Episode 107

The 33-Day Pope

The corpse of John Paul I was discovered by a nun in the early hours of 29th September, 1978. His body was embalmed within 24 hours, heightening suspicions that the cause of death may have been unnatural.&nbsp;He had been Pope for just 33 days. An unconventional Pope - who had refused to wear the papal tiara, use the Royal 'we’, or sit on a ceremonial throne - he seemed to have had a weird premonition that he wouldn't be in office for long, famously responding to his elevation to Popehood by telling the Cardinals, ‘May God forgive you for what you have done’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review the conspiracies surrounding the Pope’s apparently untimely death; reveal the role of the unfortunately-named Cardinal Sin; and look back on some of his surprising comic journalism... Further Reading:• ‘Pope John Paul I is dead’ (CBS News, 1978): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-aC86_fZo4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-aC86_fZo4</a>• ‘The Mysterious Death Of Pope John Paul I’ (All Thats Interesting, 2018): <a href="https://allthatsinteresting.com/pope-john-paul-i" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://allthatsinteresting.com/pope-john-paul-i</a>• ‘On This Day, 1978: Catholics mourn Pope's death’ (BBC, 2005): <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/29/newsid_2542000/2542375.stm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/29/newsid_2542000/2542375.stm</a> For bonus material and to support the show, visit<a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/Patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Patreon.com/Retrospectors</a>We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:<a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">podfollow.com/Retrospectors</a> The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #70s #Religion #Strange <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Today In History with The Retrospectors

September 29, 202111m 59s

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Show Notes

The corpse of John Paul I was discovered by a nun in the early hours of 29th September, 1978. His body was embalmed within 24 hours, heightening suspicions that the cause of death may have been unnatural. He had been Pope for just 33 days.

An unconventional Pope - who had refused to wear the papal tiara, use the Royal 'we’, or sit on a ceremonial throne - he seemed to have had a weird premonition that he wouldn't be in office for long, famously responding to his elevation to Popehood by telling the Cardinals, ‘May God forgive you for what you have done’.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review the conspiracies surrounding the Pope’s apparently untimely death; reveal the role of the unfortunately-named Cardinal Sin; and look back on some of his surprising comic journalism...