Historical notes

At the Lateran Synod of 13 April 1059 Nicholas II decreed (In nomine Domini) that the pope is to be elected by the six cardinal bishops.³⁰

The election of Innocent II in 1130 was the first in which the three orders of cardinals took part.³¹

In 1179 the Third Lateran Council (Eleventh General Council) decreed that papal elections require a two-thirds majority. During the Third Lateran Council, ALEXANDER III (Licet de vitanda) restricted papal elections soley to the three orders of Cardinals³²

In 1274 GREGROY X in the Constitution Ubi periculum decreed that cardinals must assemble in conclave³³ not more than ten days after the pope's death at the place where he died to elect a successor. PAUL VI decreed that the conclave was to begin no sooner than fifteen days and not longer than twenty days after the death of the pope.³⁴

GREGORY X also provided that the cardinals in conclave should sleep in a communal dormitory. In 1345 CLEMENT VI permitted the bed of each cardinal to be separated by a curtain or wall. LEO XIII allowed each cardinal to have his own proper room.

Since the time of BONIFACE VIII (1294-1303), cardinals have worn scarlet robes. The red hat dates back to the time of INNOCENT IV (1243- 1254); in November 1246, while meeting with the King of France at Cluny, INNOCENT IV conferred the red hat on his cardinals. In 1464, PAUL II (1464-1471) decided that cardinals should wear red skull caps during sacred ceremonies to distinguish them from other prelate.35

The Constitution Ubi periculum was confirmed by the decree Ne Romani of the Council of Vienne in 1311; it forbade the cardinals, while the Holy See is vacant, from dealing with any matter other than the election of the pope.³⁶

In 1492 Lorenzo the Magnifient wrote to his youngest son, Giovanni dei Medici, a cardinal deacon at thirteen (he did not reside in Rome until he was seventeen), and later Leo X (1513-1521):

In your person we behold the greatest dignity ever granted by God to our family, and its value is the greatest by reason of your age...

Never fail to remind yourself that it is not your merits, nor your prudence, nor your conduct, that has made you what you are; it is God himself who has made you a cardinal, you should show that you realize this by living a holy, exemplary and honorable life...

I realize that in going to Rome, which is the sink of all evils, you will encounter great difficulty in following my advice, because example is infectious, and also because you will find no lack of evil and corrupting counsellors.³⁷

JULIUS II (1503-1513) was unanimously elected pope with the help of lavish promises and bribes at a conclave lasting a single day. On 14 January 1505 he published a bull declaring papal elections nullified by simony.³⁸

PIUS IV (1559-1565) with his constitution In eligendis inaugurated the "congregatio particularis" which was to consist of three cardinals, one from each rank, who together with the Camerlengo were to take charge of minor affairs of the Church during the conclave. At the end of three days the next three cardinals in seniority would constitute this congregation.³⁹

On 3 December 1586 in the Bull Postquam verus, SIXTUS V set the maximum number of cardinals at 70 (6 Cardinal Bishops, 50 Cardinal Priests and 14 Cardinal Deacons).40

On 21 March 1591 GREGORY XIV banned all betting on papal elections, the length of the pontificate or the creation of cardinals.

On 12 March 1622 GREGORY XV (Decet Romanum pontificem) decreed that election was to be by secret ballot. He allowed the cardinals to follow any one of three forms of election: scrutinium, compromissum or quasi-inspiratio and decreed that no cardinal could vote for himself; he enacted provisions for computing the ballots which were to be burned immediately afterward.⁴¹

The title Eminentissimus, 'Your Eminence,' was one of the titles of the Byzantine emperor and thence passed to the Holy Roman Emperor, from which it afterward passed to leaders in his court. Apparently at Richelieu's suggestion, URBAN VIII on June 10, 1630 restricted it to cardinals, who until then were usually entitled 'most illustrious' and 'most reverend,' to the three ecclesiastical Electors of the Holy Roman Empire,⁴² and to the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, who bears the title to this day, the only layman so honored.⁴³

On 24 May 1882 LEO XIII decreed (Praedecessores Nostri) that elections could be held in Rome if the pope died while away from the City.

On 20 January 1904 PIUS X in the bull Commissum nobis suppressed the right of secular governments to assert a veto during the Conclave.⁴⁴ On 25 December 1904 the same Pontiff issued Vacante Sede Apostolico codifying prior legislation concerning papal elections.

PIUS X, Apostolicae Romanorum, AAS, II (1910) 277 decreed that because of their work in the Curia, the cardinal bishops should have auxiliary bishops who would actually reside in the suburbicarian sees. BENEDICT XV, Ex actis tempore AAS VII (1915) 229 abrogated Pius X's decree.

