When two Popes were buried weeks apart after John Paul I died following just 33 days as pontiff - prompting claims he was MURDERED
It was the year of three popes, the first time in nearly four centuries there had been such rapid papal turnover.
The drama began with the death of Pope Paul VI on August 6, 1978, at the respectable age of 80.
Then, less than two months later, on September 28, his successor John Paul I - the 'Smiling Pope' - passed away aged just 65 after just 33 days as Pontiff.
His sudden death and the actions of officials immediately afterwards prompted some to claim - albeit without any conclusive evidence - that he was murdered.
And traumatised Catholics and churchmen had to attend two papal funerals just 53 days apart outside St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican in Rome.
Today, Pope Francis's is taking place in the same spot, with US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer among the world leaders in attendance.
The send-off of Francis, who died aged 88 on Easter Monday, will be bigger in every way than those of Paul VI or John Paul I.
Half a million mourners are descending on Rome and officials are putting in a ring of steel around the Vatican to protect the world's most important people.
The body of Pope Paul VI lies in state at Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence of the Pontiff, on August 7, 1978
The funeral of Pope Paul VI on August 12, 1978. More than one billion people tuned in to watch on TV
Paul VI died after 15 years in the Vatican, having been chosen to succeed John XXIII in 1963.
He had been suffering from arthritis that made it difficult to walk and forced him to stay in bed much of the time.
The pontiff suffered a huge heart attack on the evening of August 6, while staying at the papal summer residence, the Palace of Castel Gandolfo.
More than one billion people tuned in to watch his funeral on August 12. It was attended in person by more than 75,000 people, including global leaders.
Queen Elizabeth II sent the Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, as her representative.
According to Paul's wishes, his coffin was a simple wooden one. In his will, Paul had said he wanted a 'pious and simple funeral'.
He wrote: 'No monument for me. I do not want any special tomb.'
He was laid to rest in line with tradition beneath St Peter's Basilica.
Pope Paul VI died on August 6, 1978. His successor John Paul I (right) reigned for just 33 days before his unexpected death
Cardinals, bishops, and the faithful attending the funeral of Pope John Paul I, October 4, 1978
Paul had been the first reigning pontiff to travel by air, the first to visit all continents, the first to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the first to give an audience to Communist leaders.
He also survived a knife attack while visiting the Philippines in 1970.
That same year, he became the first pontiff to refer to an 'ecological catastrophe' in a 1970 speech to a U.N. food agency.
Albino Luciano, the son of a bricklayer who was then serving as the patriarch of Venice, emerged as Paul's unlikely successor on August 26 after only four rounds of voting in the conclave.
It was the first conclave to take place since a rule change a decade earlier that excluded cardinals who were over 80 from voting.
Opting to take the papal name of John Paul I, the new pontiff quickly became known as the 'Smiling Pope' thanks to his cheerful demeanour.
But John Paul would give just three Papal audiences during his short reign and appear only five times on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica to bless his people.
Then, on September 28, tragedy struck.
Pope John Paul I lying in state in the Vatican ahead of his funeral, October 1978
John Paul I lies in state ahead of his funeral, October 1978
The funeral of Pope John Paul I, formerly Albino Luciani, October 4, 1978
The faithful massed at the funeral of John Paul I, October 1978
The Daily Mail's front page on September 30, 1978, after the death of John Paul I
The report on the funeral of Pope John Paul I, from the October 5, 1978 edition of the Daily Mail
It was claimed at the time that John Paul I was found early in the morning by his secretary Father John Magee lying on his bed with a copy of 15th century work The Imitation of Christ in his hands.
Those claims turned out to be false. Instead, John Paul was discovered by two nuns. and was clutching a sheaf of papers.
In his 1984 bestselling book In God's Name, author David Yallop outlined his theory that the Pope was murdered.
Several factors aroused suspicions. The Pope's cause of death was put down to a heart attack after a cursory external examination.
No post-mortem took place despite the fact that they were performed for two previous popes - Pius VIII and Clement XIV.
In addition, Secretary of State Cardinal Jean Villot had taken the bottle of pills the Pope took for low blood pressure, along with his spectacles, slippers and papers from his study desk.
None were seen again.
Villot also ordered that the Pope's apartment be cleared of all his possessions. By 6pm on the day of his death, there was no trace of him.
Pope Paul VI lies in state ahead of his funeral, August 1978
The funeral of Pope Paul VI takes place in St Peter's Square at the Vatican
The casket of Pope Paul VI being carried in front of the Swiss Guard
The coffin of pope Paul VI is carried into Saint Peter's Basilica, August 12, 1978
The Daily Mail's front page on August 7, 1978, after the death of Pope Paul VI
And it was claimed that John Paul I had a history of heart trouble, despite evidence to the contrary.
Alleged motives for killing John Paul largely centred around supposed financial corruption in the Vatican Bank.
However, no conclusive proof of foul play surrounding John Paul's death has ever been found.
John Paul's funeral took place in the pouring rain on October 4, watched by more than 90,000 people and millions more on television.
There were no kings and queens and very few heads of government. The Duke of Norfolk was again sent in the place of Queen Elizabeth.
Cardinal Confalonieri, the Dean of the Sacred College, said in his sermon: 'Nobody would have believed we would find ourselves here again so soon.
'We ask why so soon? The ways of God are unfathomably inscrutable.
'We hardly had time to know him. He was like a meteor leaving us breathless.
'We salute him, this Pope of kindness - the Pope Who Smiles... even in death he wore that marvellous smile.'
Poland's Karol Józef Wojtyła would go on to be chosen as the third pope of 1978.
It was an inspired choice, for the man who chose the papal name of John Paul II proved hugely influential and was much loved during nearly 27 years in the Vatican.
