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1922 conclave
1922 conclave
1922 conclave
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Papal conclave
February 1922
Dates and location
2–6 February 1922
Sistine Chapel, Apostolic Palace,
Vatican Hill, Rome
Key officials
DeanVincenzo Vannutelli
Sub-deanGaetano de Lai
CamerlengoPietro Gasparri
ProtopriestMichael Logue
ProtodeaconGaetano Bisleti
SecretaryLuigi Sincero
Election
Electors53 (list)
CandidatesRafael Merry del Val
Ballots14
Elected pope
Achille Ratti
Name taken: Pius XI
← 1914
1939 →

A conclave was held from 2 to 6 February 1922 to elect a new pope to succeed Benedict XV, who had died on 22 January. Of the 60 eligible cardinal electors, all but seven attended. On the fourteenth ballot, the conclave elected Cardinal Achille Ratti, the archbishop of Milan. After accepting his election, he took the name Pius XI. During his first appearance on the main loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, he gave the traditional Urbi et Orbi ("to the city and to the world") blessing to the people in St. Peter's Square, which his predecessors had abstained from since the capture of Rome by Italy in 1870.

Four non-European cardinals did not participate in the conclave. Three of them arrived too late, and one did not attempt the journey. Three weeks after his election, Pius XI issued rules extending the time between the death of a pope and the start of the conclave in order to increase the likelihood that cardinals from distant locations could participate in the next conclave.

Background

[edit]

The previous five conclaves had produced a seesawing between conservatives and liberals, from the conservative Gregory XVI in 1831 to the initially liberal Pius IX. Pius IX had become a religious and political conservative by the time of his death in 1878, and he was succeeded by the more liberal Leo XIII, who on his death was succeeded by the theologically conservative Pius X, who strongly condemned modernism. In 1914, the more liberal Benedict XV was elected.

At the death of Benedict XV, there were 61 members of the College of Cardinals. Enrique Almaraz, the archbishop of Toledo, died the same day. Three of the remaining 60 cardinals did not attend the conclave for reasons of health: José Martín de Herrera, Giuseppe Prisco, and Lev Skrbenský z Hříště. Rio de Janeiro's Joaquim Cavalcanti knew he could not reach Rome in time for the conclave and did not attempt the journey. The other three non-European cardinals (William Henry O'Connell of Boston, Dennis Joseph Dougherty of Philadelphia, and Louis-Nazaire Bégin of Québec City) did not arrive in time to participate in the conclave.[a]

Two-thirds of the non-Italian cardinals and some of the Italians wanted to delay the start of the conclave until at least one of the Americans arrived. Cardinal János Csernoch of Hungary told the other cardinals that "America is a vital part of the Church. It will be calamitous to deny her participation in the election of the pontiff. It will have a grave reaction among the American people; it will wound their pride and dignity." Cardinal Friedrich Gustav Piffl opposed proceeding without the Americans "for the sake of a technicality".[6] The 53 cardinals who entered the conclave on 2 February, the eleventh day following the death of Benedict XV as required, were 31 Italians, five French, four Spanish, three German, three British, two Polish, two Austrian, one Hungarian, one Belgian, and one Dutch.[7][8]

During his time as apostolic delegate to the United States, Archbishop Giovanni Bonzano sent $210,400.09 to the Holy See to ensure the conclave could occur.[9]

Balloting

[edit]
Crowd in front of the St. Peter's Basilica waiting for the results of the conclave

The 1922 conclave was the most divided conclave in many years. While two of the previous three conclaves had lasted three days or less, the 1922 conclave lasted for five days. It took fourteen ballots for Achille Ratti, the archbishop of Milan, to reach the two-thirds majority needed for election. He had been made a cardinal and appointed archbishop of Milan just eight months earlier after a long academic career and less than three years in the diplomatic service of the Holy See.