PIUS XI, by his Motu proprio, Cum proxime, of March 1, 1922 extended the time allowed between the death of the pope and the opening of the conclave from ten to fifteen days; he gave the cardinals the power of further extending the interval to a maximum of eighteen days.⁴⁵

On 8 December 1945 PIUS XII, in the Apostolic Constitution Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis, decreed that election was to be by two-thirds plus one to invalidate any ballot cast by an elector for himself. The same constitution provides that the cardinal protodeacon has the privilege of bestowing the pallium upon metropolitans and the right to announce the name of the new pope after his election.

In the Consistory of 15 December 1958, JOHN XXIII departed from tradition by naming more than seventy cardinals.

In the Motu Proprio Cum gravissima of 15 April 1962, JOHN XXIII decreed that all cardinals are to be raised to episcopal dignity on election.⁴⁶

In the Motu Proprio Ad Purpuratorum Patrum of 11 February 1965, PAUL VI added the Oriental Patriarchs to the College.⁴⁷

In the Motu Proprio Ingravescentem aetatem of 21 November 1970, PAUL VI decreed that at 80 years of age cardinals

cease to be members of the curia and of all permanent organizations of the Holy See and of the Vatican City State;
lose the right to elect the pope and, therefore, the right to enter the conclave.⁴⁸

In the Consistory of 5 March 1973, PAUL VI fixed the maximum number of cardinals which have the faculty to elect the pope at one hundred twenty.

DIVISION OF THE COLLEGE
The Collge of Cardinals is divided into three orders: Cardinal Bishops, Cardinal Priests and Cardinal Deacons.⁴⁹ Cardinal bishops include the titular bishops of the suburbicarian sees of Rome (Ostia Palestrina, Porto and Santa Rufina, Albano, Velletri-Segni, Frascati, Sabina-Poggio Mireteto)⁵⁰ and the Eastern Patriarchs.

Episcopal rank consists of cardinals to whom the Roman Pontiff assigns the title of a suburbicarian church; a Cardinal cannot transfer to the order of Cardinal Bishops; he must be appointed to it by the pope.⁵¹

The dean of the college holds the title of the See of Ostia as well as his other suburbicarian see.⁵² The dean and subdean are elected by the cardinal bishops from among their number.⁵³ Cardinal bishops are engaged in full time work in the Roman Curia. When the Apostolic See is vacant, the dean of the college:

sends the notice to all the Cardinals to come to the conclave;
convenes the regular meeting of cardinals prior to the conclave;
if not over 80, he chairs the conclave;

if the dean is in the conclave, he has the right to consecrate the newly elected pope if the electee is not already a bishop.⁵⁴

Cardinal Priests are bishops of dioceses outside Rome.⁵⁵

Cardinal Deacons are titular bishops assigned to full-time service in the Roman Curia.⁵⁶ After being a Cardinal Deacon for ten years, a cardinal may transfer to the Order of Cardinal Priests.⁵⁷ The first cardinal deacon announces the name of the newly elected Pontiff.⁵⁸ The present protodeacon is SIMON D. LORDUSAMY.

Cardinals have the faculty to hear confessions everywhere in the world without restriction and are exempt from the jurisdiction of local bishops.⁵⁹

30. Hans K¹hner, Das Imperium der Pôpste (Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 1980) 128: Eine Synode im Lateran brachte ein Papstwahldekret heraus, nach welchem Klerus und Volk der Kardinôle nur noch zustimmen konnten.

31. P.C. van Lierde and A. Giraud, What is a Cardinal?, translated from Le Sùnat de l'╔glise (Paris: Fayard, 1963) by A. Manson (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1964) 40.

33. Gregory X (1271-1276) in his Ubi periculum instituted the conclave and enacted legislation whose intent it was to accelerate the proceedings therein. Harry G. Hynes, The Privileges of Cardinals (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1945) 124.

34. Paul VI, Romano Pontifici eligendo, 1 October 1975.

All conclaves since the Council of Constance (1417) have been held in Rome, except the conclave of 1800 after the kidnapping of Pius VI by Napoleon; the March 1800 conclave was held at the Benedictine monastery of San Giorgio in Venice to be secure from the French. Luigi Barnaba Chiaramonte (Pius VII 1880-1823), a Benedictine, was elected.

Prati notes that before 1870 conclaves were usually held in the Quirinal Palace. Carlo Prati, Popes & Cardinals in Modern Rome (translated by E.I. Watkin; New York: Dial, 1923) 206.

The Mons Quirinalis is one of the seven hills of Rome. Gregory XIII (1572-1585) began construction of the Palazzo del Quirinale as a summer residence. In 1870 it became the residence of the king and in 1947 the residence of the president.

35. P.C. van Leirde and A. Giraud, What is a Cardinal?, translated from Le Senat de l'Eglise (Paris: Fayard, 1963) by A. Manson (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1964) 57-58.

