The death of the Pope means another conclave. Where did the tradition of choosing the head of the church in a closed room come from? How long were the longest conclave and who was the first Pole who had his participation in the election of the Pope? And whether the one who enters the conclave as a brick favorite comes out as a cardinal …
Key facts:
- The longest conclave lasted nearly three years, the shortest – 10 hours.
- Who can become a pope. Or only a cardinal?
- Why was it decided to keep the cardinals under the key in the 13th century?
- The first Pole took part in the election of the Pope in 1417. Who was he?
The conclave, i.e. the election of the Pope by the Cardinal College, has a 750-year tradition. Earlier, the decision belonged to “Clero E Popolo”, i.e. the clergy and the people of Rome, but – as the church historian notes Fr. Przemysław Śliwiński – “It happened that the Empercators indicated the Pope themselves without looking at the ancient form.”
Key facts:
- The longest conclave lasted nearly three years, the shortest – 10 hours.
- Who can become a pope. Or only a cardinal?
- Why was it decided to keep the cardinals under the key in the 13th century?
- The first Pole took part in the election of the Pope in 1417. Who was he?
The conclave, i.e. the election of the Pope by the Cardinal College, has a 750-year tradition. Earlier, the decision belonged to “Clero E Popolo”, i.e. the clergy and the people of Rome, but – as the church historian notes Fr. Przemysław Śliwiński – “It happened that the Empercators indicated the Pope themselves without looking at the ancient form.”
The longest conclave
The longest conclave in history took place after the death of Pope Clement IV and lasted almost three years – from November 1268 to September 1271. Cardinals were not able to choose a new pope, among others, for political reasons. Some electors were supporters of the then ruler of the Apennine Peninsula Charles and Anjou, and the others were afraid of his growing domination and saw in it a threat to the independence of the Church. Two factions were created – Anagaweńska and Italian. However, none was able to get a majority of 2/3 of the votes needed to choose the Pope.
Because the electors could not reach an agreement, the city authorities of Viterbo, where Klemens IV died, broken down with their sluggishness “first closed from the outside the door of the cardinal residence, then the roof was removed”, as described by the historian Norman Davies, “and finally the diet was limited to the necessary minimum.” On September 1, 1271, the cardinals decided about selection in the “Compromissum” procedurei.e. through a specially delegated commission. On the same day, Tebaldo Visconti was chosen as the pope, who took the name Grzegorz X.
When the term “conclave” appears
It was Grzegorz X who decided to institutionalize the conclave procedure. In 1274 he convened a council in Lyon, during which the apostolic constitution “ubi periculum” was adopted. The document in which the word “conclave” was used for the first time introduced strict rules for choosing a pope: the cardinals were to be closed in one place without contact with the outside world, and if the choice was prolonged, they were gradually limited by food rations. The goal was to speed up the decision and avoid political influence from outside. The word “conclave” used to this day has come from the Latin “cum clavis”, or “under the key”.
The shortest conclave
Grzegorz X's reform was effective, but many cardinals did not like the severity of the rules and they were modified many times. For example, immediately after the death of Grzegorz X in 1276 his successor John XXI (1276-1277) officially abolished these provisions, because he believed that too much rigor could lead to bad decisions under pressure. And so the conclave extended again until 1503, when they managed to shorten them to record 10 hours. At that time, it took place after the death of Pius III, who was a pope for less than a month, so the electors did not have a long way to go, and the elected as Pope Julius II Giuliano Della Rovere enjoyed great support.
In the case of contemporary popes – Benedict XVI (2005) or Franciszek (2013) – the conclave lasted just over a day. Benedict XVI was elected in the fourth vote, and Franciszek – in the fifth.
Where does the conclave take place?
Cardinals-electricians choose more popes in the chapel of the Sistine Apostolic Palace. Founded by Pope Sykstus IV, a chapel built in 1475-1483 with the famous frescoes of Michelangelo is a place of organization of the conclave since 1492. During the conclave, only cardinals who are electors, i.e. those who are under 80 years old have an admission to the chapel.
Source: Gregorio Borgia/EPA/PAP
The first Pole on the conclave
Although Poland from baptism in 966 was a Christian country, it did not have a proper representation in the capital of the church for a long time. Even Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski, a Polish Renaissance thinker, drew attention to this. In his work “On the improvement of the Commonwealth” he emphasized that if the Pope is the Supreme Bishop, his choice should be made by representatives of all the faithful, and not limit himself to cardinals or residents Italian.