At the conclave, the College of Cardinals was divided into two factions. One conservative faction favoring the policies and style of Pius X, known as the "irreconcilables" or "integrationists",[1][10] was led by Secretary of the Holy Office Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val.[b][10][11] The other more conciliatory faction favoring the policies and style of Benedict XV was led by Cardinal Camerlengo Pietro Gasparri, who had served as Benedict's secretary of state.[10][11]

No ballots were taken on the first day. Four ballots were taken on each of the succeeding days, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. Gasparri approached Ratti before voting began on the third day and told him he would urge his supporters to switch their votes to Ratti, who was shocked to hear this. When it became clear that neither Gasparri nor del Val could win, the cardinals approached Ratti, thinking him a compromise candidate not identified with either faction. Cardinal Gaetano de Lai approached Ratti and was believed to have said: "We will vote for Your Eminence if Your Eminence will promise that you will not choose Cardinal Gasparri as your secretary of state." Ratti is said to have responded: "I hope and pray that among so highly deserving cardinals the Holy Spirit selects someone else. If I am chosen, it is indeed Cardinal Gasparri whom I will take to be my secretary of state."[11] As anticipated, Gasparri's recognition that he could not be elected and his consequent support of Ratti allowed him to remain secretary of state until he retired in 1930.[12]

Ratti was elected pope on the conclave's fourteenth ballot on 6 February reportedly receiving 38 votes.[1] Cardinal Dean Vincenzo Vannutelli, Cardinal Protopriest Michael Logue, and Protodeacon Gaetano Bisleti approached Ratti, and Cardinal Vannutelli asked if he accepted his election.[1] Ratti replied: "It is God's will." When pressed for a more explicit answer, he replied "As it is God's will, it cannot be refused. Since it is the will of God I must obey."[1] Vannutelli asked the new pope by what name he would be called. Ratti chose Pius XI, explaining that Pius IX was the pope of his youth, and Pius X had appointed him head of the Vatican Library.[11] According to The New York Times, Ratti also told the cardinals he chose the name Pius because "he wanted a Pius to end the Roman question which had begun under a Pius".[1]

Shortly afterwards, white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel chimney, and Cardinal Protodeacon Gaetano Bisleti appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at around 12:30 p.m. to announce the election of Ratti as Pope Pius XI.[1]

Blessing

[edit]
Pope Pius XI made his first public appearance in 1922. The coat of arms on the banner was that of Pius IX.

As his first act as pope, Pius XI revived the traditional public blessing from the balcony, Urbi et Orbi, ("to the city and to the world"), abandoned by his predecessors since the loss of Rome to the Italian state in 1870.[c] This suggested his openness to a rapprochement with the government of Italy.[1][13] He had earlier given indication of this to the cardinals at the conclave when he explained his choice of name ("a Pius to end the Roman question which had begun under a Pius") and his informing them that he would give the blessing in public from the central balcony. When some of the more conservative cardinals tried to persuade him not to give the blessing from the external balcony, he listened to their arguments for a while and overruled their objections by saying: "Remember, I am no longer a Cardinal. I am the Supreme Pontiff now."[1] Also, at Pius XI's first appearance, the banner draped on the balcony displayed the arms of Pius IX—the pope who lost Rome to Italy—rather than the arms of his immediate predecessor, Benedict XV.[citation needed]

Shortly after the blessing was imparted, Prince Ludovico Chigi Albani della Rovere, the marshal of the conclave, issued a statement by order of the secretary of the conclave:[1]

His Holiness, Pope Pius XI, while making every reservation in favor of the inviolable rights of the Church and of the Holy See, which rights he has sworn to defend, has given his first blessing from the exterior balcony overlooking the Square of St. Peter's in the special intention that his blessing should be addressed not only to those present in the square, and not only to those in Rome and Italy, but to all nations and all peoples and should bring to the whole world the wish and announcement of that universal pacification we all so ardently desire.

It was rumoured that immediately after the election, he decided to appoint Pietro Gasparri as his cardinal secretary of state.[11] The contemporary report by The New York Times on the following day 7 February appears to confirm this as it reported that Gasparri, who had served as Benedict XV's secretary of state, was reappointed by the new pope and the reappointment was announced almost immediately after the new pope assumed his pontificate.[1] The Pope also received the diplomatic corps and the Papal aristocracy in an audience later in the afternoon.[1]

Pius XI was crowned on 12 February.[1] Unlike his immediate predecessor, who had his coronation in the Sistine Chapel, Pius's coronation took place in the dais in front of the high altar in Saint Peter's Basilica.

