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Fat pope, thin pope

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Pius XII and John XXIII, sequential popes who differed both in build and theological emphases

"Always follow a fat pope with a skinny one" (Italian: Fate sempre seguire un papa grasso a uno magro[1] or A un papa grasso, ne segue uno magro[2]), also phrased "A fat pope follows a thin one"[3] and abbreviated "Fat pope, thin pope",[4] is an adage in the Catholic Church describing a perceived trend that conclaves tend to counterbalance the preceding pope with one having different ideological emphases.

Phrase

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The Italian adage around papal conclaves describes a perceived tendency for the cardinal electors to choose a candidate who counterbalances the previous pope, as if following a pendulum swing.[1][5] In choosing a successor, cardinals are seen to focus on the perceived flaws of the previous pontiff, and select a candidate who remedies those flaws.[6] A "combative" pope may be followed by a more amicable one, and a "politician" followed by a "priest".[7][8] This phenomenon is especially said to be noticed in history after particularly long papacies, when the church is ready for change.[2][4]

Accuracy

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Pope Pius IX's reign, marked by a "distrust of modernity", was followed by Pope Leo XIII's focus on a more "activist faith" which was in turn followed by Pope Pius X's fight against modernism.[9] The "austere" and "aristocratic" Pope Pius XII was followed by the "gregarious and seemingly unsophisticated" Pope John XXIII.[2] In recent history, Pope Francis was seen as a more left-wing pontiff following Pope Benedict XVI, who in turn was seen as more right-wing than the preceding Pope John Paul II.[1]

However, in an article for Crux, John L. Allen Jr. disputed how accurate the adage is, stating that Pope Pius XI continued the policies of Pope Benedict XV, and similarly with Pope Paul VI and Pope John XXIII.[10] Benedict XVI's papacy was also seen by some to be more of the same, rather than a change;[11] allegedly, left-wing bishops had assumed that John Paul II's successor would follow a pendulum swing to be more liberal, and were surprised by Benedict XVI's election.[12]

Christopher M. Bellitto also noted that while the phrase is metaphorical, it has been literally true at times; the portly Pope Pius IX was followed by the skinny Pope Leo XIII, and the "jolly and jowly" Pope John XXIII was preceded by the "gaunt" Pope Pius XII and followed by the "thin" Pope Paul VI.[9][a]

Other contexts

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The phrase has also been used to describe the same pendulum phenomenon occurring among Harvard University presidents, with the scientists Charles William Eliot and James B. Conant flanking the humanist A. Lawrence Lowell,[15] and in American presidential executive styles.[16]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Some historic newspapers, such as The Record and The Observer, use the phrase solely in a literal way.[13][14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Belton, Paddy (20 February 2025). "Right-leaning cardinals frontrunners as Pope Francis' successor". Brussels Signal. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Rooney, Francis (2013). The Global Vatican: An Inside Look at the Catholic Church, World Politics, and the Extraordinary Relationship between the United States and the Holy See. Lanham: A Sheed & Ward Book / Rowman & Littlefield. p. 117. ISBN 978-1442223615. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  3. ^ White, Stephen (29 March 2018). "The Pope's Mess - Washington Examiner". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  4. ^ a b Williams, Daniel; Cooperman, Alan (10 April 2005). "Top cardinal silences Vatican as selection process ramps up". The Ottawa Citizen. The Washington Post. pp. A1, A8. Retrieved 24 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Allen Jr, John L (June 2002). "Pope Hopefuls". Washington Monthly. 34 (6): 12.
  6. ^ Jeyaretnam, Miranda (23 April 2025). "Did Pope Francis 'Pack' the Conclave?". TIME. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  7. ^ Paris, Edmond (1961). The Vatican against Europe (in French and English). Translated by Robson, A. London: P. R. MacMillan Limited. p. 307.
  8. ^ Greeley, Andrew M. (1979). The Making of the Popes 1978 : the Politics of Intrigue in the Vatican. Kansas City, Kan.: Andrews and McMeel. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-8362-3100-7. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  9. ^ a b Bellitto, Christopher M. (2008). 101 questions & answers on popes and the papacy. Paulist Press. pp. 119, 120. ISBN 978-0-8091-4516-4. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  10. ^ Allen Jr., John L. (19 August 2022). "Why alleged conclave wisdom often isn't really all that wise". Crux. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  11. ^ Tomkins, Stephen (2005). A Short History of Christianity (Stephen Tomkins). Oxford: Lion Hudson plc. p. 246. ISBN 0745951449. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  12. ^ Rose, Michael S. (2005). Benedict XVI : the man who was Ratzinger. Dallas, Tex. : Spence Pub. Co. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-890626-63-1. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  13. ^ Mendels, Pamela (20 August 1978). "Clues add spice to guessing game". The Record. p. 17. Retrieved 24 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Jenkins, Roy (21 July 1963). "Inside the Conclave". The Observer. pp. 17, 18. Retrieved 24 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Norton Smith, Richard (1986). The Harvard Century: The Making of a University to a Nation. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-671-46035-8. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  16. ^ Gould, Lewis L. (2009). The Modern American Presidency. University Press of Kansas. p. x. ISBN 978-0-7006-1683-1. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
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