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The popes · No. 262 of 267

St Paul VI

The pope who finished the council, flew to every continent, and was misunderstood almost everywhere.

Pope 1963 to 78

Read the story 1 min read
A colour portrait of Pope St Paul VI in 1969, in red mozzetta and embroidered stole.

Fotografia Felici, 1969. Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

Home / The popes / St Paul VI

Rome, 21 June 1963

Giovanni Battista Montini is elected pope in the middle of the council his predecessor began.1

He takes the name Paul, after the apostle who travelled the world.1

He did travel the world. He also took on the hardest job of the century: holding the Church together through change.

01St Paul VI

The pilgrim pope

Paul VI brought the Second Vatican Council to its close in 1965.1

He was the first pope of modern times to travel abroad, visiting the Holy Land and every continent.1

02St Paul VI

A saint of the hard road

He died on 6 August 1978, the feast of the Transfiguration.1

Pope Francis canonized him on 14 October 2018.2

His optional memorial was inscribed in the Roman Calendar on 29 May.3

He wrote things the world did not want to hear and kept writing them. History has been kinder to him than his own decade was.

His successor would be pope for thirty-three days.

Notes

  1. Biography of Pope St Paul VI. Holy See, official English text. vatican.va
  2. Pope Francis, Homily for the canonization of Paul VI and others, 14 October 2018. Holy See, official English text. vatican.va
  3. Dicastery for Divine Worship, Decree on the inscription of St Paul VI in the General Roman Calendar, 25 January 2019. Holy See, official English text. vatican.va

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) is in the public domain; we quote the New Advent edition. Texts of the Holy See are quoted briefly from vatican.va. Scripture: Douay-Rheims, Challoner revision (public domain). Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, credited under each image; full list on the photo credits page.

Lines in the narrator’s voice, without a note, are our reflection, not a historical claim. Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words; our wording is not an official Church text. Report an error.