Pope Paul VI

Pope Saint

Paul VI
Bishop of Rome
Official portrait, 1969
ChurchCatholic Church
Papacy began21 June 1963
Papacy ended6 August 1978
PredecessorJohn XXIII
SuccessorJohn Paul I
Previous post(s)
Orders
Ordination29 May 1920
by Giacinto Gaggia
Consecration12 December 1954
by Eugène Tisserant
Created cardinal15 December 1958
by John XXIII
Personal details
Born
Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini

(1897-09-26)26 September 1897
Concesio, Brescia, Kingdom of Italy
Died6 August 1978(1978-08-06) (aged 80)
Castel Gandolfo, Italy
EducationUniversity of Milan (JCD)
Motto
  • Cum ipso in monte sancto
    (Latin for 'With Him on the holy mountain')
  • In nomine Domini
    (Latin for 'In the name of the Lord')
SignaturePaul VI's signature
Coat of armsPaul VI's coat of arms
Sainthood
Feast day
Venerated in
Beatified19 October 2014
Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City
by Pope Francis
Canonized14 October 2018
Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City
by Pope Francis
Attributes
Patronage
ShrinesNone
Ordination history
History
Diaconal ordination
Date28 February 1920
PlaceConcesio, Brescia
Priestly ordination
Ordained byGiacinto Gaggia (Brescia)
Date29 May 1920
PlaceConcesio, Brescia
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecratorEugène Tisserant (Dean of the College of Cardinals)
Co-consecrators
Date12 December 1954
PlaceSaint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City
Cardinalate
Elevated byPope John XXIII
Date15 December 1958
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Pope Paul VI as principal consecrator
Giuseppe Schiavini22 May 1955
Cesário Alexandre Minali5 June 1955
Ubaldo Teofano Stella3 October 1955
Domenico Enrici1 November 1955
Aristide Pirovano13 November 1955
Adolfo Luís Bossi14 September 1958
Antonio Fustella25 June 1960
Giovanni Umberto Colombo7 December 1960
Luigi Oldani7 December 1961
Francesco Rossi26 May 1963
Igino Eugenio Cardinale20 October 1963
Albert Reuben Edward Thomas20 October 1963
Giovanni Fallani28 June 1964
Johannes Gerardus Maria Willebrands28 June 1964
Leobard D'Souza3 December 1964
Ferdinando Giuseppe Antonelli19 March 1966
Giacomo Violardo19 March 1966
Loris Francesco Capovilla[8]16 July 1967
Agostino Casaroli16 July 1967
Ernesto Civardi16 July 1967
Paul Casimir Marcinkus6 January 1969
Louis Vangeke3 December 1970
Annibale Bugnini13 February 1972
Giuseppe Casoria13 February 1972
Enrico Bartolucci Panaroni29 June 1973
Jean Jerome Hamer29 June 1973
Andrzej Maria Deskur30 June 1974
Nicola Rotunno30 June 1974
Other popes named Paul

Pope Paul VI (Latin: Paulus VI; Italian: Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, Italian: [dʒoˈvanni batˈtista enˈriːko anˈtɔːnjo maˈriːa monˈtiːni]; 26 September 1897 – 6 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXIII, he continued the Second Vatican Council, which he closed in 1965, implementing its numerous reforms. He fostered improved ecumenical relations with Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches, which resulted in many historic meetings and agreements. In January 1964, he flew to Jordan, the first time a reigning pontiff had left Italy in more than a century.[9]

Montini served in the Holy See's Secretariat of State from 1922 to 1954, and along with Domenico Tardini was considered the closest and most influential advisor of Pope Pius XII. In 1954, Pius named Montini Archbishop of Milan, the largest Italian diocese. Montini later became the Secretary of the Italian Bishops' Conference. John XXIII elevated Montini to the College of Cardinals in 1958, and after his death, Montini was, with little opposition, elected his successor, taking the name Paul VI.[10]

He re-convened the Second Vatican Council, which had been suspended during the interregnum. After its conclusion, Paul VI took charge of the interpretation and implementation of its mandates, finely balancing the conflicting expectations of various Catholic groups. The resulting reforms were among the widest and deepest in the Church's history.

Paul VI spoke repeatedly to Marian conventions and Mariological meetings, visited Marian shrines and issued three Marian encyclicals. Following Ambrose of Milan, he named Mary as the Mother of the Church during the Second Vatican Council.[11] He described himself as a humble servant of a suffering humanity and demanded significant changes from the rich in North America and Europe in favour of the poor in the Third World.[12] His opposition to birth control was published in the 1968 encyclical Humanae vitae.

Pope Benedict XVI, citing his heroic virtue, proclaimed him venerable on 20 December 2012. Pope Francis beatified Paul VI on 19 October 2014, after the recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession. His liturgical feast was celebrated on the date of his birth, 26 September, until 2019 when it was changed to the date of his priestly ordination, 29 May.[1] Pope Francis canonised him on 14 October 2018.

  1. ^ a b "Decreto della Congregazione del Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti sull'iscrizione della celebrazione di San Paolo VI, Papa, nel calendario Romano Generale". Holy See. 6 February 2019. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Memory of Blessd Paul VI". Archdiocese of Milan. 15 May 2015. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  3. ^ Chryssides, George D. (2012). Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements (2nd ed.). Lanham, Md.: The Scarecrow Press. p. 268. ISBN 9780810861947. Archived from the original on 29 April 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2021. The church has also canonized Francisco Franco, Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer y Albas, Christopher Columbus, and Paul VI.
  4. ^ "In the Diocese of Milan. A pastoral community dedicated to Paul VI (in Italian)". 1 October 2014. Archived from the original on 18 August 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  5. ^ "About Paul VI, Patron of the Institute". Archdiocese of St. Louis. Archived from the original on 21 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  6. ^ "Paul VI Blessed! (in Italian)". Diocese of Brescia. 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  7. ^ "Letter to the diocese for calling a "Montinian Year" (in Italian)" (PDF). Diocese of Brescia. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  8. ^ "CAPOVILLA, Loris Francesco (1915–)". Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  9. ^ "The Pilgrimage of Pope Paul the Sixth". Life. 17 January 1964. pp. 18–29. Archived from the original on 29 April 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  10. ^ Hebblethwaite 1993, pp. 322–23.
  11. ^ Commissio Theologica Internationalis, Catholic Church (21 August 2009). Sharkey, Michael; Weinandy, Thomas (eds.). International Theological Commission, Vol II: 1986–2007. Ignatius Press. p. 208. ISBN 978-1586172268.
  12. ^ 'It's not Easy Being a Christian', says Pope, Rome, Italy: Vatican Radio, 11 August 2009, archived from the original on 7 March 2012, retrieved 19 May 2014