Habemus Papam
Encyclopedia
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
by the senior Cardinal Deacon
Protodeacon
Protodeacon derives from the Greek proto- meaning 'first' and diakonos, which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "servant", "waiting-man," "minister" or "messenger." The word in English may refer to various clergymen, depending upon the usage of the particular church in question.-Eastern...
(the Cardinal Proto-Deacon) upon the election
Papal conclave
A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...
of a new pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
.
The announcement is given from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
in the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
. After the announcement, the new pope is presented to the people and he gives his first Urbi et Orbi
Urbi et Orbi
Urbi et Orbi denotes a papal address and Apostolic Blessing that is given to the City of Rome and to the entire world, on certain occasions. It was a standard opening of Ancient Roman proclamations....
blessing.
Format
The format for the announcement when a cardinal is elected Pope is:
Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum:
Habemus Papam!
Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum Dominum,
Dominum [First Name],
Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ Cardinalem [Last Name],
Qui sibi nomen imposuit [Papal Name].
In English, it reads:
I announce to you a great joy:
We have a Pope!
The most eminent and most reverend Lord,
Lord [First Name],
Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church [Last Name],
Who takes for himself the name of [Papal Name].
In the most recent Habemus Papam announcement, given by Cardinal Jorge Medina Estévez
Jorge Medina Estévez
Jorge Arturo Agustín Medina Estévez is a Chilean Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Cardinal Protodeacon until February 23, 2007, and is Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.-Early life and ordination:Medina was born in Santiago in...
on 19 April 2005 upon the election
Papal conclave, 2005
The Papal conclave of 2005 was convened as a result of the death of Pope John Paul II on 2 April 2005. After his death, the cardinals who were in Rome met and set a date for the beginning of the conclave to elect John Paul's successor. The conclave began on 18 April 2005 and ended on the following...
of Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
, the announcement was preceded by a greeting in several languages:
Announcing the names of the new Pontiff
In announcing the name of the newly-elected pontiff, the new pontiff's birth forename or first name is announced in Latin in the accusative case (e.g., Angelum Iosephum, Ioannem Baptistam, Albinum, Carolum, Iosephum), but the new pontiff's surname or family name is given in the original form (e.g., Roncalli, Montini, Luciani, Wojtyła, Ratzinger). The new pope's regnal nameRegnal name
A regnal name, or reign name, is a formal name used by some monarchs and popes during their reigns. Since medieval times, monarchs have frequently chosen to use a name different from their own personal name when they inherit a throne....
is usually given in the genitive case in Latin (e.g., Ioannis vicesimi tertii, Ioannis Pauli primi etc.), although it can also be declined in the accusative case in Latin (as was the case in 1963 when Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
's regnal name was announced as Paulum sextum).
Protodeacons who gave announcement
This is a partial list of protodeacons (senior cardinal deacons) who have been known to have given the Habemus Papam announcement.- Francesco Sforza di Santa Fiora, announced the elections of Pope Leo XIPope Leo XIPope Leo XI , born Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici, was Pope from 1 April 1605 to 27 April of the same year.-Biography:...
and Pope Paul VPope Paul V-Theology:Paul met with Galileo Galilei in 1616 after Cardinal Bellarmine had, on his orders, warned Galileo not to hold or defend the heliocentric ideas of Copernicus. Whether there was also an order not to teach those ideas in any way has been a matter for controversy...
in 1605 - Andrea Baroni Peretti Montalto, announced the election of Pope Gregory XVPope Gregory XVPope Gregory XV , born Alessandro Ludovisi, was pope from 1621, succeeding Paul V on 9 February 1621...
(1621) - Alessandro d'Este, announced the election of Pope Urban VIIIPope Urban VIIIPope Urban VIII , born Maffeo Barberini, was pope from 1623 to 1644. He was the last pope to expand the papal territory by force of arms, and was a prominent patron of the arts and reformer of Church missions...
