Cardinal Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro
The vetoed 'Papabile'
His Eminence The Lord Cardinal Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro
Secretary in the Secretariat of State
Bailiff-Grand Cross S.M.O.M.
The death of Pope Leo XIII
On the death of Pope Leo XIII in 1903, Cardinal Mariano
Rampolla del Tindaro was the favourite
for the succession.
H.E. Archbishop Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta - Secretary to Conclave 1903
Archbishop Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta was secretary to
the conclave of 1903, after which the new Pope Pius X immediately appointed him
his own personal Secretary and then Secretary of State and Prefect of the
Apostolic Palace, even before he was created cardinal on November 9, 1903.
H.E. Cardinal Patrick Francis Moran - Did not attend the conclave
The Cardinals eligible
to attend the Conclave of 1903 were 64, as follows: six
Cardinal-Bishops, fifty Cardinal-Priests, and
eight Cardinal Deacons. Actually the number of them that participated in
the conclave of Pope Pius X were 62 cardinals since the Australian Cardinal
Patrick Francis Moran, Archbishop of Sydney, 72, did not attend because of the
excessive length of the journey and the Cardinal Archbishop of Palermo
Michelangelo Celesia, 89 years old, was very sick. The Cardinal Archbishop of
Santiago de Compostela, Martín de Herrera participated in all the sessions from
his private bedroom, as he was suffering from a severe form of pulmonary
emphysema. Cardinal Celesia was the oldest, but in his absence this attribute
fell on Cardinal Richard de la Vergne, Archbishop of Paris, thanks to his 84
years. The youngest cardinal who participated in the conclave was the
Archbishop of Prague, Léon Skrbenský Hriste. He was just 40 years old.
Prince Mario Chigi - Perpetual Marshal of the Holy Roman Church
The Honorary Custodian of the Conclave and Perpetual Marshal
of the Holy Roman Church was Prince Mario Chigi (1832 -1914), son of Prince
Sigismondo Chigi Albani della Rovere Principe Farnese (1798 -1877) and
Charlotte Amalia, Princess Colonna Barberini.
H.E. Cardinal Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto - On the first ballot he gained 5 votes
The first ballot gave highly fragmented results, which were
exactly as follows: Oreglia 2 votes,
S. Vannutelli 4 votes, Agliardi 1 vote, Capecelatro 2 votes, Rampolla del Tindaro 24 votes, Di Pietro 2 votes, Sarto 5 votes, Gotti 17
votes, Ferrata 1 vote, Cassetta 1 vote, Portanova
1 vote, Richelmy 1 vote and Segna 1 vote.
H.E. Cardinal Girolamo Maria Gotti
In fact, at the end of the first day of voting, the
prevailing view was that Cardinal Rampolla del Tindaro was quickly climbing the
ladder that would lead him to the "throne of Peter." The Sicilian
cardinal , after the second ballot held in afternoon, received almost half of
the votes. He had won the preference of 29 cardinals out of 62. In the meantime Cardinal Sarto
improved his position and his tally rose to 10 votes, while Cardinal Gotti's
position remained unchanged with his 17 votes .
H.E. Cardinal Jan Puzyna de Kosielsko
On the evening of Friday, July 31, 1903, Cardinal Jan Puzyna de Kosielsko, was
visibly agitated, and restless wandering in the halls of the Apostolic Palace.
Whenever he met some prelate he took him by his arm and strongly said to him:
"Please! Please! Let us have a good Pope"
H.E. Cardinal Anton Josef Gruscha
The veto in the name of the Austrian Emperor should have been pronounced by the Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna Josef Gruscha, but the cardinal refused for reasons of principle and for the friendship that bound him to Rampolla del Tindaro.
Emperor Franz Josef: Used an old privilege to veto the conclave
It was then, on the 2nd August , that Cardinal Puzyna , Metropolitan Archbishop of Krakow imposed the veto of Emperor Franz
Joseph of Austria against Cardinal Rampolla, as he discreetly announced before
the opening of the conclave itself. Just as the second day of the balloting was
opening, Cardinal Puzyna rose from his throne and read a script previously
drafted, and declared that the Emperor
of Austria and Hungary, Franz Joseph, was using his ancient privilege, to put
the veto on the election of Cardinal Rampolla .
