Changing of the Guards

I am a witness to three "changing of the guards" in the Papacy. Two of them happened in short successions that there were three Popes in 1978. Paul VI died that year, succeeded by John Paul I, who succumbed to a heart attack a little more than a month later, and was succeeded by John Paul II. Studying in a Catholic school, we were made aware of the whole process. We were given lectures and educational comic books on how someone ascends to become the Supreme Pontiff.

First-
When Pope Paul I (Albino Luciani), was elected, he initially refused to sit on the Sedia Gestatoria (portable Papal Throne) until he was convinced that the faithful were offered a better view of him if he were on it. He was also the first to refuse the pomp and ceremony of the millennium-old traditional crowning ceremony. He was the reluctant Pope, who disliked pomp and emphasized humility. He was a reformist who gave an indication that there would be a few changes in the Catholic Church, one of them being the Church's position on contraception. Alas, 33 days later he died of heart failure. The one that he predicted would succeed him, did. He called him "the foreigner". His name was John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla), the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years.

Second-
Right after he was named Pope, our Religion teacher inundated us with literature on Pope John Paul II. The church's PR machine wasted no time in letting the faithful know who their vicar was. We studied his life from his childhood in Poland to his ascent to the supreme position in the Catholic Church. I think it was also done to prepare the Filipino nation for the scheduled Papal visit in 1980. One of his first stops was a big park called Quezon City Circle, a couple of miles from where I lived. My family made our way there to hear the papal address. I remember being perched on my Dad's shoulder waving to the Pope on stage, several feet away. I liked to imagine then that when he waved right back, it was to me, and not to the sea of people that were all around me. I no longer go to the Catholic Church for my spiritual feeding and I may have some views that are quite different from the Pope's, but I still have a a fondness and respect for him.

Third-
As many mourn, they also wait in bated breath for that white smoke to come out of that chimney. It signifies the election of a new pope. Whoever it turns out to be will have his work cut out for him. Karol Wojtyla seems like a tough act to follow.