Acclamation was formerly one of the methods of papal election. The method of electing the

Roman Pontiff Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

is contained in the constitutions of Gregory XV '' Æterni Patris Filius'' and ''Decet Romanum Pontificem'', Urban VIII's constitution ''Ad Romani Pontificis Providentiam'', and John Paul II's '' Universi Dominici gregis'', issued in 1996. Prior to the issuance of ''Universi Dominici gregis'', three methods of election were valid. These were by scrutiny, by compromise, and by acclamation (or "quasi-inspiration"). This last form of election consisted of all the electors present unanimously proclaiming one of the candidates

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, without the formality of casting votes. As this was required to be done without previous consultation or negotiation, it was looked upon as proceeding from the

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and hence was also designated "quasi-inspiration".

List of papal elections by acclamation

Recent changes in papal election law

'' Universi Dominici gregis'' specifically disallowed both election by acclamation and by compromise; as a result the secret ballot is the sole valid method of electing a Pope. Originally, ''Universi Dominici gregis'' allowed for a Pope to be elected with a simple majority if the usual requirement of a two-thirds super majority could not be reached after thirty-four ballots. On June 11, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI issued a '' motu proprio'' which requires a two-thirds majority regardless of the number of ballots it takes to elect a new Pope.

In fiction

The 1904 novel '' Hadrian the Seventh'' by Frederick Rolfe features the apparently divinely-inspired election of George Arthur Rose, an Englishman only that day ordained, to the papacy. In the 1968 film ''

The Shoes of the Fisherman The Shoes of the Fisherman may refer to: * ''The Shoes of the Fisherman'' (novel), a 1963 novel by the writer Morris West * ''The Shoes of the Fisherman'' (film), a 1968 film based on the novel {{disambiguation ...

'', the Cardinal electors had acclaimed Cardinal Kiril Lakota as Pope after repeated balloting failed to produce the required majority. In the 1973 TV movie ''

A Man Whose Name Was John A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'', the Cardinal electors acclaimed Cardinal Angelo Roncalli ( Raymond Burr) as Pope John XXIII. This part of an otherwise true story was fictionalized as he was not elected by acclamation. In the 1997 novel '' The Rise of Endymion'' by Dan Simmons, it is mentioned that Lenar Hoyt has been elected by acclamation nine times after his repeated deaths and resurrections. A tenth election, which occurs at the beginning of the book, is not unanimous due to plotting by his Secretary of State, but a ballot vote still goes in his favor. In the 2000 book '' Angels & Demons'',

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 "ch ...

Carlo Ventresca is elected by acclamation.

Notes

{{reflist Election of the Pope