat in the Vatican. The latest was in 1605, when the Vatican started off the year with Pope Clement VIII. He was followed by Pope Leo XII who died after 27 days. Pope Paul V succeeded him.
The very first year of three popes on 827 when Eugene II, Valentine and Gregory IV consecutively held the position of Bishop of Rome. Pope Valentine’s papal reign lasted only 41 days.
Bishop John Magee leads a funeral cortege from the Holy Rosary Church, Midleton in 2005 (Photo: Photocall Ireland).Father John Magee — the years after Vatican service
Following his high-profile service as private secretary to three Popes, and at the very heart of the Vatican, John Magee returned to Ireland in 1987 to take up the position of Bishop of Cloyne in Cork. His appointment was seen as prestigious, bringing Vatican experience and papal proximity back to the Irish Church at a time of significant societal and ecclesiastical change.
Pope John Paul even entrusted him to go to the H Blocks and attempt to persuade the Hunger Strikers to abandon their action, something that sadly met with no success.
It was rumoured that this son of dairy farmer from Co. Down might soon expect to become a cardinal.
But despite being trusted and depended on by three successive popes, a Red Hat, the symbol of a cardinal, eluded him.
A reportedly shy man with no overt ambitions, Magee’s legacy in Cloyne would ultimately be defined not by his Vatican credentials, but by his controversial handling of clerical abuse allegations.
In the decades following his appointment, Magee's leadership in the diocese came under increasing scrutiny. Although initially seen as a traditionalist bishop with strong pastoral instincts, his governance faltered in the face of emerging revelations about child sexual abuse by clergy within his diocese. A 2008 report from the National Board for Safeguarding Children revealed serious failures in Magee's response to abuse allegations, stating that he had placed children at risk.
In 2009, amid mounting pressure and public outcry, Magee stepped aside from the day-to-day running of the diocese, ceding control to an apostolic administrator. The Irish government’s Cloyne Report, published in 2011, was damning. It revealed that Magee had misled investigators and failed to implement Church guidelines on safeguarding, even after public commitments to do so. His resignation was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.
Magee also offered to meet abuse victims and apologised "on bended knee". "I beg forgiveness, I am sorry and I wish to say that if they wish to come and see me privately I will speak with them and offer my deepest apology," he said. Bishop Magee said he had been "truly horrified" when he read the full extent of the abuse in the report.
But Magee’s post-Vatican career became emblematic of the wider failures of the Irish Church hierarchy to adequately address and respond to clerical abuse. For many Irish Catholics, the fall from grace of a man so closely tied to the papacy was both shocking and symbolic of a broader institutional crisis within the Church.
See More: Events Of 1978, Papal Succession, Vatican, Wadowice
