Pope John Paul II met with 3,000 pilgrims who traveled to his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo for his general audience Aug. 6, the feast of the Transfiguration.

The tapestries of Roman Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero, 3rd from left, and Pope Paul VI, 4th from left, hang from a balcony of the facade of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Oct. 13, 2018.

See photos from LIFE's 1965 cover story about Pope Paul VI's visit to New York City, the first papal visit to the U.S. Sign Up for Our Ideas Newsletter POV Subscribe Subscribe ...

The newly elected Pope John Paul I on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in August 1978. ... The funeral of Pope John Paul I, who succeeded Pope Paul VI in August 1978 but died 33 days later.

THE memory of “good Pope John” is still strong. In the twenty-seven months since succeeding him, Paul VI has as yet been unable to establish the kind of rapport with the world that made of his ...