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| Pope Paul VI 1963 - 1978. |
On 21st June, 1963, GIOVANNI BATTISTA MONTINI, Cardinal-Archbishop of Milan, was elected Pope by the College of Cardinals and took the name Paul VI. Unlike his immediate predecessor, John XXIII, the election of Cardinal Montini was completely expected, since he had been prominent in Rome and Internationally for many years.
Giovanni Battista Montini was born was born in the village of Concesio, in the province of Brescia, on 26th September 1897. He was ordained a priest in Brescia in 1920, but undertook studies whilst working in the Papal Secretariat of State from 1922. He continued in this work throughout the 1920's and 1930's, but when Cardinal Pacelli was Elected as Pope in 1939, Monsignor Montini became one of his closest associates. In 1954, Pius XII appointed Monsignor Montini as Archbishop of Milan. Pope John XXIII elevated Monsignor Montini to the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1958.
Pope Paul VI's Pontificate spanned the years of the Second Vatican Council and the troubled years which followed it. He was the first Pope in modern times to travel outside of Italy, visiting the Holy Lands, South America, Africa, Oceania and the United States. He died on 6th August, 1978 at the age of 80 and is buried in the crypt of Saint Peter's Basilica.
An attempt to present a balanced account of his not uncontroversial life and work can be found here.
This post presents images before Montini was elected Pope.
Click on the images for an enlarged view.
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| Monsignor Montini as Substitute Secretary of State 1949. |
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| Monsignor Montini with Pope Pius XII. |
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| Monsignor Montini consecrated as Archbishop of Milan by Cardinal Tisserant at the Altar of the Chair, S' Peter's Basilica December 1954. |
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| Consecration of Monsignor Montini, December 1954. |
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| Montini as Archbishop of Milan. |
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| Cardinal Montini greeting his friend, Pope John XXIII. |
