Conclave October 1978

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Giovanni Benelli, papabili candidate from the moderate-liberal camp
Giuseppe Siri, Archbishop of Genoa and papabili candidate from the conservative camp

The October 1978 conclave took place in Rome from October 14 to October 16, 1978 . In the conclave , Cardinal Karol Wojtyła from Krakow was elected as Pope John Paul II . It took two days and eight ballots for his election before the new Pope appeared for the first time on the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica on the evening of October 16 at around 7:00 p.m. CET .

The conclave had become necessary because Pope John Paul I had died after only 33 days in office. Wojtyła was considered an outsider. The favorites in the first round of voting were the two Italian cardinals Giuseppe Siri for the conservative wing and the Archbishop of Florence, Giovanni Benelli , for the more liberal wing.

Both candidates faced a stalemate. No one was able to achieve the two-thirds majority required. The Viennese Cardinal Franz König finally brought up a candidate from Eastern Europe. From the sixth ballot, the number of votes for Wojtyła is said to have skyrocketed when the non-Italians among the cardinals focused on him as a favorite.

During the enthronement of the new Pope, Cardinal Wyszyński is said to have said to Pope John Paul II: "You are called to this and you will steadfastly lead the Church into the new millennium".

According to the pope biographer Andreas Englisch , who accompanied John Paul II for a few years, Wojtyła appeared just in time for the election in which he himself was elected Pope.

During the vacancy after the death of Pope John Paul I from September 28, 1978 to October 16, 1978, the above-mentioned offices were held by the following persons:

Cardinal Villot, during the vacancy Camerlengo

Attendees

111 cardinals took part in the election:

The Polish Curia Cardinal Bolesław Filipiak did not take part due to illness, he died on the day the election began. Another 15 cardinals were no longer eligible to vote due to their age. This was the first conclave in which cardinals from Europe were in the minority. Compared to the First Conclave in August 1978 , only the American Curia Cardinal John Joseph Wright was new, who was absent from the election of John Paul I due to illness.

Wojtyła was previously largely unknown in Italy. The Archbishop of Guatemala , Mario Casariego should, even - as reported by an anecdote - only after the unknown Cardinal Bottiglia asked. He confused the similar sounding Wojtyła with the Italian word for bottle .

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