Angelo Gugel, a Vatican official who supported John Paul II immediately after the 1981 assassination attempt, has died at age 88.
Death of Angelo Gugel
Angelo Gugel, who worked in the Vatican for about 50 years, has died. Born in April 1935, he was considered “faithful and restrained” according to the ANSA agency.
Vatican Career
Gugel began his career in the Vatican Gendarmerie during the pontificate of Pius XII. He later became a close collaborator of John Paul I, then John Paul II, and for a few months also Benedict XVI. He worked directly for the popes themselves for a total of 28 years.
Recalling John Paul II
“I was stunned when on the morning of October 22, 1978, before going to St. Peter’s Square for the solemn inauguration of the pontificate, the Holy Father called me to his office and read me the homily he was about to deliver,” Gugel recalled in 2018. “He asked me to point out pronunciation errors and with a pencil marked where the accents should fall.”
Assassination Attempt Support
Gugel supported John Paul II when the pope was shot by Ali Agca on St. Peter’s Square on May 13, 1981. “I looked at the secretary, Father Stanisław Dziwisz, and blurted out: ‘Let’s hope'” Gugel told the ‘Corriere della Sera’ newspaper.
Final Meeting
He saw Karol Wojtyła for the last time on April 2, 2005, the day of the pope’s death.