New regulations

[edit]

Immediately following the conclave, the fact that the cardinals had disputed delaying the conclave to await the arrival of the American cardinals was openly discussed. On 8 February, four French cardinals, Louis Luçon of Rheims, Louis-Ernest Dubois of Paris, Pierre Andrieu of Bordeaux, and Louis-Joseph Maurin of Lyon, asked for changes to church law to allow for an indefinite delay to ensure participation by cardinals for North and South America. Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, who had led the Italians in opposition to a delay, expressed support for some modification of the schedule.[6]

On 28 February, Pope Pius XI met with Cardinal O'Connell and said: "There will be no more racing 5,000 miles in a vain endeavor to reach Rome in time for a conclave. The United States is too important to be ignored as she has been. I shall see to it that what happened at the last conclave shall not occur again."[14]

Pius XI issued new regulations in Cum proxime on 1 March 1922. He noted the experience of the conclave that elected him and that cardinals had requested modifications. He set the start of the conclave at ten to fifteen days from the death of the pope and allowed the cardinals to extend that to as long as eighteen days.[15] It had taken the American cardinals from fifteen (6 February) to eighteen days (9 February) to arrive in Rome.

For the 1939 conclave, the college waited the maximum eighteen days.[16]

See also

[edit]
Cardinal electors by region
Region Number
Italy 30
Rest of Europe 23
North America 0
South America 0
Asia 0
Oceania 0
Africa 0
Total 53

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

1922 conclave

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from Grokipedia
The 1922 papal conclave was an assembly of Catholic cardinals convened from 2 to 6 February 1922 in the Sistine Chapel to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XV, who had died on 22 January 1922 after a pontificate marked by World War I mediation efforts. Of the 60 eligible cardinal electors, 53 participated, reflecting logistical challenges including the delayed arrival of some, such as Cardinal William O'Connell of Boston. The conclave proved the longest of the 20th century, spanning five days and requiring 14 ballots amid deep divisions between Italian and non-Italian factions, as well as debates over the Church's post-war stance and curial reform. On the final ballot, Cardinal Achille Ratti, the 64-year-old Archbishop of Milan with diplomatic experience in Poland and library archival expertise, secured a two-thirds majority and accepted election as Pope Pius XI, initiating a 17-year reign focused on Catholic Action, encyclicals against modernism, and the 1929 Lateran Treaty resolving the Roman Question with Italy.

Historical Context

Death of Pope Benedict XV

Pope Benedict XV, born Giacomo della Chiesa, contracted pneumonia in early January 1922 following a celebration of Mass in the Matilda Chapel, with the illness initially not regarded as grave. By mid-January, his condition had deteriorated significantly, prompting medical intervention and the administration of last rites by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano on January 21. Physicians attending him, including those consulted in the final hours, noted a sharp decline overnight, with hope abandoned early on January 22. The pontiff died at 6:00 a.m. Rome time on Sunday, January 22, 1922, at the age of 67, succumbing to the pneumonia that had persisted since the month's outset. His passing ended a roughly seven-year pontificate since his 1914 election, necessitating the immediate convocation of the College of Cardinals for a conclave. Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, as Camerlengo, formally announced the death and assumed interim governance of the Vatican, sealing the papal apartments per tradition to verify the pontiff's decease. Autopsy and contemporary reports attributed the death directly to pneumonia, potentially exacerbated by post-World War I health vulnerabilities, though no evidence of foul play emerged. Benedict XV was interred in the Vatican grottoes beneath St. Peter's Basilica after a requiem Mass, marking the end of a papacy noted for humanitarian efforts amid global conflict.

