The 1939 papal conclave was held, following the death of

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City f ...

on 10 February 1939. All 62 cardinals of the Catholic Church met on 1 March. The next day, on the third ballot, they elected Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, who was

Camerlengo Camerlengo (plural: ''camerlenghi'', Italian for " chamberlain") is an Italian title of medieval origin. It derives from the late Latin ''camarlingus'', in turn coming through the Frankish ''kamerling'', from the Latin ''camerarius'' which meant ...

and Secretary of State, as pope. He accepted and took the name ''Pius XII''. It was his 63rd birthday. The conclave of 1939 was the shortest of the 20th century. Pacelli was the first member of the Roman Curia to become pope since

Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...

(1831) and the first Roman since

Innocent XIII Pope Innocent XIII ( la, Innocentius XIII; it, Innocenzo XIII; 13 May 1655 – 7 March 1724), born as Michelangelo dei Conti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 May 1721 to his death in March 1724. He ...

(1721).

Papabili

''Time'' magazine announced that likely contenders for the

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

included August Hlond of Gniezno-Poznań,

Karl Joseph Schulte Karl Joseph Schulte (14 September 1871 – 11 March 1941), was a German Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Cologne from 1920 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1921. Biography Karl Joseph S ...

of Cologne, the

Curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

veteran Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant, Ildefonso Schuster of Milan, Adeodato Giovanni Piazza of Venice,

Maurilio Fossati Maurilio Fossati, O.SS.G.C.N., (24 May 1876 – 30 March 1965) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Turin from 1930 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1933. Biography Born in Aron ...

of Turin, and Eugenio Pacelli, a longtime diplomat in the service of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

. The prospect of a non-Italian pope for the first time since

Pope Adrian VI Pope Adrian VI ( la, Hadrianus VI; it, Adriano VI; nl, Adrianus/Adriaan VI), born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 January 1522 until his d ...

in 1522 was considered more likely than in previous conclaves. On 13 February, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' dismissed the idea of a non-Italian given the current state of international hostilities, though it thought Jean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve of Quebec the least objectionable to the contending powers. It discounted Pacelli since there was no precedent for the election of the Secretary of State, and precedent argued against the election of any member of the Curia as well as three key Italians who were members of religious orders. The five Italians remaining were

Alessio Ascalesi Alessio Ascalesi (22 October 1872 – 11 May 1952) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Naples. Biography Ascalesi was born in Casalnuovo, near Naples. He joined the priesthood and entered the Seminary of ...

of Naples, Giovanni Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano of Bologna,

Luigi Lavitrano Luigi Lavitrano (7 March 1874 – 2 August 1950) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Palermo from 1928 to 1944, and as prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Religious from 1945 until his death. Lavit ...

of Palermo,

of Turin, and

Elia dalla Costa Elia Dalla Costa (14 May 1872 – 22 December 1961) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate and cardinal who served as the Archbishop of Florence from 1931 until his death. Dalla Costa served as the Bishop of Padua from 1923 until 1931 wh ...

of Florence. By 20 February the paper found greater interest in the curial cardinals, Francesco Marmaggi,

Massimo Massimi Massimo Massimi (10 April 1877 – 6 March 1954) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in the Roman Curia from 1946 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1935. ...

, and

Luigi Maglione Luigi Maglione (2 March 1877 – 22 August 1944) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1935 and served as the Vatican Secretary of State under Pope Pius XII from 1939 until his death. Pius ...

. Pacelli was heavily favored among the cardinals to win. Pius XI had hinted that he favored Pacelli as his successor. On 15 December 1937, during his last consistory, Pius XI strongly hinted to the cardinals that he expected Pacelli to be his successor, saying "He is in your midst." He had previously been quoted as saying: "When today the Pope dies, you'll get another one tomorrow, because the Church continues. It would be a much bigger tragedy, if Cardinal Pacelli dies, because there is only one. I pray every day, God may send another one into one of our seminaries, but as of today, there is only one in this world." Like

Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of ...

, Pius XI had been a blunt-spoken, no-nonsense pontiff. Assembling in 1939 as the outbreak of hostilities that became

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

was widely anticipated, the cardinals turned to a soft-spoken diplomat.

