Illustrissimi

The imaginary letters of John Paul I, the rediscovered library

and the return to Venice

JOHN PAUL I VATICAN FOUNDATION

in collaboration with the

MINISTRY OF CULTURE

Superintendence for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the
Municipality of Venezia e Laguna

Friday 17 May 2024 - 17.00

at

Palazzo Ducale - Sala del Piovego

Venice

Vatican City, 7 May 2024 – In the lagoon city, where he was Patriarch from 1970 to 1978 before ascending to the Throne of Peter on 26 August 1978, the Superintendence exceptionally opens the doors of the historic seat of the Serenissima for the return of the blessed Pope Luciani to Venice, on the occasion of the presentation of the critical edition of the collection of forty imaginary letters, Illustrissimi, printed when he was Patriarch in 1976 and then as Pontiff with his revision and imprimatur. Letters addressed to real authors, historical figures and fictitious ones on topical issues in an interactive mixture of erudition and clarity, sacred and profane, which for the first time come out with their genesis in a critical edition (Albino Luciani - John Paul I, Illustrissimi. Lettere immaginarie, critical edition edited by Stefania Falasca, Preface by Card. José Tolentino de Mendonça, Messaggero Padua editions). A literary phenomenon, a work to be counted among the classics for Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Holy See's Dicastery for Culture and Education, who signed the preface.

The work will be presented in the Sala del Piovego in the Palazzo Ducale by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, President of the Vatican John Paul II Foundation, Patriarch Francesco Moraglia of Venice, and the Superintendent for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Municipality of Venezia e Laguna, Fabrizio Magani. The lectio magistralis will be delivered by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education.

The speeches will be moderated by Roberto Papetti, director of the daily newspaper ‘Il Gazzettino’, on whose pages some of the imaginary letters of the then Patriarch Luciani appeared in an early form.

The edition is the result of research work on the sources conducted by Stefania Falasca, Vice President of the Vatican John Paul I Foundation and postulator of the Cause for Canonization, for the purposes of her doctoral thesis in Italian studies at the University of Rome Tor Vergata.

During the course of the event, excerpts from some of the illustrious letters addressed to Charles Dickens and Mark Twain, the Roman Giuseppe Gioachino Belli and the Venetian Carlo Goldoni will be read by Luisa Andreazza and Federico Pinaffo. At the opening and closing, musical pieces from the repertoire of Pachelbel, Beethoven and Vivaldi will be performed by harpist Gemma Gresele, maestro Cecilia Francesca Romana Valente from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Milan and soprano Francesca Polenta from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory of Rome. The musical repertoire will continue during refreshments on the Foscara Loggia.

The presentation will take place in the Sala del Piovego in the Palazzo Ducale. It will begin at 17.00 and end at 18.45.

In the afternoon, at 15.30, Patriarch Francesco Moraglia of Venice, on the occasion of the presentation of Illustrissimi – emblem of the vast cultural formation of Albino Luciani and the close link between the letters of his private Archive and the volumes of his personal library – will dedicate to John Paul I the room housing the volumes rediscovered in John Paul I’s book collection in the Diocesan Library of the Patriarchate of Venice. In 2021 the Vatican John Paul I Foundation undertook an ad hoc project for the recomposition, protection and enhancement of the personal book collection of Albino Luciani.

With the return of his papers to the Holy See at the Foundation in 2020, the books will remain at the Patriarchate so that a living and accessible memory of John Paul I will remain in Venice.

Accreditation procedure

Journalists and media workers who wish to participate must apply via the Holy See Press Office online accreditation system at press.vatican.va/accreditamenti.

For further information: Scientific Secretariat and contacts, Dr. Flavia Tudini - Via della Conciliazione, 5 - 00120 Vatican City - tel +39 06 698 85925