1963 papal conclave: Difference between revisions

{{Use dmy dates|date=OctoberNovember 20122019}}

| dean = [[Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant]]

| pope_elected= [[Pope Paul VI|Giovanni Battista Montini]]

| image = PaoloviPope Paul VI portrait.jpg

| prevconclave_link=Papal1958 conclave,papal 1958conclave

| nextconclave_link=Papal conclave, August 1978 papal conclave

TheA '''[[papal conclave]] ofwas held from 19 to 21 June 1963''' wasto convokedelect followinga the deathsuccessor of [[Pope John XXIII]], who had died on 3 June that year in the [[Apostolic Palace]]1963. After theThe [[Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 1963|cardinal electors]] assembled in Rome, the conclave to elect John's successor began on 19 June and ended two days later, on 21 June, after six ballots., Theelected [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinals]] elected [[Pope Paul VI|Giovanni Battista Montini]], [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan|Archbishop of Milan]]. He accepted the election and took the name ''Paul VI''. [[Paul VI's coronation]] on 30 June was the last [[papal coronation]] to date.

John XXIII's death left the future of the [[Second Vatican Council]] in the balance, as the election of an anti-Council pope could have severely curbed the Council's role. The leading ''[[papabile]]'' candidates were [[PopeGiovanni Paul VI|GiovanniBattista Montini]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan|Milan]], who washad not been a Cardinalcardinal at the time of the previous conclave, and was supportive of reforms proposed at the Council;<ref name=nytcls>{{cite news|last1=Sulzberger|first1=C.L.|title=The News Pope - Two Types of 'Liberal'|url=httphttps://querytimesmachine.nytimes.com/memtimesmachine/archive1963/06/19/89537628.pdf?res=9407E1D8153CEF3BBC4152DFB0668388679EDE|accessdateaccess-date=7 November 2017|work=The New York Times|date=19 June 1963}}</ref> [[Giacomo Lercaro]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bologna|Bologna]], who was considered a liberal, close to John XXIII;<ref name=nytcls/> and [[Giuseppe Siri]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Genoa|Genoa]], ''[[papabile]]'' in 1958 and critical of these reforms.{{cncitation needed|date=November 2017}} Cardinal [[Gregorio Pietro Agagianian]], the former [[List of Armenian Catholic Patriarchs of Cilicia|Armenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia]] was also thought to be ''papabile''.<ref atname=ArmenianCatholic>{{cite theweb|url=http://www.armeniancatholic.org/inside.php?lang=en&page_id=23115|work=Armenian conclaveCatholic Church|title=Biography of Gregory Petros XV Agagianian|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725014407/http://www.armeniancatholic.org/inside.php?lang=en&page_id=23115|archive-date=25 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cncite news|url-status = live | title=Move to Block Soviet Pope Revealed|url=http://buffalonews.com/1993/12/21/move-to-block-soviet-pope-revealed/|work=[[The Buffalo News]]|date=November21 December 1993| access-date= 16 December 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170531193313/http://buffalonews.com/1993/12/21/move-to-block-soviet-pope-revealed/|archive-date=31 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Bensi|first=Giovanni|title=Le due chance perdute del papa armeno|journal=East Journal|date=20 March 2013| access-date= 16 December 2017 | url=http://www.eastjournal.net/archives/29599|language=it}}; also published in Russian: {{cite news|last=Bensi|first=Giovanni|title=Операция "Конклав" (Operation "Conclave")|url=http://www.ng.ru/ng_religii/2013-03-20/4_konklav.html|work=[[Nezavisimaya Gazeta]]|date=20 March 2013|language=ru}}</ref> Reportedly, John XXIII had sent oblique signals indicating that he thought Montini would make a fine pope.<ref name ="Weigel">{{cite news| journal= Madison Catholic Herald |url=http://www.madisoncatholicherald.org/2005-04-21/columns.html |last=Weigel| first=George| title=Conclaves: Surprises abound in the Sistine Chapel|date=21 April 2005|accessdateaccess-date=13 February 2014}}</ref>