(1623) - Giangiacomo Teodoro Trivulzio, announced the election of Pope Alexander VIIPope Alexander VIIPope Alexander VII , born Fabio Chigi, was Pope from 7 April 1655, until his death.- Early life :Born in Siena, a member of the illustrious banking family of Chigi and a great-nephew of Pope Paul V , he was privately tutored and eventually received doctorates of philosophy, law, and theology from...
(1655) - Rinaldo d'Este, announced the election of Pope Clement IXPope Clement IXPope Clement IX , born Giulio Rospigliosi, was Pope from 1667 to 1669.-Early life:Born Giulio Rospigliosi to a noble family of Pistoia, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, he was a pupil of the Jesuits. After receiving his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Pisa, he taught theology there...
(1667) - Francesco MaidalchiniFrancesco MaidalchiniFrancesco Maidalchini was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.-Early life:Maidalchini was born 12 April 1631 in Viterbo, the son of Andrea Maidalchini and Pacifica Feliziani...
, announced the elections of Pope Clement XPope Clement XPope Clement X , born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was Pope from 29 April 1670 to 22 July 1676.-Early life:Emilio Altieri was born in Rome, the son of Lorenzo Altieri and Victoria Delphini, a Venetian lady...
(1670), Pope Innocent XIPope Innocent XIBlessed Pope Innocent XI , born Benedetto Odescalchi, was Pope from 1676 to 1689.-Early life:Benedetto Odescalchi was born at Como in 1611 , the son of a Como nobleman, Livio Odescalchi, and Paola Castelli Giovanelli from Gandino...
(1676) and Pope Alexander VIIIPope Alexander VIIIPope Alexander VIII , born Pietro Vito Ottoboni, was Pope from 1689 to 1691.-Early life:Pietro Ottoboni was born of a noble Venetian family, and was the son of Marco Ottoboni, chancellor of the Republic of Venice...
(1689) - Urbano Saccetti, announced the election of Pope Innocent XIIPope Innocent XIIPope Innocent XII , born Antonio Pignatelli, was Pope from 1691 to 1700.-Biography:He was born in Spinazzola to one of the most aristocratic families of the Kingdom of Naples, which included many Viceroys, and ministers to the crown, and was educated at the Jesuit college in Rome.In his twentieth...
(1691) - Benedetto Pamphilj, announced the elections of Pope Clement XIPope Clement XIPope Clement XI , born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was Pope from 1700 until his death in 1721.-Early life:...
(1700), Pope Innocent XIIIPope Innocent XIIIPope Innocent XIII was pope from 1721 until his death.He was born Michelangelo Conti in Poli, near Rome. Like Pope Innocent III , Pope Gregory IX and Pope Alexander IV , he was a member of the family of the Conti, counts and dukes of Segni...
(1721) and Pope Benedict XIIIPope Benedict XIII-Footnotes:...
(1724) - Lorenzo Altieri, announced the election of Pope Clement XIIPope Clement XIIPope Clement XII , born Lorenzo Corsini, was Pope from 12 July 1730 to 6 February 1740.Born in Florence, the son of Bartolomeo Corsini, Marquis of Casigliano and his wife Isabella Strozzi, sister of the Duke of Bagnuolo, Corsini had been an aristocratic lawyer and financial manager under preceding...
(1730), but was not able because of illness to announce the election of Pope Benedict XIVPope Benedict XIVPope Benedict XIV , born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was Pope from 17 August 1740 to 3 May 1758.-Life:...
in 1740 (Cardinal Carlo Maria Marini acted as his substitute). - Alessandro Albani, announced the elections of Pope Clement XIIIPope Clement XIIIPope Clement XIII , born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was Pope from 16 July 1758 to 2 February 1769....
(1758), Pope Clement XIVPope Clement XIVPope Clement XIV , born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was Pope from 1769 to 1774. At the time of his election, he was the only Franciscan friar in the College of Cardinals.-Early life:...
