| Papal conclave June 1963 | |
|---|---|
| Dates and location | |
| 19–21 June 1963 Sistine Chapel,Apostolic Palace, Vatican City | |
| Key officials | |
| Dean | Eugène Tisserant |
| Sub-dean | Clemente Micara |
| Camerlengo | Benedetto Aloisi Masella |
| Protopriest | Manuel Cerejeira |
| Protodeacon | Alfredo Ottaviani |
| Secretary | Francesco Carpino |
| Election | |
| Electors | 80 (list) |
| Candidates | Seepapabili |
| Ballots | 6 |
| Elected pope | |
| Giovanni Montini Name taken:Paul VI | |
 | |
← 1958 | |
Aconclave was held from 19 to 21 June 1963 to elect a newpope to succeedJohn XXIII, who had died on 3 June 1963. Of the 82 eligiblecardinal electors, all but two attended. On the sixth ballot, the conclave elected CardinalGiovanni Battista Montini, thearchbishop of Milan. After accepting his election, hetook the namePaul VI.His coronation on 30 June 1963 was the latestpapal coronation to date.
John XXIII's death left the future of theSecond Vatican Council in the balance, since the election of an anti-Council pope could have severely curbed the Council's role. The leadingpapabile candidates wereGiovanni Montini ofMilan, who had not been a cardinal at the previous conclave and was supportive of the reforms proposed at the Council;[1]Giacomo Lercaro ofBologna, who was considered a liberal, close to John XXIII;[1] andGiuseppe Siri ofGenoa,papabile in 1958 and critical of these reforms.[citation needed]Gregorio Pietro Agagianian, the formerArmenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia was also thought to bepapabile.[2][3][4] Reportedly, John XXIII had sent oblique signals indicating that he thought Montini would make a fine pope.[5]
The 1963 papal conclave, which met from 19 to 21 June, at theSistine Chapel in Vatican City, was the largest yet assembled. There were 82 cardinal electors eligible to participate. The only two who did not were CardinalJózsef Mindszenty, who refused to leave theU.S. Legation inBudapest where he had lived since 1956 unless the Hungarian government met his demands for religious freedom in Hungary,[6] and CardinalCarlos 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.[6][7] Of theeighty cardinals who did participate, eight had been elevated byPope Pius XI, twenty-seven by Pius XII, and the other 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 outnumbered 51 to 29.[8]
Under the latest rules, election required the votes of two-thirds of those voting, in this case 54.[8] No ballots were taken on the first day, then two each morning and two each afternoon.[9] 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.[9]
The results of the first four ballots were signaled with black smoke on 20 June at 11:54 am and 5:47 pm. Each time, the smoke appeared white at first.[10]
Some reform-minded cardinals initially voted forLeo Joseph Suenens ofMechelen-Brussels andFranz König ofVienna to make the point that the pope does not have to be Italian.[11] 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 byGiovanni Urbani the Patriarch of Venice.[12] Another cardinal,Gustavo Testa, an old friend of John XXIII, lost his temper in the Chapel and demanded that the intransigents stop impeding Montini's path.[5]
By the fourth ballot on 20 June, according toTime magazine, Montini needed only four more votes to obtain the required number of votes.[citation needed] He was elected on the fifth ballot on the morning of 21 June.[11] When asked byEugène Tisserant whether he accepted his election, Montini replied, "Accepto, in nomine Domini" ("I accept, in the name of the Lord") and chose the namePaul VI.
At 11:22 am, white smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signifying the election of a new pope.Alfredo Ottaviani, in his capacity as thesenior cardinal deacon,announced Montini's election inLatin. Before Ottaviani had even finished saying Montini's name, the crowd beneath the balcony ofSt. Peter's Basilica erupted into applause.
Pope Paul VI appeared on the balcony shortly afterwards to give his first blessing. On this occasion, Paul VI chose not to give the traditionalUrbi et Orbi blessing but instead imparted the shorterepiscopal blessing as his firstapostolic blessing.
| Region | Number |
|---|---|
| Italy | 29 |
| Rest of Europe | 26 |
| North America | 7 |
| South America | 11 |
| Asia | 5 |
| Oceania | 1 |
| Africa | 1 |
| Total | 80 |
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Resources from Wikiversity
Data from Wikidata
