‘Il Dio trino’ vs ‘il dio quattrino’

Abstract

A popular anecdote has it that when the bishop of Vittorio Veneto, Mgr Albino Luciani (later Pope John Paul I), was faced by a crisis in the management of ecclesiastical resources, with financial experts putting their expertise to advise the Church in managing and sustaining its pastoral mission, including social work in favour of the needy. In a playing on words, he sarcastically lamented whether they knew the difference between “il Dio trino” and “il dio quattrino” (the Triune God and the god of money).