Balloting

Pacelli, in his role as Camerlengo, announced on 10 February that the College would wait the maximum time allowed, eighteen days from the death of the pope, to start the conclave. The time period before starting had been lengthened following the previous conclave, for which three North American cardinals had arrived too late to participate. When the 31 cardinals available discussed the question on 11 February, they amended his plan only to provide that they would start earlier if all those who planned to attend had arrived in Rome. The cardinals arrived slowly in Rome, with just 37 attending the papal funeral on 14 February and 46 at a funeral Mass on 18 February. By 20 February, starting the conclave on 28 February appeared to be a possibility, as only three non-Italians had yet to arrive:

William Henry O'Connell William Henry O'Connell (December 8, 1859 – April 22, 1944) was an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Boston from 1907 until his death in 1944, and was made a cardinal in 1911. Early life William O'Connell w ...

of Boston,

Sebastião da Silveira Cintra Sebastião Leme da Silveira Cintra (January 20, 1882 – October 17, 1942) was a Brazilian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro from 1930 until his death, and was elevated to the ...

of Rio de Janeiro, and

Santiago Copello Santiago Luis Copello (7 January 1880 – 9 February 1967) was an Argentine Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1932 to 1959, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1935. Copello served as the first ...

of Buenos Aires. On 22 February the cardinals sitting in general congregation settled on 1 March, expecting the three to arrive at Naples on the S.S. ''Neptunia'' on that morning. The conclave was held in the

Apostolic Palace The Apostolic Palace ( la, Palatium Apostolicum; it, Palazzo Apostolico) is the official residence of the pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and t ...

. All the cardinals attended, 35 Italians and 27 from other countries. The doors closed at 6:17 pm. Pacelli won a narrow victory on the second ballot with the lowest possible two-thirds majority, 42 out of 62. He then asked for an additional ballot to confirm his election by a larger margin. To the question "Acceptasne electionem de te canonice factam in Summum Pontificem?", Pacelli replied "Accepto in crucem" (I accept it as a cross). He explained his choice of ''Pius'' by saying, "I call myself Pius; my whole life was under Popes with this name, but especially as a sign of gratitude towards Pius XI." The white smoke signifying a successful election appeared at 5:30 pm, but began to turn black. Vincenzo Santoro, the conclave secretary, then sent a note to

Vatican Radio Vatican Radio ( it, Radio Vaticana; la, Statio Radiophonica Vaticana) is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City. Established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave, ...

to confirm that the smoke was white and Pacelli had been elected. At 6:06 pm, the

Protodeacon Protodeacon derives from the Greek ''proto-'' meaning 'first' and ''diakonos'', which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "assistant", "servant", or "waiting-man". The word in English may refer to any of various clergy, depending upon the us ...

, Cardinal

Camillo Caccia-Dominioni Camillo Caccia-Dominioni (7 February 1877 – 12 November 1946) 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 Bo ...

, made the '' Habemus Papam'' announcement in Latin from the balcony of

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

. He said that the new pope had chosen the name ''Pius'' and did not mention the ordinal "the twelfth". The crowd below in

St. Peter's Square Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighborhood ( rione) of Borgo. B ...

began to sing the

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...

''Christus Vincit''.

Change in conclave procedure

Pius had been narrowly elected before seeking an additional ballot to demonstrate wider support, and he knew that a very close ballot in the

1914 conclave The 1914 papal conclave was held to choose a successor to Pope Pius X, who had died in the Vatican on 20 August 1914. Political context Europe was already at war and the new pope would face the question of maintaining neutrality or assume moral ...

had raised the question of the impact of a cardinal's vote for himself. Pius promulgated the apostolic constitution ''Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis'' on 8 December 1945, more than six years after his election. He made only two significant changes in conclave procedures, otherwise following those established by

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of ...

on 25 December 1904 with the constitution ''Vacante Sede Apostolica''. (1) He increased the majority required for election from two-thirds of those voting to two-thirds ''plus one'', so that an elector's vote for himself would be insufficient to produce a two-thirds majority. He also eliminated the rule against voting for oneself, which the two-thirds-plus-one rule obviated. paragraph 68. It holds, though, that if one had an exact two-thirds majority, not counting one's own vote, a cardinal could cast the deciding vote for himself. (2) From 1621 to 1945, the ballots were signed with folded over flaps to conceal the signatures of the electors. Pius XII removed the signature portion of the new form of ballot, so that a completely secret ballot is now cast by each elector with the oath taken at the same moment, now being anonymous. All this is clearly stated in the Apostolic Constitution "Vancantis Apostolicae Sedis" promulgated by Pius XII on 8 December 1945.

Notes

References

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