Post-World War I Challenges for the Church

The Armistice of 11 November 1918 marked the end of World War I, but it ushered in profound geopolitical disruptions for the Catholic Church, including the collapse of multi-ethnic empires such as the Austro-Hungarian, German, Russian, and Ottoman, which were replaced by new nation-states with redrawn borders that often disregarded ethnic and religious minorities. This reconfiguration benefited some Catholic populations, as in the reestablished Poland, but created tensions elsewhere, such as in Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and the Baltic republics, where Catholic communities faced uncertain legal status and potential marginalization. The Holy See's diplomatic influence was severely hampered by its exclusion from the Paris Peace Conference and Treaty of Versailles negotiations, a deliberate omission rooted in the unresolved Roman Question—Italy's annexation of papal territories in 1870—and opposition from secularist powers wary of ecclesiastical involvement in state affairs. Pope Benedict XV, who had issued a 1917 peace note advocating equitable terms, justice, and arbitration, viewed the 1919 Versailles Treaty as excessively punitive, particularly toward Germany and Austria, failing to foster genuine reconciliation or lasting stability. The treaty's terms, including territorial losses and reparations, exacerbated economic ruin and resentment in Catholic-majority regions like Bavaria and Tyrol, while the loss of German African colonies disrupted missionary activities without compensatory arrangements. Benedict XV's Secretariat of State, under Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, protested these outcomes through pastoral letters and unofficial channels, emphasizing the need to protect Catholic interests amid the erosion of traditional monarchies that had often aligned with the Church. These settlements prioritized national self-determination over supranational moral considerations, sidelining the Holy See's pleas for minority rights and leaving the Church to navigate a fragmented Europe without formal seats at international tables. The war's human cost—approximately 9 million dead, 6 million disabled, 4 million widows, and 8 million orphans—strained Church resources, as Benedict XV coordinated relief for prisoners, refugees, and civilians through Vatican agencies, yet these efforts competed with widespread destitution and moral disorientation from industrialized warfare. In Italy, post-war economic collapse fueled the Biennio Rosso (1919–1920), a period of strikes and socialist agitation that targeted ecclesiastical properties and clergy, amplifying domestic anti-clericalism amid the unresolved temporal power dispute. Secularist forces globally sought to curtail the Church's public role, viewing it as an obstacle to modern state-building, while the Holy See grappled with adapting its administration to a multipolar world order lacking the stabilizing influence of pre-war Catholic alliances. Ideologically, the Bolshevik Revolution's consolidation in Russia posed an existential threat, with systematic persecution of Catholic clergy and laity signaling the rise of atheistic communism that rejected religious institutions outright. In Western Europe, spreading socialism and nationalism eroded Church influence, as new regimes promoted laïcité or state control over education and marriage, challenging the Church's doctrinal authority. These pressures, compounded by internal divisions from wartime nationalisms among Catholic bishops, underscored the need for a papacy equipped to defend spiritual sovereignty in an era of ideological upheaval and diplomatic isolation.

Participants and Internal Dynamics

Composition of the Cardinal Electors

At the time of Pope Benedict XV's death on January 22, 1922, there were 60 cardinals eligible to participate in the conclave, comprising the entire College of Cardinals without age restrictions on voting eligibility. Seven cardinals were absent: four due to illness or travel distance (including William Henry O'Connell of Boston and Dennis Joseph Dougherty of Philadelphia in the United States, and Louis-Nazaire Bégin of Quebec in Canada), and three who arrived after voting had begun. This left 53 cardinal electors who entered the Sistine Chapel on February 2, 1922, representing approximately 88% of the eligible body. The electors' composition reflected the Church's European-centric structure post-World War I, with Italians forming the overwhelming majority—30 out of 53 participants, or about 57%—many serving in the Roman Curia or Italian dioceses such as Milan, Pisa, and Genoa. Non-Italian electors hailed primarily from other European nations, including Ireland (e.g., Michael Logue of Armagh), Belgium (Désiré-Joseph Mercier of Mechelen-Brussels), France, Portugal, England, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Germany, and Spain, underscoring minimal representation from outside Europe amid ongoing global disruptions. No participants came from the Americas, Asia, or Africa, as the few non-European cardinals were among the absentees. By clerical order, the 53 electors included 6 cardinal-bishops (suburban sees around Rome), 40 cardinal-priests (typically diocesan leaders or curial officials), and 7 cardinal-deacons (often younger curial figures). In terms of creators, 5 had been elevated by Pope Leo XIII (r. 1878–1903), with the remainder appointed by Pope Pius X (r. 1903–1914) or Benedict XV (r. 1914–1922), the latter having created 28 living cardinals by 1922 to bolster the college after wartime losses. The average age of participants was 67.3 years, ranging from 49 (Alessio Ascalesi of Naples) to 87 (Andreas Früwirth, former nuncio), with senior figures like Dean Vincenzo Vannutelli (85, senior cardinal-bishop) and Camerlengo Pietro Gasparri (69, Secretary of State) playing pivotal procedural roles. This demographic skewed toward experienced curial and Italian clergy, influencing the conclave's internal dynamics toward continuity with Benedict XV's policies.