On the dress of Cardinals see Harry G. Hynes, The Priveliges of Cardinals, Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America, 1945.

The red hat was granted to the cardinals by Pope Innocent IV in the year1245, shortly after the First Council of Lyons. There is no foundation for the contention that it was granted the cardinals at the Council itself.

The red hat is solemnly conferred upon the newly created cardinal by the Pope himself at a public consistory. At the death of a cardinal this hat must be placed at the foot of the catafalque and, afterwards, suspended from the ceiling above his tomb.

The red biretta, the red skull-cap, the red cloak were bestowed upon the cardinals by Pope Paul II.

If the cardinal is not in Rome, then the biretta is carried to him by a legate appointed for this specific purpose. Should the newly appointed cardinal pertain to a Catholic country, then the duly appointed ruler of that State imposes the red biretta on the cardinal.

Cardinals of all ecclesiastical prelates have the exclusive privilege of wearing the skull-cap in the presence of the Pope.

The Cardinals receive a ring from the Pope at a secret consistory soon after their promotion. The ring is adorned with a sapphire (a stone reserved for cardinals) and has engraved inside the coat-of-arms of the pontiff who created the ecclesiastic a cardinal.

The pectoral cross has always been one of the distinctive insignia of bishops. The 1917 Code of Canon Law (canon 239, s1) provided that all cardinals, even those who are not bishops, are privileged to wear the pectoral cross. This privilege was first granted to the cardinals by Pius X on May 24, 1905.

36. P.C. van Lierde and A. Giraud, What is a Cardinal?, translated from Le Senat de l'Eglise (Paris: Fayard, 1963) by A. Manson (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1964) 49-50.
37. P.C. van Lierde and A. Giraud, What is a Cardinal?, translated from Le Senat de l'Eglise (Paris: Fayard, 1963) by A. Manson (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1964) 63, quoting Jerome Platus, S.J., Tractatus de Cardinalis dignitate et officio (Rome, 1591; 6^th edition, 1836) 12-14.
38. J.N.D. Kelly, The Oxford Dictionary of Popes (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986) 256.
39. Harry G. Hynes, The Privileges of Cardinals (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1945) 125.
40. Moses chose 70 elders (Numbers 11:16ff). This limit (seventy members of the College) was codified in the 1917 Code of Canon Law (Canon 231 s1).
On 22 January 1588 Sixtus V created fifteen permanent congregations of cardinals, six to oversee secular administration and the rest to supervise spiritual affairs. These congregations became known as the Roman Curia. It reduced the importance of the consistory and thereby the claim of the college of cardinals to co-rule with the pope. See J.N.D. Kelly, The Oxford Dictionary of the Popes (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986) 272.
41. Harry G.Hynes, The Privileges of Cardinals (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1945) 125.
42. In 1356 Charles IV (1347-1348) promulgated The Golden Bull which provided that the Emperor was to be chosen by seven electors: the Archbishops of Mainz, Trier and Cologne, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the Duke of Saxony, the Margrave of Brandenburg and the King of Bohemia.
43. Owen Chadwick, The Popes and European Revolution (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1981) 312.
44. The last (attempted) use of the veto was at the conclave following the death of Leo XIII in 1903. The Austrian Emperor, Franz Joseph, vetoed the election of Cardinal Rampolla, Leo XIII's secretary of state.
45. Harry G. Hynes, The Privileges of Cardinals (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1945) 125.
46. On April 19, 1962 (Maundy Thursday) at St. John Lateran, John XXIII consecrated the twelve cardinal deacons: Ottaviani, DiJorio, Bracci, Roberti, Jullien, Larraona, Morano, Heard, Bea, Bacci, Browne and Albareda.
47.Ad Purpuratorum Patrum: Those Oriental Patriarchs who have been brought into the College of Cardinals shall belong to the Order of Bishops in that College. However, since they retain their own Patriarchal See, they shall not receive the title of any suburbicarian diocese nor belong to the clergy of Rome.
The Eastern Patriarchs are:

Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians

Patriarch of Antioch of the Melchites

Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites

Patriarch of Antioch of the Copts

48.Ingravescentem aetatem: If a cardinal completes his eightieth year of age during a conclave, he continues for this occasion to enjoy the right to elect the Roman Pontiff.
49. James A. Coriden, Thomas j. Green and Donald E. Heintschel (eds), The Code of Canon Law: A Text Commentary (New York: Paulist Press, 1985) 286-292.
Canon 350 s1: The college of cardinals is divided into three ranks: the episcopal rank which consists of both the cardinals to whom the Roman Pontiff assigns the title of a suburbicarian church and the oriental patriarchs who have become members of the college of cardinals; the presbyteral rank; and the diaconal rank.
50. Cardinals assigned to a suburbicarian church possess no power of governance over them; bishops are named to those sees to provide for their pastoral care (John XXIII, Suburbicariis Sedibus, 11 April 1962).
Until John XIII the cardinal bishops had the care as well as the title of the suburbicarian sees. John XXIII appointed resident bishops to these sees and left the cardinals with the mere title. This decision was decidedly unpopular with the cardinals. Peter Nichols, The Politics of the Vatican (New York: Praeger, 1968) 134.
Canon 357 s1: The cardinals who have been assigned title to a suburbicarian church or to a church in Rome are to promote the good of these dioceses and churches by their good councel and patronage after they have taken possession of them; they do not, however, possess any power of governance over them; nor are they to intervene in any way in matters which concern the administration of their goods, their discipline or the service of the churches.
51. The 1917 Code of Canon Law (Canon 236 s3) provided that when a suburbicarian see became vacant, the highest ranking cardinal priest residing in Rome had the option of taking the see. John XXIII (Ad suburbicarias dioceses, 10 March 1961) abrogated this option and reserved the appointment of bishops for the suburbicarian sees to the pope. This legislation is now codified in Canon 350 s1 of the 1983 code.
52. Canon 350 s4: The cardinal dean holds as his title the diocese of Ostia along with the other titular church which he already holds.
Since the thirteenth century the Cardinal Bishop of Ostia has always been the dean of the College of Cardinals. Karl Bihlmeyer and Hermann T¹chle, Church History (Westminster: The Newman Press, 1967) II, 196.
53. Canon 352 s2. Paul VI changed the provision by which the dean was automatically whoever had been a cardinal bishop the longest. Now the selection is by election. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter, Sacro Cardinalium Consilio, 26 February 1965. AAS 57 (1965) 296-297.
The dean or subdean does not possess any power of governance over the other cardinals but is considered to be first among equals (Canon 352 s1).
54. Paul VI, Romano Pontifici eligendo, 1 October 1975 and Canon 355 s1.
If the dean is not in the conclave, the subdean has the right to consecrate the newly elected pope if he requires episcopal ordination. If neither the dean nor the subdean are in the conclave, the cardinal elector who is first in rank and age (i.e. the senior Cardinal from the Order of Cardinal Bishops) takes their place.
In 336, Pope Mark decreed that the Bishop of Ostia should always consecrate the Bishop of Rome. Thus the Bishop of Ostia became the first of three consecrators.

La consacrazione del Vescovo di Roma, g╠a nel sec. IV, era fatta dal Vescovo di Ostia , come attesta Agostino (cf. Breviculum collationis cum Donatistis III, 16: P.L. 43, 641; cf. anche Lib. Pont. I, p.202) con assistenza dei Vescovi di Albano e di Porto.

Agnelo Rossi, Il Collegio Cardinalizio (Cittð del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1990) 56.
55. Complying with the decrees of the Council of Trent, Urban VIII insisted in 1634 that bishops, including cardinals, should reside in their dioceses.
The Vicar of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome belongs to the Order of Cardinal Priests and is the Archpriest of the Lateran Basilica. The archpriests of two of Rome's patriarchal basilicas (St. Peter's in the Vatican and St. Mary Major) are also cardinals -- but usually cardinal deacons. See Agnelo Rossi, Il Collegio Cardinalizio (Cittð del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1990) 19.

Camillo Ruini Arciprete della Patriarcale Arcibasilica Lateranense

Ugo Poletti Arciprete della Patriarcale Basilica Liberiana di Santa Maria Maggiore

Virgilio Noø Arciprete della Patriarcale Basilica Vaticana

56. Since 1917 only priests may become cardinals: Canon 351 s1: Cardinals must be priests; those who are not yet bishops must receive episcopal consecration.
The last layman to be named a cardinal was Giacomo Antonelli, Pius IX's secretary of state. John G. Clancy, Apostle for Our Time: Pope Paul VI (New York: Avon, 1963) 176.
57. Canon 350 s5. A cardinal from the diaconal rank who transfers to te presbyteral rank precedes all those cardinal presbyters who became cardinals after him.
58. Canon 355 s2: The first cardinal deacon announces to the people the name of the newly elected Supreme Pontiff; he likewise invests metropolitans with the pallium or hands it over to their proxies in place of the Roman Pontiff.
59. Canon 357 s2: The cardinals who are staying outside Rome and outside their own diocese are exempt from the power of governance of the bishop of the diocese in whih they are stating in those matters which concern their own person.
Canon 967 s1: Besides the Roman Pontiff, cardinals by the law itself possess the faculty to hear the confessions of the Christian faithful anywhere in the world.