(1769) and Pope Pius VIPope Pius VIPope Pius VI , born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, was Pope from 1775 to 1799.-Early years:Braschi was born in Cesena...
(1775) - Antonio Doria Pamphili, announced Pope Pius VIIPope Pius VIIPope Pius VII , born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti, was a monk, theologian and bishop, who reigned as Pope from 14 March 1800 to 20 August 1823.-Early life:...
's election (1800) - Fabrizio RuffoFabrizio RuffoFabrizio Ruffo was an Italian cardinal and politician, who led the popular anti-republican Sanfedismo movement .-Biography:...
, announced Pope Leo XIIPope Leo XIIPope Leo XII , born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiore Girolamo Nicola Sermattei della Genga, was Pope from 1823 to 1829.-Life:...
's election (1823) - Giuseppe Albani, announced the elections of Pope Pius VIIIPope Pius VIIIPope Pius VIII , born Francesco Saverio Castiglioni was Pope in 1829 and 1830.-Biography:He was born in Cingoli, Marche, the son of Count Ottavio Castiglioni and his wife Sanzia Ghislieri. He studied Canon law and, in 1800 became bishop of Montalto...
(1829) and Pope Gregory XVIPope Gregory XVIPope Gregory XVI , born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846...
(1831) - Tommaso Riario SforzaTommaso Riario SforzaTommaso Riario Sforza was the Neapolitan Cardinal who, as protodeacon, announced at the end of the 1846 conclave the election of Cardinal Giovanni Mastai-Ferretti as Pope Pius IX....
, announced Pope Pius IXPope Pius IXBlessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
's election (1846) - Prospero CateriniProspero CateriniProspero Caterini was an Italian Cardinal. As protodeacon, he announced at the end of the conclave of 1878 the election of Cardinal Gioacchino Pecci as Pope Leo XIII...
, announced Pope Leo XIIIPope Leo XIIIPope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
's election (1878) - Luigi MacchiLuigi MacchiLuigi Macchi was an Italian Catholic nobleman and a Cardinal. As protodeacon, he announced the election of cardinal Giuseppe Sarto at the end of the conclave of 1903.-External links:**...
, announced Pope Pius XPope Pius XPope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...
's election (1903) - Francesco Salesio Della VolpeFrancesco Salesio Della VolpeFrancesco Salesio Della Volpe was an Italian Catholic Cardinal from a noble family. He held the position of secretary of the Congregation of Indulgences and Relics and prefect of the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household. Created cardinal in pector in 1899, he was named published in concistory of...
, announced Pope Benedict XVPope Benedict XVPope Benedict XV , born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, reigned as Pope from 3 September 1914 to 22 January 1922...
's election (1914) - Gaetano BisletiGaetano BisletiGaetano Bisleti S.T.D. was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and was former Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education.Gaetano Bisleti was born in Veroli, Italy...
, announced Pope Pius XIPope Pius XIPope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
's election (1922) - Camillo Caccia-DominioniCamillo Caccia-DominioniCamillo Caccia-Dominioni was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Pontifical Household from 1921 to 1935, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1935.-Biography:...
, announced Pope Pius XIIPope Pius XIIThe Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
's election (1939) - Nicola CanaliNicola CanaliNicola Canali was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State from 1939 and as Major Penitentiary from 1941 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1935...
, announced Pope John XXIIIPope John XXIII-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
's election (1958) - Alfredo Ottaviani, announced Pope Paul VIPope Paul VIPaul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
's election (1963) - Pericle Felici, announced the elections of Pope John Paul IPope John Paul IJohn Paul I , born Albino Luciani, , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as Sovereign of Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent Year of Three Popes...
and Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul IIBlessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
(1978) - Jorge Medina EstévezJorge Medina EstévezJorge Arturo Agustín Medina Estévez is a Chilean Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Cardinal Protodeacon until February 23, 2007, and is Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.-Early life and ordination:Medina was born in Santiago in...
, announced Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVIBenedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
's election (2005)