Papal conclave, 1963 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

**Papal conclave, June 1963**

Dates	June 19–June 21, 1963
Location	Sistine Chapel Sistine Chapel Sistine Chapel is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. It is famous for its architecture and its decoration that was frescoed throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio... , Apostolic Palace Apostolic Palace The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, which is located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Sacred Palace, the Papal Palace and the Palace of the Vatican... , Vatican City 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...
Dean	Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant Eugène Tisserant was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Elevated to the cardinalate in 1936, Tisserant was a prominent and long-time member of the Roman Curia. He was also, for a time, Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre...
Vice Dean	Clemente Micara Clemente Micara Clemente Micara was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Vicar General of Rome from 1951 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946.-Biography:...
Camerlengo	Benedetto Aloisi Masella Benedetto Aloisi Masella Benedetto Aloisi Masella was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Discipline of the Sacraments from 1954 to 1968, and as Chamberlain of the Roman Church from 1958 until his death...
Protodeacon	Alfredo Ottaviani
Ballots	Pope elected after 6 ballots
Elected Pope	Giovanni Battista Montini 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... (took name Paul VI)

The Papal conclave
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 1963 was convoked following the death of Pope John XXIII

Pope 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...

on June 3 of that same year in the Apostolic Palace

Apostolic Palace

The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, which is located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Sacred Palace, the Papal Palace and the Palace of the Vatican...

. After the cardinal electors

Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 1963

The following were the cardinal electors in the 1963 papal conclave. Arranged by region , and within each alphabetically . Only two out of the eighty electors did not participate in the conclave: József Mindszenty The following were the cardinal electors in the 1963 papal conclave. Arranged by...

assembled in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, the conclave to elect John's successor began on June 19 and ended two days later, on June 21, after six ballots. The cardinals

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

elected Giovanni Battista Montini

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...

, then Archbishop of Milan

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan

The Archdiocese of Milan is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Italy. It has long maintained its own rite: the Ambrosian rite. It is led by the Archbishop of Milan who serves as metropolitan to the dioceses of Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Crema, Cremona, Lodi, Mantova, Pavia, and Vigevano.The...

, as the 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...

. He accepted the election and took the pontifical name

Regnal 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....

of Paul VI.

Background

John XXIII's death left the future of the Second Vatican Council

Second Vatican Council

The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...

in the balance, as the election of an anti-Council pope could have severely curbed the Council's role. The leading papabile
Papabile
Papabile is an unofficial Italian term first coined by Vaticanologists and now used internationally in many languages to describe a cardinal of whom it is thought likely or possible that he will be elected pope. A literal English translation would be "popeable" or "one who might become pope".In...

candidates were Giovanni Battista Montini

Pope Paul VI

of Milan

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan

, who had not yet been Cardinal at the time of the previous conclave and was supportive of reforms proposed at the Council, and Giuseppe Siri of Genoa

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Genoa

The Archdiocese of Genoa is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Italy.Erected in the third century, it was elevated to an archdiocese on 20 March 1133...

, papabile
Papabile
Papabile is an unofficial Italian term first coined by Vaticanologists and now used internationally in many languages to describe a cardinal of whom it is thought likely or possible that he will be elected pope. A literal English translation would be "popeable" or "one who might become pope".In...

in 1958 and critical these reforms. Reportedly, John XXIII had sent oblique signals indicating that he thought Montini would make a fine pope.

Election

The 1963 conclave, which was held from June 19 to June 21, at the Sistine Chapel

Sistine Chapel

Sistine Chapel is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. It is famous for its architecture and its decoration that was frescoed throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio...

in Vatican City

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...

, was the largest ever assembled until that time. There were eighty-two cardinals, but owing to his house arrest

House arrest

In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...

, József Mindszenty could not travel to Rome, while Carlos María de la Torre

Carlos María de la Torre

Carlos María Javier de la Torre y Nieto was an Ecuadorian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church...

did not participate owing to his advanced age and chronic health problems. Of the eighty cardinals who did participate

Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 1963

, eight had been elevated by Pope Pius XI

Pope Pius XI

Pope 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...

, twenty-seven by Pius XII, and the remainder by John XXIII. Each cardinal elector was allowed one aide.

About the earlier ballots, various rumours persist: some allege that reform-minded cardinals initially voted for Leo Joseph Suenens

Leo Joseph Suenens

Leo Jozef Suenens was a Belgian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussel from 1961 to 1979, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1962....

of Mechelen-Brussels

Archbishopric of Mechelen-Brussel

Mechelen-Brussels is the Roman Catholic Primatial See in Belgium. It is also the name of the Ecclesiastical Province governed by the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, which covers the whole of Belgium...

and Franz König

Franz König

Franz König was an Austrian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Vienna from 1956 to 1985, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958...

of Vienna, to remind the electors that the pope does not have to be Italian

Italian people

The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...

, while others report that conservative cardinals attempted to block Montini's election in the early balloting. (Gustavo Testa

Gustavo Testa

Gustavo Testa was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches from 1967 to 1968, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1959.- Biography :...

, an old friend of John XXIII, had subsequently lost his temper in the Chapel and demanded that the intransigents stop impeding Montini’s path.) In a versikon of the Siri thesis, some claim that Cardinal Siri received the two-thirds required for a valid election but eventually refused the office, allegedly under pressure. When asked two decades later whether in both the 1958 and 1963 conclaves he had initially been elected as pontiff, Siri is reported to have responded "I am bound by the secret. This secret is horrible. I would have books to write about the different conclaves. Very serious things have taken place. But I can say nothing." However, it is worthy of note that Siri fully submitted to the authority of John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I

Pope John Paul I

John 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 John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Blessed 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 ...

.

The favourite candidate, Giovanni Battista Montini, was elected after only six ballots. By the fourth ballot on June 20, according to Time Magazine

Time (magazine)

Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

, the Milanese archbishop only needed 4 additional votes to obtain the required number of votes. When officially asked by Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant

Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant

Eugène Tisserant was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Elevated to the cardinalate in 1936, Tisserant was a prominent and long-time member of the Roman Curia. He was also, for a time, Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre...

if he accepted his election, Montini replied, Accepto, in nomine Domini ("I accept, in the name of the Lord") and choose to be known as Pope Paul VI

Pope Paul VI

.

At 11:22 a.m., white smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signifying the successful election of a new pope. Alfredo Ottaviani, in his capacity as 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...

, announced

Habemus Papam

Habemus Papam! is the announcement given in Latin by the senior Cardinal Deacon upon the election of a new pope.The announcement is given from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican...

Montini's election in the traditional Latin

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...

; before Ottaviani had even finished saying Montini's name, the crowd beneath the 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...

erupted into applause.

***PAPAL CONCLAVE, 1963***
Duration	3 days
Number of ballots	6
Electors	82
Present	80
Absent	2
Africa	1
Latin America	11
North America	7
Asia	5
Europe	55
Oceania	1
Italians	29
DECEASED POPE	JOHN XXIII (1958-1963)
NEW POPE	PAUL VI (1963-1978)

Footnotes

Malachi Martin, The Keys of this Blood (New York, NY: Touchstone, 1991) pp. 607-608.
Louis Hubert Remy, "The Pope: Could He Be Cardinal Siri?" (1986) translated into English by Heidi Hagen for “The Sangre de Cristo Newsnotes” - No. 55 - December 1987.

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