Cardinal Puzyna was decorated with the Austro-Hungarian Grand-Cross of State
The Austrian-Hungarian empire was, in fact, one of the three
Catholic nations who enjoyed the privilege of so-called ius exclusivae.
Cardinal Puzyna was later rewarded with the highest Austro-Hungarian decoration the Grand-Cross of State.
This is the Latin text of the declaration of veto:«Honori
mihi duco, ad hoc officium jussu altìssimo vocatus, humillime rogare Vestram
Eminentiam, prout Decanum Sacri Collegii Eminentissimorum Sacrae Ecclesiae
Cardìnalìum et Camerarium Sanctae Romane Ecclesiae, ut ad notitiam Suam
percipiat ìdque notificare et declarare modo officioso velit: nomine et
auctoritate Suae Majestatis Apostolìcae Francisci Josephi, Imperatoris Austriae
et Regis Hungariae, jure et privilegio antiquo uti volentis, veto
exclusionis contra Eminentissimum
Dominum meum Cardinalem Marianum Rampolla del Tindaro. Romae, 2. Augusti 1903»
This is the translation of the Austrian veto: "I do
honour, having been called to this office by the highest order, do humbly pray Your Eminence, as Dean of the
Sacred College of Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church and Chamberlain of Holy
Roman Church, to know and note for your own information and to notify and
declare officially, in the name and by the authority of His Apostolic Majesty
Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, his Majesty, wishing to
use an ancient privilege, imposing the veto of exclusion against ' His Eminence
Cardinal Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro. "
Rampolla responded this way: «Vehementer doleo gravi vulnere
illato Ecclesiae libertati.; autem quod ad me attinet, nihil gratìus, nihil
poterat accidere jucundius». The
Secretary of State in fact, replied with dignity at this incredible interference, thanking the Lord for
having subtracted the weight of the papacy, while, if his brother cardinals had intended to elect
him, declared himself saddened by the serious attack on freedom of the Church.
Leo XII policy of reconciliation between France and Austria,
endorsed by Rampolla, exposed him to the suspicion of being philoFrench in the
eyes of the Austrians. - Austria asserted that the opposition was motivated for
Rampolla's membership in the Order of the
Templars.
It did not seem, however, that the Polish prelate's
interference had immediately affected the vote of the Sacred College. The
outcome of the vote in the afternoon of Sunday, August 2, was characterized by
not deviating much from the previous ballot result, perhaps because a part of
the Cardinals had not intended to respect this imperial interference, but the
designation of the new pope was restricted in practice to two main candidates.
Cardinal Rampolla had taken, in fact, one more vote (29 to 30), Sarto won 3
more votes (21 to 24), while Gotti
collapsed from 9 to 3 votes.
Then came the third day, the day when it was thought that the
Austrian veto would produce its effects. It transpired that the cardinals were
afraid of losing the support of the strongest European Catholic monarchy.
A letter written by Cardinal Sarto during the conclave
After the fifth ballot, the situation started to change.
Rampolla in fact descended from 30 to 24 votes, Sarto again gained more votes,
from 24 to 27, as well as Gotti, who went up again from 3 to 9 votes.
On the evening of August 2, 1903 the Patriarch of Venice,
Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto gained 30 votes against 21 that went to Rampolla.
The outcome of that vote, had driven the Patriarch of Venice
Cardinal Sarto to speak to his confreres: "... to pray and to ask them to
forget his name, adding that he "ex conscientia sua", he did not
feel worthy to ascend to the throne of Peter. "
His Holiness Pope Pius X
Rampolla's supporters were not able in the short time then
available to transfer their combined support to another prelate. On August 4,
1903 the Patriarch of Venice Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto was elected with 50
votes of the 62 cardinals cloistered in the conclave and took the name of Pius X.
His Holiness Pope Pius X with Cardinal Merry del Val y Zulueta
The first act of the new pope, however, was to abolish the
use of the veto forever, by means of the Apostolic
Constitution "Commissum Nobis."
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