Factions, Candidates, and Divisions

The 1922 papal conclave revealed divisions among the 53 participating cardinal electors, stemming from competing visions for the Church's leadership amid post-World War I recovery and ongoing theological concerns like modernism. Principal factions coalesced around candidates representing diplomatic continuity versus curial conservatism: supporters of Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, Benedict XV's Secretary of State aged 69, advocated for his experience in international relations and treaty negotiations, positioning him as a proponent of pragmatic diplomacy. In opposition, backers of Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val, aged 56 and former Secretary of State under Pius X as well as prefect of the Holy Office, favored a return to the anti-modernist rigor of Pius X's pontificate, emphasizing doctrinal firmness over diplomatic flexibility. Additional divisions arose from Italian regional interests and curial loyalties, with votes scattering to figures like Cardinal Gaetano De Lai, aged 68 and former secretary of the Consistorial Congregation, who appealed to administrative insiders, and Patriarch Pietro La Fontaine of Venice, representing Venetian and broader Italian sentiments after the non-Italian leanings perceived in Benedict XV's circle. These groupings led to initial stalemates across the first 13 ballots, as no candidate secured the required two-thirds majority (36 votes), reflecting a lack of consensus between the Gasparri "peace party" diplomats and Merry del Val "irreconcilables," with neutral cardinals seeking a unifying figure. Cardinal Achille Ratti, aged 64 and Archbishop of Milan since June 1921 with prior Vatican Library and nunciature experience, emerged as the compromise after prolonged deadlock, gaining support from electors disillusioned with polarized frontrunners. Elected on the 14th ballot with 42 votes, Ratti's selection underscored the conclave's dynamics of factional exhaustion favoring an intellectual outsider perceived as balanced on Italian patriotism, administrative competence, and avoidance of extreme conservatism or unchecked diplomacy. This outcome, the longest conclave of the 20th century, highlighted how personal alliances and role-based preferences—rather than overt ideological schisms—shaped the vote, with private tallies like that of Cardinal Friedrich Piffl later confirming the shift toward Ratti.

Conclave Proceedings

Opening Rituals and Seclusion

The 1922 papal conclave opened on February 2, 1922, eleven days after the death of Pope Benedict XV on January 22, in accordance with the timing provisions set by Benedict XV himself, who had decreed that conclaves should begin 10 to 15 days following a pontiff's demise to allow sufficient gathering of electors. The fifty-three participating cardinal electors, reduced from the full College due to deaths and absences, assembled in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace for the initial ceremonies, which adhered to longstanding traditions codified in papal constitutions such as those from Pius X and Benedict XV. The rituals began with a Mass pro eligendo Pontifice (for the election of the Roman Pontiff), celebrated to invoke divine guidance, followed by a procession of the cardinals into the Sistine Chapel, the traditional voting site since 1492. Upon entering, each elector individually swore an oath of fidelity and secrecy, pledging to abide strictly by the conclave's procedural rules, including the prohibition on external influence or communication. This oath, administered before the altar, underscored the electors' commitment to impartiality under canonical law. Seclusion commenced immediately after the oaths, with the senior cardinal-deacon or the master of papal liturgical ceremonies pronouncing "Extra omnes"—"everyone out"—to expel all non-electors from the chapel, after which the doors were sealed and guarded. The cardinals were then confined to designated Vatican quarters, with rigorous measures enforced to prevent leaks: rooms were locked, windows screened, and a limited staff of ten cooks and attendants—vetted and sworn to silence—provided meals through controlled access points, reflecting the stringent secrecy protocols anticipated in contemporary reports. No correspondence, newspapers, or outside contact was permitted, and any violation risked excommunication, ensuring isolation until a pope was elected on February 6.