The 1963 [[papal conclave]], which met from 19 to 21 June, at the [[Sistine Chapel]] in Vatican City, was the largest ever assembled. There were 82 cardinal electors eligible to participate. The only two who did not were Cardinal [[József Mindszenty]], who refused to leave the [[American diplomatic missions|U.S. Legation]] in [[Budapest]] where he had lived since 1956 unless the Hungarian government met his demands for religious freedom in Hungary,<ref name=nyt50>{{cite news|last1=Cortesi |first1=Arnaldo|title=50 Cardinals Join in Rome Meetings|url=httphttps://querytimesmachine.nytimes.com/memtimesmachine/archive1963/06/09/94876266.pdf?res=9A03E5D91131E23ABC4153DFB0668388679EDE |accessdateaccess-date=7 November 2017|work=The New York Times|date=9 June 1963}}</ref> and Cardinal [[Carlos María de la Torre]] of Quito, Ecuador, who was 89 years old and could not make the journey because he had suffered a stroke the previous December and was bedridden with thrombosis.<ref name=nyt50/><ref>{{cite news|title=Ecuadorean Cardinal Ill|url=httphttps://querytimesmachine.nytimes.com/memtimesmachine/archive1963/06/14/81814367.pdf?res=9B03E4DB1731E73BBC4C52DFB0668388679EDE|accessdateaccess-date=7 November 2017|work=The New York Times|agency=Associated Press|date=14 June 1963}}</ref> Of the [[Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 1963|eighty cardinals who did participate]], eight had been elevated by [[Pope Pius XI]], twenty-seven by Pius XII, and the remainderother 45 by John XXIII. Each cardinal elector was allowed one aide. They came from 29 countries, compared to 51 from 21 countries in the conclave of 1958 and 59 from 16 countries in 1939. The Italians were 29 ofoutnumbered 51 to 29.<ref name=nyt19630619>{{cite news|last1=Cortesi|first1=Arnaldo|title=80 Cardinals Prepare to Enter Conclave Today to Choose Pope|url=httphttps://querytimesmachine.nytimes.com/memtimesmachine/archive1963/06/19/89537245.pdf?res=9901E5D8153CEF3BBC4152DFB0668388679EDE|accessdateaccess-date=7 November 2017|work=The New York Times|date=19 June 1963}}</ref>

Under the latest rules, election required the votes of two -thirds of those voting, in this case 54.<ref name=nyt19630619/> No ballots were taken on the first day, then two each morning and two each afternoon.<ref name=nyt19630620>{{cite news|last1=Cortesi|first1=Arnaldo|title=80 Cardinals Go to Conclave Area to Elect a Pope|url=httphttps://querytimesmachine.nytimes.com/memtimesmachine/archive1963/06/20/80449277.pdf?res=9B02E5D6123DE63BBC4851DFB0668388679EDE| accessdateaccess-date=8 November 2017|work=The New York Times|date=20 June 1963}}</ref> Because there had been confusion at the last conclave in 1958 over the color of the smoke used to indicate whether a pope had been elected, the smoke would be supplemented with electric lights.<ref name=nyt19630620/>

Some reform-minded cardinals initially voted for [[Leo Joseph Suenens]] of [[Archbishopric of Mechelen-BrusselBrussels|Mechelen-Brussels]] and [[Franz König]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna|Vienna]] to make the point that the pope does not have to be Italian.<ref name=nytelected/> Other reports said that conservative cardinals attempted to block Montini's election in the early balloting. Due to the apparent deadlock, Cardinal Montini proposed to withdraw himself from being considered but was silenced by [[Giovanni Urbani]] the Patriarch of Venice.<ref>Pham, John-Peter. "Heirs of the Fisherman: Behind the Scenes of Papal Death and Succession". Oxford University Press, 2007, pp. 123–4</ref> Another cardinal, [[Gustavo Testa]], an old friend of John XXIII, lost his temper in the Chapel and demanded that the intransigents stop impeding Montini’sMontini's path.<ref name = "Weigel"/>

By the fourth ballot on 20 June, according to [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' Magazine]], Montini needed only four additional votes to obtain the required number of votes.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} He was elected on the fifth ballot on the morning of 21 June.<ref name=nytelected>{{cite news|last1=Cortesi|first1=Arnaldo|title=Cardinal Montini Elected Pope; Liberal, 65, Will Reign as Paul VI; Likely to Continue John's Work|url=httphttps://querytimesmachine.nytimes.com/memtimesmachine/archive1963/06/22/82069002.pdf?res=9E05E7D61039E43BBC4A51DFB0668388679EDE|accessdateaccess-date=8 November 2017|work=The New York Times|date=22 June 1963}}</ref> When asked by [[Eugène Tisserant]] if he accepted his election, Montini replied, ''Accepto, in nomine Domini'' ("I accept, in the name of the Lord") and chose to be known as [[Pope Paul VI]].

Pope Paul VI shortly afterwards appeared on the balcony to give his first blessing. On this occasion, Paul VI chose not to give the traditional ''[[Urbi et Orbi]]'' blessing but instead imparted the shorter [[episcopal blessing]] as his first [[Apostolic Blessing]].

[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholicism]]