Pope John Paul I was elected on August 26, 1978 and reigned until September 28 of the same year–a papacy lasting only 33 days.
The artifact featured here is a ticket to a general audience of Pope John Paul I, issued for September 13th of 1978, the 2nd of only 4 general audiences the Pope had before his death. This was the second Wednesday of that month (September 6, 13, 20 & 27)–and his death was on Thursday, September 28. Father Kunst has never seen one of these tickets, and, for certain, none during the short papacy of the man considered to be, “The Sun Ray of God’s Love.”
It is a unique and treasured item from one of the Curator’s favorite Popes.