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 Interesting Facts
Bishop of Ostia's role - Pope
Mark (336) decided that the Bishop of Ostia, the port-city of
Rome, should consecrate Popes. At this period in
history, the electee was either a deacon or a priest of Rome, and
so consecration to the episcopacy inaugurated his papacy. Today,
the Cardinal Bishop of Ostia is the Dean of the College of
Cardinals and retains the right to consecrate the Pope if he is
not already a bishop.
Bishop Electees - Prior to the election of Marinus I
in 882, the Popes had been chosen from among priests and deacons.
Upon consecration to the episcopacy they became capable of being
Pope and were, therefore, in that moment of consecration made both
bishop and Pope. Bishops were not chosen because they were
considered wedded to their diocese, and so the transference of a
bishop from one diocese to another was considered uncanonical.
Marino was already a bishop, however, so instead of being
consecrated he was enthroned. After this time the practice of
electing bishops occurred more and more frequently, so that it has
become the norm. Since a bishop is already capable of being Pope,
the electee becomes Pope in the moment of his acceptance of his
election.
Counting Popes - In 752 the man elected to
succeed Pope Zachary took the name Stephen II. However, since he
died before being officially consecrated, by the canon law of the
day he was not considered the Pope yet. Soon thereafter, a different
Stephen took the name Stephen II . Almost a thousand years later the
official numbering was changed. The short-lived Stephen II is still
NOT listed among the Popes, but his name is accounted for by the
renumbering of the listed Stephens, so that the official Stephen II
is now Stephen II (III). This numbering change in the official list
was applied to all the Stephens, down to Stephen IX (X) in 1057.
However, since there have been no new Stephens since the
renumbering, no Pope has had to decide which number of Stephen to
take next.
Eastern Catholic
Popes - A number of Eastern Catholics of Greek or Syrian origin have
been elected Pope. The last Pope to be from the East, however, was
Pope
Zachary (741-52).
Election Reforms - Over the centuries the Popes
instituted various election reforms aimed at limiting or removing
the external influences of emperors, kings, Roman nobility and
clerical factions, who sought to elect their candidate or
demanded their consent for election validity. Many reforms did not
last, of course, especially concerning the issue of "investiture"
(secular princes requiring their consent for the election of bishops
in their territory). However, the free process that the Church has
come to take for granted is the result of the continual struggle to
free the papacy from secular or ecclesiastical electioneering.
See also History of Papal Electoral Law
Papal Names - Most of the early Popes kept their own
names upon election. However, when the Roman priest Mercury was
elected in 533 he took the name John II, so the Church would not
have a Pope named after a pagan god. Thus began the practice of taking a new name which today is taken for granted.
Recent Conclaves - The record of
recent Conclaves, the last 100 years, shows that the College elects a
new Pope on average on the 3rd day in the afternoon, after about 8
ballots.
Pius X, 1903: 4
days, 7 ballots
Benedict XV, 1914: 3 days, 10 ballots
Pius XI, 1922: 5 days 14 ballots
Pius XII, 1939: 2 days, 3 ballots
John XXIII, 1958: 4 days, 11 ballots
Paul VI, 1963: 3 days, 6 ballots
John Paul I, 1978: 2 days, 4 ballots
John Paul II, 1978: 3 days, 8 ballots
Bnedict XVI, 2005, 2 days, 4 ballots
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