Balloting Process and Stalemates

The balloting in the 1922 papal conclave followed the established procedures codified under prior pontiffs, including Pope Pius X's 1904 constitution Compostella de electione, which mandated secret scrutiny ballots with a requirement of a two-thirds majority for election. On the first day, February 2, a single ballot was held after the Mass of the Holy Spirit; subsequent days allowed up to four ballots—two in the morning and two in the afternoon—until a pope was chosen or the process concluded. Each cardinal elector wrote the name of their chosen candidate on a ballot folded to ensure secrecy, depositing it on the altar during a solemn procession while swearing an oath of sincerity; ballots were then counted and tallied publicly by three scrutineers selected by lot, with any invalid votes discarded. If no candidate achieved the requisite majority, the ballots were burned with damp straw to produce black smoke signaling failure, visible from the Vatican to inform the faithful outside. Of the 60 eligible cardinals, 53 participated, necessitating at least 36 votes for election under the two-thirds rule adjusted for attendance. The process extended over five days, requiring 14 ballots due to persistent divisions among the electors, marking it as the longest conclave of the 20th century. Votes initially fragmented across 15 candidates, with principal contenders including Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val (a conservative favored by traditionalists), Cardinal Pietro Gasparri (Benedict XV's Secretary of State), and Cardinal Pierre de la Fontaine (a moderate Venetian patriarch); none secured a majority in early rounds, as conservative factions resisted continuity with Benedict's diplomatic policies while Italian nationalists sought a Roman or Milanese pope. Stalemates arose from ideological and national cleavages, with early ballots showing strong but insufficient support for Merry del Val, whose votes peaked without reaching 36, followed by gains for Gasparri that similarly stalled amid concerns over his administrative style. Private tallies recorded by Cardinal Friedrich Piffl of Vienna, later published in 1963 from his papers, reveal a gradual consolidation toward compromise figures, as electors wearied of deadlock and prioritized a unifying outsider to the Roman curial intrigues. By the later ballots, support shifted to Achille Cardinal Ratti, Archbishop of Milan, whose relative neutrality as a librarian-scholar appealed across factions; on the 14th ballot, February 6, Ratti received 42 votes, surpassing the threshold and ending the impasse. This prolonged voting underscored the conclave's role in balancing curial conservatives against progressive reformers, without procedural interventions like forced absences, relying instead on organic negotiation during pauses between scrutinies.

Election of Achille Ratti as Pius XI

After thirteen inconclusive ballots spanning February 2 to 5, 1922, marked by divisions among the 53 participating cardinals, Achille Ratti emerged as a compromise candidate on the fourteenth ballot held on February 6. Ratti, the 64-year-old Archbishop of Milan and former nuncio to Poland, had not been a leading contender initially, with early support coalescing around figures like Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val and Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri; however, persistent deadlocks between conservative and more diplomatic-oriented factions shifted votes toward Ratti's profile as a scholarly administrator with diplomatic experience amid post-war tensions. His unexpected rise reflected the electors' preference for a pontiff capable of addressing the Church's international challenges, including relations with emerging nation-states and internal curial reforms, drawing on his prior roles as Vatican librarian and his resolute stance during the 1920 Polish-Soviet conflict. Ratti received the requisite two-thirds majority on that final ballot, tallying 42 votes among the electors. Upon the traditional inquiry—"Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?"—Cardinal Dean Vincenzo Vannutelli asked, to which Ratti affirmed acceptance, selecting the regnal name Pius XI in homage to his early career under Pius IX and his elevation by Pius X. This election, the longest conclave since 1831, underscored the cardinals' pragmatic turn to a non-factional figure amid geopolitical uncertainties, including Italy's instability and the unresolved "Roman Question." Ratti's selection as an Italian pope after Benedict XV's tenure broke a pattern of perceived internationalism, yet his background suggested a balanced approach to both curial tradition and global outreach.

Immediate Aftermath

Habemus Papam Announcement and Urbi et Orbi Blessing

Following Achille Ratti's election as pope on the afternoon of February 6, 1922, after the fourteenth ballot in the Sistine Chapel, Cardinal Proto-Deacon Gaetano Bisleti proceeded to the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica to deliver the traditional Habemus Papam announcement to the assembled crowd in St. Peter's Square. Bisleti proclaimed in Latin: "Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum; habemus Papam! Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum Dominum, Dominum Achillem, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem Ratti, qui sibi nomen imposuit Pium Undecimum," informing the faithful of the election of Cardinal Achille Ratti, who had chosen the name Pius XI. The announcement was met with enthusiastic cheers from the thousands gathered below, marking the end of the five-day conclave that had begun on February 2 amid post-World War I tensions. Pius XI then appeared at the loggia, becoming the first pope since the loss of the Papal States in 1870 to deliver the Urbi et Orbi blessing from the external balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square, rather than from an internal balcony within the basilica as his immediate predecessors had done to avoid implying recognition of Italian sovereignty over Rome. This decision symbolized a gesture toward renewed public engagement with the faithful and the world (urbi et orbi meaning "to the city [of Rome] and to the orb [the world]"), departing from the seclusion practiced by popes like Leo XIII, Pius X, and Benedict XV during the period of Vatican isolation. Imparting the apostolic blessing, Pius XI invoked divine peace and protection, a rite granting plenary indulgence to participants, and his choice of the external venue was interpreted by observers as a sign of confidence in the Church's position despite ongoing Italian political pressures. The event concluded the conclave's seclusion phase, transitioning the new pontiff to immediate pastoral duties.