Mikołaj Trąba, Archbishop of Gniezno, Chancellor of the Kingdom of Poland and the Primate of Poland and Lithuania, he was the first Pole to take part in the conclave – in Konstancja, in 1417. He performed on him on behalf of Germany, which caused that in Poland it boiled, and the trumpet was accused of betraying the homeland. However, it is worth realizing that other representatives – e.g. Hungary or Czech – They had to follow one of the factions: Italian, French, English, Spanish or just German, because the “Slavic option” was simply not there.
On the other hand, Archbishop Trąba – according to a rumor popularized, among others by Jan Długosz – he was to be taken into account even as the future pope. According to philosopher Jacek Breczko, the Primate of Poland and Lithuania was to promise that “if if […] He became a pope, Krakow would become Rome. ”
Not only the cardinal can become a pope
And could someone who is not a cardinal could become the head of the church? Archbishop Trąba is a good example here, because he was not a cardinal (he hit the conclave, because in addition to the cardinals, representatives of nations who took part in the Council of Konstancja – ed.) Participated in it. Dominican Father Stanisław Tasiemski, a publicist, papal translator and vice president of Kai, points out that from a legal point of view the cardinal does not have to become a pope. A bishop and even a priest can be chosen as the successor of Saint Peter.
The Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, announced by it, says John Paul II in 1996. Regulates, among others What happens after the pope's election by the conclave. According to art. 88 “After accepting the election, which has already been ordained the episcopal, he immediately becomes the bishop of the Roman Church, the real pope and head of the episcopal college; (…) If the elect, however, does not have an episcopal sacra, he should immediately receive the bishop's ordination.” Art. 90 specifies that the bishop of the Pope, who would not yet be a bishop, “are given according to the Church's practice by the dean of the College of Cardinals or, in the case of his absence, by Subdzkaan, and if he had some obstacle, by the oldest cardinal of the bishop.”
Source: PAP/EPA/Alessandro di Meo/Pool
And who has the best chance to become a pope?
Shortly after death Pope Francis The media around the world began to publish the names of “Papabili”, or favorites to choose from the head of the church. However, the Vaticanists recommend caution, because it is rare for one of the favorites to be the pope. And, according to the known rule, the one who enters the conclave with the Pope (favorite), comes out of him a cardinal.
Of course, there are exceptions – and we dealt with them even in the 20th century. “In 1963, the Vatican observers were sure that the conclave would choose Cardinal Giovanni Montini from Milan and this was what happened: he became Paul VI” – reminds “Time”. After the death of John Paul II, the name of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger also appeared on the lists of favorites. However, as “Time” notes, it rarely appeared, and if so, it was quite low.
1978. The year of three popes
1978 is particularly remembered by the faithful of the Catholic Church in Poland. Karol Wojtyła became the pope. But the then metropolitan of Krakow was elected the head of the church “in the year three popes”. His predecessor, John Paul Ielected in August 1978 – and died after three weeks of office. He embraced the Roman bishopric after the death of Paul VI, who died earlier in the same year.
Source: Sygma
Where do the popes come from?
The vast majority of 266 existing popes were Italy. Although Franciszek came from Argentinaand his two predecessors from Germany and Poland, as many as 210 heads of the church came from Italy. Among the representatives of other nations among Saint Peter's successors was also 16 French, 11 Greeks, 6 Syrians or 5 Germans.
Source: PAP/EPA/Fabio Fruustaci
Interestingly, German – Joseph Ratzinger, later was skeptical towards the Popes of Nie -Włochów Pope Benedict XVI. In June 1978, i.e. four months before the election of John Paul II, the then Archbishop of Munich stated in an interview with Rai's Italian television that he was in favor of the pope to be the Pope.
How will it be this time? Bishop Stockholm Cardinal Anders Arborelius, who will participate in the nearest conclave, assessed that “opportunities” that Franciszek's successor would come from Africa or Asia.
Author/author: Wac // AM
Source: PAP, KAI, TIME, TVN24.pl
Source of the main photo: PAP/EPA/RICCARDO Antimiani
Topic: Pope Benedict XVI