Cardinal electors for the 1958 papal conclave
The papal conclave of 1958 was convened to elect a pope, the leader of the Catholic Church, to succeed Pope Pius XII following his death on 9 October 1958.
Of the 54 members of the College of Cardinals at the time of Pius XII's death, 51 participated in the subsequent conclave. Of the 51 attending electors, 6 were cardinal bishops, 43 were cardinal priests, and 2 were cardinal deacons; 13 had been created cardinals by Pope Pius XI and 38 by Pope Pius XII; 12 worked in the service of the Holy See (such as in the Roman Curia) and 39 were in pastoral ministry outside Rome. The oldest cardinal elector in the conclave was Georges Grente, at the age of 86, and the youngest was Giuseppe Siri, at the age of 52.
The cardinal electors entered the Sistine Chapel to begin the conclave on 25 October 1958. On 28 October, after eleven ballots over four days, they elected Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, the patriarch of Venice, who took the papal name John XXIII.
Cardinal electors
[edit]The data below are as of 9 October 1958, the date on which the Holy See became vacant. Cardinals belonging to institutes of consecrated life or to societies of apostolic life are indicated by the relevant post-nominal letters.
Not in attendance
[edit]| Rank | Name | Country | Born | Order | Consistory | Office | Reason for absence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | József Mindszenty | Hungary | 29 March 1892 (age 66) |
CP | 18 February 1946 Pius XII |
Archbishop of Esztergom | Confined to US Embassy[1] |
| 2 | Edward Aloysius Mooney | United States | 15 November 1873 (age 84) |
CP | 18 February 1946 Pius XII |
Archbishop of Detroit | Died three hours before the conclave[2] |
| 3 | Aloysius Stepinac | Croatia | 8 May 1898 (age 60) |
CP | 12 January 1953 Pius XII |
Archbishop of Zagreb | Under house arrest[1] |
Cardinal electors by continent and country
[edit]The 51 attending cardinal electors were from 20 countries. The countries with the greatest number of cardinal electors were Italy (seventeen), France (six), and Brazil (four).
| Continent | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 1 | 2.0% |
| North America | 5 | 9.8% |
| South America | 8 | 15.7% |
| Asia | 4 | 7.8% |
| Europe* | 32 | 62.7% |
| Oceania | 1 | 2.0% |
| Total | 51 | 100.0% |
| Country | Continent | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina | South America | 2 |
| Australia | Oceania | 1 |
| Belgium | Europe | 1 |
| Brazil | South America | 4 |
| Canada | North America | 2 |
| China | Asia | 1 |
| Colombia | South America | 1 |
| Cuba | North America | 1 |
| Ecuador | South America | 1 |
| France | Europe | 6 |
| Germany | Europe | 2 |
| India | Asia | 1 |
| Ireland | Europe | 1 |
| Italy* | Europe | 17 |
| Lebanon | Asia | 2 |
| Mozambique | Africa | 1 |
| Poland | Europe | 1 |
| Portugal | Europe | 1 |
| Spain | Europe | 3 |
| United States | North America | 2 |
| Total | 51 | |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Two Cardinals Absent" (PDF). New York Times. 29 October 1958. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- ^ Hofmann, Paul (26 October 1958). "Cardinal Mooney Dies in Rome at 76" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