Coronation and Initial Governance

Following his election on February 6, 1922, Achille Ratti, now Pope Pius XI, received the traditional papal vestments in the Sistine Chapel before the Habemus Papam announcement was proclaimed from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica by Cardinal Protodeacon Gaetano Bisleti. He then delivered the Urbi et Orbi blessing to the gathered crowds in St. Peter's Square, an act signaling openness to the external world amid post-World War I tensions and the Church's strained relations with the Italian state. Pius XI's coronation occurred on February 12, 1922, in St. Peter's Basilica, where Cardinal Vincenzo Vannutelli, the senior cardinal bishop, placed the papal tiara upon his head during a solemn rite attended by clergy, dignitaries, and laity. This public ceremony in the basilica—contrasting with Benedict XV's more private Sistine Chapel coronation—emphasized continuity with pre-1870 traditions while adapting to the Vatican's contemporary isolation under the "Roman Question" dispute. The event drew international attention, including from American observers, underscoring Pius XI's intent to project stability in a Europe reeling from war and political upheaval. In his initial governance, Pius XI prioritized procedural reforms informed by the conclave's delays, issuing the motu proprio Cum proxime on March 1, 1922, which shortened scrutiny intervals to three ballots per session and mandated earlier seclusion to prevent external influences. He also began addressing global peace, culminating in his first encyclical, Ubi arcano Dei consilio, promulgated on December 23, 1922, which critiqued nationalism and socialism as barriers to Christian reconstruction while urging Catholic action for societal renewal. These steps reflected a pragmatic approach to stabilizing the Church's moral authority amid rising fascist movements in Italy and communist threats elsewhere, without immediate resolution to the temporal sovereignty issue resolved later via the 1929 Lateran Treaty.

Reforms and Procedural Changes

Pius XI's Modifications to Conclave Rules

In the motu proprio Cum proxime, promulgated on 1 March 1922 just weeks after his election, Pope Pius XI established new norms for papal conclaves, primarily addressing logistical barriers to cardinal participation. The document extended the maximum interval between a pope's death and the conclave's opening from 10 days—set by prior rules—to 15 days, while granting the College of Cardinals authority to prolong it further to 18 days if travel exigencies demanded. This adjustment stemmed from acute difficulties observed in the 1922 conclave following Benedict XV's death on 22 January, when slow transatlantic shipping and rail connections barred several American and Canadian cardinals from voting. Cardinals such as William Henry O'Connell of Boston, Denis Dougherty of Philadelphia, and Louis-Nazaire Bégin of Quebec arrived too late; O'Connell, after chartering a fast steamship from New York to Naples and a special Italian train to Rome, reached the Vatican under an hour after Achille Ratti's election on 6 February. O'Connell directly urged Pius XI during an early audience to reform the timeline, highlighting how the 10-day limit disadvantaged non-European electors amid post-World War I disruptions. Pius XI's response prioritized equitable global representation, ensuring future conclaves could incorporate the full College rather than a Europe-centric subset, thereby bolstering the process's universality without altering core voting or secrecy protocols.

