“Probably half of the 111 Cardinal-electors went into the conclave undecided. Most were fairly convinced that the Pope would have to be an Italian…

“The second consensus, resisted to the end by some members of the Curia, was that the Church, whatever its far-flung political and administrative problems, needed a pastoral Pope. ‘It is one thing to interpret the faith and another to convey it to the people in the parishes,’ said one ranking Curia prelate. ‘That is something that the bishops-whatever their theology-understand better than the Curialists at their little desks.’”

Another Cardinal said, “I think all of us had agreed in our own minds before the conclave that we needed to go back to a humble, pastoral man, although we did not really consult each other about it. And then, when we went in, it became clear to us that this was what we wanted.”

One participant said there was a consensus that the new Pope be “not obvious, and not controversial.”

As the balloting produced no obvious leading candidate, Luciani was a man “not actively disliked by anyone, and actively liked by everyone who really knew him.”

“At noon,” the Time reporters wrote, “the two sets of ballots, skewered on a long needle and strung like a kind of combined ecclesiastical shish kebab and necklace, were thrust into the chapel stove along with black chemical flares to send up a dark ‘no Pope’ signal to the waiting crowds in St. Peter’s Square. But the flue above the stove was broken, and black smoke seeped through the chapel, partially obscuring Michelangelo’s famous frescoes. For a quarter of an hour, the assembled Cardinals coughed, covered their mouths and rubbed their eyes until two windows were opened to clear the air.

“As the Cardinals broke for lunch, walking to the Pontifical Hall in the palace’s Borgia apartments, intense discussions were under way. On the third ballot, at 4:30…Luciani burst to the fore, falling just short of a majority.

“At that point,” Luciani explained later with a grin that would earn him the nickname “the smiling pope,” the situation “began to get dangerous for me.”

“Cardinals Willebrands of the Netherlands and Ribeiro of Portugal, sitting on either side of him, leaned toward him. Whispered one: ‘Courage. If the Lord gives a burden, he also gives the strength to carry it.’ Whispered the other: ‘The whole world prays for the new Pope.’”

On the fourth vote, “no other name but Luciani’s was read out. There were a number of blank ballots… But roughly ninety votes went to Luciani.” Ringing applause echoed in the chapel. “The chapel door was opened and eight conclave aides entered to accompany Jean Cardinal Villot, the church’s ‘Camerlengo,’ or chamberlain, to the flustered Luciani, who was still seated in his place under a fresco of the baptism of Christ. The Camerlengo, his face wreathed in smiles, asked the ritual question, ‘Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?’

“Luciani at first replied, ‘May God forgive you for what you have done in my regard.’ Then he gave his assent, ‘Accepto.’”

Burning ballots and chemically treated straw in a stove sent a puff of white smoke up a chimney, signaling to a throng in St. Peter’s Square that the Church had a new pope. Inside, Luciani announced the name he had chosen for himself as the new pope. He would be “loannes Paulus.” The crowd outside was told the name of their new pope was “John Paul.”

“After the singing of the ‘Te Deum’ of thanksgiving, the pontiff was escorted to the sacristy to don his temporary papal robes. He reappeared in a white cassock with a shoulder-length cape and a high white sash. Grinning happily, he took the throne that had been erected in front of the altar, and joyful Cardinals approached one by one to embrace him and to kiss the papal ring.”

“ Rome did not get its first real look at John Paul until the next day, when 200,000 people filled St. Peter’s Square for the weekly Sunday noon blessing. John Paul spoke for seven minutes…Let us ‘understand each other,’ he told the crowd. ‘I do not have the wisdom of heart of Pope John, nor the preparation and culture of Pope Paul. However, now I am in their place and must try to help the church. I hope you will help me with your prayers.’…

“The new pope, John Paul, gave a glimpse of his personal style with the plans for his Sept. 3 open-air accession ceremonies. At his direction it was not called a ‘coronation’ or ‘enthronement,’ but a ‘solemn Mass to mark the start of his ministry as Supreme Pastor.’ John Paul asked not to be carried on the usual portable throne but to walk in procession. Most significant, he did not wish to be crowned with the triple-decked, bee hive-shaped tiara. Instead, a pallium, the white woolen stole symbolizing his title of Patriarch of the West, would be placed on his shoulders…

“In his inaugural address to the Cardinals, John Paul pledged to carry forward the work of the Second Vatican Council, convened by Pope John XXIII in 1962 and concluded by Paul VI in 1965. He would, he said, put a ‘priority’ on a revision of the canon law codes.” It was immediately recognized that John Paul intended “a new style of papacy, more simple and less formal than many at the Vatican were used to. His first speech to the world, delivered from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, was personal and direct… He asked Catholics to ‘have mercy on the poor new pope who never really expected to rise to this post.’ He joked about having to pick up the Vatican ’s thick yearbook, the Annuario Pontificio, to study how the Roman Curia worked.”

“The new pope made no secret of the fact that he felt a bit intimidated by the church structure he was supposed to be running…In public events he made connections with everyday Catholics by adopting a storytelling manner of preaching and bringing a parish atmosphere to the Vatican. He explained the concept of free will with a metaphor about prudent automobile maintenance. He spoke sympathetically about those who could not bring themselves to believe in God. He jokingly compared marriage to a gilded birdcage. ‘Those on the outside are dying to get in,’ he said, ‘while those on the inside are dying to get out.’”

He shocked many Catholics by saying that God “is a father, but even more, a mother’” in the way He loves humanity. He quoted the Old Testament prophet Isaiah: “Could a mother forget her child? But even if that were to happen, God will never forget his people.”

Some church commentators viewed his “pontificate as a time of grace and joy,” calling him “the smiling pope.” “Other analysts characterized Pope John Paul as out of his depth, and as a man who was overwhelmed by the burdens of his new position.” Vatican veterans and traditionalists worried that John Paul was too liberal and feared that he intended to revolutionize Church doctrines, including revising laws on contraception.

Cardinal Ratzinger saw “great goodness, simplicity, humanity and courage.”

In an article by Ruth Bertels, she writes that on the evening of September 28, 1978, when John Paul “sat down for dinner in the third-floor dining room of the Apostolic Palace, his two secretaries, Father Diego Lorenzi, who had worked closely with him in Venice for more than two years, and Father John Magee, newly appointed since the papal election, were present. Nuns had prepared a simple supper of clear soup, veal, fresh beans, and a salad.” The three men ate while watching the news on television.” The Pope appeared in good spirits and good health.

“On the floor below, lights were still on at the Vatican Bank, where its head, Bishop Paul Marcinkus, [had recently received a report about the Pope’s] investigation of the Vatican Bank and the bishop’s methods of running it, including its recent takeover of the Banca Cattolica.” Its shares were held by various dioceses, but the majority rested with the Vatican Bank.