Pope
John Paul I, who led the Roman Catholic Church for 33 days in 1978, has
been beatified at the Vatican - the last step before sainthood.
Thousands gathered in St Peter's square for the ceremony led by Pope Francis.
Last
year, Pope Francis credited the late Pope with the miracle cure of an
Argentine girl. A second miracle is needed for the move to sainthood.
Described as the "smiling Pope", John Paul I was the shortest-serving pope since 1605.
John Paul I was born Albino Luciani, the son of a bricklayer in the Dolomite mountains in Italy.
During
his brief tenure, he defended the Roman Catholic Church's opposition to
abortion and contraception but he also sought to reform institutions
and root out corruption.
Pope Francis described the him as someone who "lived without compromise".
John Paul I died of a heart attack on 28 September 1978.
His death caused much controversy - and conspiracy theories - due to two slightly differing accounts.
The Vatican said he was found dead by two nuns.
Initially,
however, it had said a priest had found him - uneasy with the fact that
women had entered the Pope's private quarters.
For an individual to be beatified, a miracle needs to be attributed to prayers made to them after their death.
The
miracle attributed to the now beatified Pope was the healing of an
11-year-old girl after her parents had prayed to Pope John Paul I.
In the last 1,000 years, just eight popes have been made saints.