Long-Term Significance

Pius XI's Papacy in Historical Context

Achille Ratti, elected as Pope Pius XI on 6 February 1922, led the Catholic Church through a period of profound global upheaval, including the economic devastation of the Great Depression and the ascendancy of totalitarian regimes in Europe. His 17-year pontificate, ending with his death on 10 February 1939, emphasized the Church's independence and moral authority amid rising secular ideologies. Elected in the wake of World War I's social dislocations and the unresolved "Roman Question" with Italy, Pius XI prioritized restoring Vatican sovereignty, culminating in the Lateran Pacts signed on 11 February 1929 with Benito Mussolini's government, which recognized the Holy See's temporal power over Vatican City and compensated for seized papal territories. These accords, while pragmatically engaging fascist Italy to end decades of conflict, later drew scrutiny for enabling Mussolini's regime, though Pius XI increasingly distanced the Church from fascism's pagan and statist excesses. Pius XI's encyclicals articulated firm opposition to emergent threats, framing them as antithetical to Christian social order. In Non Abbiamo Bisogno (29 June 1931), he condemned Italian fascism's youth indoctrination and attacks on Catholic Action as violations of religious liberty, signaling a shift from initial treaty-era accommodation. Similarly, Mit Brennender Sorge (14 March 1937), smuggled into Nazi Germany for reading from pulpits, rebuked violations of the 1933 Reichskonkordat and Nazism's racial idolatry, marking the first papal document to explicitly name and criticize National Socialism. Against atheistic communism, Divini Redemptoris (19 March 1937) declared the ideology intrinsically evil, prohibiting Catholic collaboration and highlighting Soviet persecutions, while advocating a "third way" of corporatist social justice rooted in subsidiarity and private property. These interventions reflected Pius XI's commitment to first-principles defense of human dignity against materialist collectivism, influencing Church doctrine amid interwar polarization. In broader historical context, Pius XI's reign bridged the liberal nineteenth-century order and the ideological battles of the 1930s, fostering missionary expansion in Asia and Africa while reinforcing papal centralization post-conclave. His social encyclical Quadragesimo Anno (15 May 1931) critiqued both capitalism's inequalities and socialism's class warfare, proposing vocational groups to harmonize labor and capital—a response to the 1929 crash's fallout. Though his death preceded World War II, Pius XI's confrontations with fascism, Nazism, and communism set precedents for ecclesiastical resistance, underscoring the 1922 conclave's selection of a scholar-diplomat attuned to modernity's crises. Primary archival evidence from Vatican diplomacy reveals consistent prioritization of doctrinal integrity over political expediency, countering narratives of uncritical fascist alignment.

Influence on Future Conclaves and Church Direction

The 1922 conclave's extended duration of five days and 14 ballots, driven by divisions between conservative and conciliatory factions amid post-World War I instability and the unresolved Roman Question, highlighted the risks of prolonged deadlocks in papal elections. This dynamic influenced future conclaves by emphasizing the selection of compromise candidates with proven diplomatic acumen to navigate international crises, as seen in the 1939 election of Pius XII, who benefited from Pius XI's appointees dominating the College of Cardinals. Pius XI's creation of 76 cardinals across 17 consistories from 1923 to 1937 expanded and diversified the electorate, ensuring his vision of adaptive, globally engaged leadership shaped subsequent voting blocs and reduced the dominance of entrenched Italian factions. Pius XI's pontificate, emerging from the conclave's emphasis on resolving temporal conflicts, redirected the Church toward diplomatic assertiveness, culminating in the 1929 Lateran Treaty with Italy, which established Vatican City's sovereignty and provided 750 million lire in cash plus 1 billion lire in bonds as reparations for the 1870 loss of the Papal States. This settlement liberated papal resources for doctrinal and missionary priorities, setting a precedent for Church-state concordats that bolstered institutional autonomy in the 20th century. Doctrinally, the conclave's outcome steered the Church against emerging totalitarian threats, with Pius XI issuing Mit brennender Sorge (1937) to condemn Nazi racial ideology and violations of the 1933 Reichskonkordat, and Divini Redemptoris (1937) denouncing atheistic communism as intrinsically perverse. These positions, rooted in the need for a papacy capable of confronting ideological upheavals foreseen in 1922, entrenched an anti-totalitarian framework that guided successors like Pius XII and informed the Church's Cold War-era stances. Socially, Quadragesimo Anno (1931) advanced subsidiarity and critiqued both capitalism and socialism, influencing Catholic social teaching's emphasis on human dignity over state absolutism and fostering lay movements like Catholic Action to counter secularism. Overall, the 1922 conclave's legacy lay in validating a papacy oriented toward pragmatic engagement with modernity—resolving internal disputes while fortifying moral resistance to ideologies—patterns that recurred in later elections prioritizing popes equipped for geopolitical and ethical leadership amid global fragmentation.

References

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