Papal conclave, 1914 on:
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Pietro Maffi, considered very liberal but tainted by being close to the House of Savoy. Giacomo della Chiesa, Archbishop of Bologna, stood intermediate between Maffi and Serafini, but in the early ballots he was equal with Maffi and seemed to be winning some support from conservative factions. Della Chiesa drew ahead by five votes after the fourth ballot, and once it became clear Maffi had no hope whatsoever of gaining two-thirds of the votes, Serafini became Della Chiesa's opponent. By 3 September 1914, on the tenth ballot, all of Maffi's supporters had switched to Della Chiesa, who was elected pope. He took the name
The 1914 papal conclave was held to choose a successor to
Europe was already at war and the new pope would face the question of maintaining neutrality or assume moral leadership as Catholic
Pietro Maffi">717, Pisan">708, Pisan); on 30–31 July 1716 [1717, Pisan and on 31 J ...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 C ...
, who had died in the Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
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 leadership as Catholic Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and France were attacked by Protestant Germany, which was supported by Catholic Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
while the Protestant United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...
(including Catholic Ireland) and Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
sided with France.
The conclave brought together cardinals
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
from the combatant nations, including Károly Hornig
Károly Hornig (10 August 1840 – 9 February 1917) was a Hungarians, Hungarian Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Veszprém from 1888 until his death, and was elevated to the Cardinal (Catholic ...
from Austria-Hungary, Louis Luçon
Louis-Henri-Joseph Luçon J.C.D. S.T.D. (28 October 1842 – 28 May 1930) was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Reims.
Biography
Louis Henri Joseph Luçon was born in Maulévrier. He was educatated at the Seminary of A ...
from France, Felix von Hartmann
Felix von Hartmann (15 December 1851 – 11 November 1919) was a German prelate, who was Archbishop of Cologne from 1912 to 1919.
Life
Felix von Hartmann was born in Münster, the child of the second marriage of government official Albert von ...
from Germany and three from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Francis Bourne
Francis Alphonsus Bourne (1861–1935) was an English prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the fourth Archbishop of Westminster from 1903 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1911.
Biography
Early life
Francis Bo ...
, Michael Logue and Francis Aidan Gasquet
Francis Aidan Cardinal Gasquet (born Francis Neil Gasquet; 5 October 1846 – 5 April 1929) was an English Benedictine monk and historical scholar. He was created Cardinal in 1914.
Life
Gasquet was the third of six children of Raymond Gasquet, ...
. The Belgian Désiré-Joseph Mercier
Désiré Félicien François Joseph Mercier (21 November 1851 – 23 January 1926) was a Belgian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and a noted scholar. A Thomist scholar, he had several of his works translated into other European languages. H ...
needed the permission of the Emperor of Germany
The German Emperor (german: Deutscher Kaiser, ) was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the of ...
to leave his country.
Despite the fact that some cardinals had found it impossible to reach Rome in time to participate in earlier conclaves, the revised set of rules promulgated by Pius X in the ''Vacante Sede Apostolica'' on 25 December 1904 required the cardinals to wait only ten days after the death of the pope before starting a conclave. Of the three cardinals who traveled from the United States, James Gibbons
James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was a senior-ranking American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as ninth ...
of Baltimore and William O'Connell of Boston, did not reach Rome in time to participate in the conclave, nor did Louis-Nazaire Bégin
Louis-Nazaire Bégin (January 10, 1840 – July 18, 1925) was a Canadian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. Begin held a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and was later appointed Archbishop of Quebec by ...
of Quebec. Five more were too ill or too frail.
Veto abolished
Pope Pius X had issued two apostolic constitutions on the subject of papal conclaves. The first, '' Commissum Nobis'' of 20 January 1904, eliminated any secular monarch's claim to a veto over a candidate for election. It established that anyone who attempted to introduce a veto in the conclave would incur automatic excommunication. For the first time in centuries the cardinals faced no external restraint on their authority.Balloting
The conclave itself assembled in theSistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its name ...
on 31 August. From the beginning of the conclave, it was clear that there were only three possible winners. Domenico Serafini
Domenico Serafini, O.S.B. Subl. (3 August 1852 – 5 March 1918) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served in various pastoral, diplomatic, and curial posts, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1914.
Biography
D ...
, a Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
and assessor at the Holy Office
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible f ...
, won the support of 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 ...
to continue Pius X's anti-modernist campaign as his chief priority. However, many other cardinals, such as Carlo Ferrari and Désiré Mercier, believed that a Pope with a different focus was needed and supported the Archbishop of Pisa
The Archdiocese of Pisa ( la, Archidioecesis Pisana) is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Pisa, Italy.717,_Pisan.html" ;"title="708, Pisan); on 30–31 July 1716 708,_Pisan);_on_30–31_July_1716_[1717,_Pisan_and_on_31_J_...
_Pietro_Maffi.html" ;"title="717, Pisan">708, Pisan); on 30–31 July 1716 [1717, Pisan and on 31 J ...Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...
.
Reportedly Della Chiesa had been elected by one vote. According to the rules in force at the time, the ballot papers had a numbering on the reverse side, so that, if the election was decided by only one vote, it could be checked whether or not the elected person had voted for himself, in which case the election would be void. According to that account, Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val
Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta, (10 October 1865 – 26 February 1930) was a Spanish Roman Catholic cardinal.
Before becoming a cardinal, he served as the secretary of the papal conclave of 1903 that elected Pope Pius X, who is said to have ac ...
, who had been Pius X's Secretary of State, insisted that the ballots be checked to ensure that Della Chiesa had not voted for himself – he had not. When the cardinals offered their homage to the new pope, Benedict allegedly said to Merry del Val, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." To which the unabashed Merry del Val replied with the next verse of Psalm 118
Psalm 118 is the 118th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English of the King James Version: "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever." The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the He ...
: "This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes."
Cardinal Merry del Val wasn't reappointed as Secretary of State by the new Pope, but was named Secretary of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office (then the head of that Dicastery
A dicastery (from gr, δικαστήριον, dikastērion, law-court, from Dikastes, δικαστής, 'judge, juror') is the name of some departments of the Roman Curia.
''Pastor bonus''
''Pastor bonus'' (1988), includes this definition:
...
, because the Popes themselves retained the office of Prefect of the Holy Office, leaving its daily administration to the secretary).
See also
* Cardinal electors for the 1914 papal conclaveReferences
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