In pectore

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Template:Short description Template:DMCA Template:Title language Script error: No such module "Lang". (Latin for 'in the breast/heart') is a term used in the Catholic Church for an action, decision, or document which is meant to be kept secret. It is most often used when there is a papal appointment to the College of Cardinals without a public announcement; the pope keeps the name of that cardinal to himself. The Italian-language version of the phrase—Script error: No such module "Lang".—is sometimes used. When the name of a new cardinal is announced or made public, it is sometimes said to be published.

Since the practice arose in the 16th century its use has varied greatly. Some popes have used it rarely or not at all, while others have used it regularly. In the first half of the 19th century, Pope Gregory XVI appointed half of his 75 cardinals Script error: No such module "Lang". and left several unidentified at his death.

Background

Since the 15th century, popes have made Script error: No such module "Lang". appointments to manage complex relations among factions within the Church, when publication of a new cardinal's name might provoke persecution of the individual or of a Christian community or, when the identity of the new cardinal is an open secret, to signal defiance of government opposition or stake out a diplomatic or moral position. Over the centuries, popes have made Script error: No such module "Lang". appointments in consideration of government and political relations in a wide variety of nations, from Portugal and several European states to the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China.

Once his appointment is published, the precedence of a cardinal appointed Script error: No such module "Lang". is determined by the date of the appointment, not the announcement. This reflects the principle that he has been a cardinal from the earlier date and that membership of the College of Cardinals depends on the decision of the pope, not any ceremony or ritual. The announcement allows the cardinal to receive and wear the symbols of his office, use the titles appropriate to his rank, and to perform the functions specific to a cardinal, most importantly, if otherwise qualified, to participate in a papal conclave. Should the pope die without publishing an appointment he has made Script error: No such module "Lang"., the appointment lapses.[1]

History

In the early history of the College of Cardinals, all cardinals appointed were published as a matter of course. Under pressure to maintain a delicate network of alliances in the last years of Western Schism, beginning in 1423 Martin V withheld the names of some he created cardinals, the first Script error: No such module "Lang". appointments.[2][a] A century later, Pope Paul III created Girolamo Aleandro a cardinal on 22 December 1536 and published his name on 13 March 1538.[6] Paul III later named five more cardinals Script error: No such module "Lang"., all of whose names were published within a few years.[7] Pope Pius IV created a cardinal Script error: No such module "Lang". on 26 February 1561 and became the first to fail to publish such an appointment.[8]

Although Script error: No such module "Lang". appointments were not uncommon in the 17th century, all such appointments were soon published until Pope Innocent XII named two cardinals in 1699 whose names were never published.[9] On 26 April 1773, Pope Clement XIV created 11 cardinals Script error: No such module "Lang"., none of whom were published.[10]

As anti-Catholic hostility among various governments became common, Script error: No such module "Lang". appointments became much more common during the late 18th and 19th centuries. Previously cases of unpublished Script error: No such module "Lang". appointments had only occurred when a pope died shortly after creating the cardinal, but popes began to wait much longer to publish such appointments, creating a greater likelihood that a name would remain unpublished. On 23 June 1777, Pope Pius VI created two cardinals Script error: No such module "Lang". and lived another 22 years without publishing their names.[11] In the course of 23 years, Pope Pius VII created 12 cardinals Script error: No such module "Lang". whose names he published and none whose names went unpublished, though two others died before he published their names.[12] Pope Leo XII made eight Script error: No such module "Lang". appointments in just six years, and all were published.[13] When the reign of Pope Pius VIII ended unexpectedly after just 19 months, he had created six cardinals and another eight Script error: No such module "Lang"., whose appointments died with him.[14] Pope Gregory XVI created 81 cardinals, 29 of them Script error: No such module "Lang"., of which six were unpublished.[15]

Modern practice

The frequency of appointments Script error: No such module "Lang". declined later in the 19th century. Pope Pius IX made only five such appointments out of 123 cardinals, and all were published within four years of creation. Pope Leo XIII named only seven cardinals out of 147 Script error: No such module "Lang". and all were published. The only Script error: No such module "Lang". appointment by Pope Pius X was António Mendes Belo, Patriarch of Lisbon. The Portuguese Republic established in 1910 had adopted severely anticlerical policies. Belo's appointment was revealed on 25 May 1914, the last time Pius created cardinals three months before his death,Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. though the Holy See did not recognize the government of Portugal until 1919. Pope Benedict XV made two Script error: No such module "Lang". appointments in 1916: one, possibly Paul von Huyn,[16] was never published and the other was Adolf Bertram, a German bishop, whose country was at war with Italy. His name was published in December 1919 after the war ended.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.[17][18] In 1933, Pope Pius XI created two cardinals Script error: No such module "Lang".: Federico Tedeschini, Nuncio to Spain, and Carlo Salotti, Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of Rites. They were made public in the consistory of 16 December 1935.[19][20][21] Although several cardinals from Communist states could not attend his consistories, Pius XII was the first pope since Innocent XIII over two centuries previously to create no cardinals Script error: No such module "Lang".,[22][23] but Pope John XXIII made three Script error: No such module "Lang". appointments on 28 March 1960 and never published them.[24]Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.[b]

Pope Paul VI made four Script error: No such module "Lang". appointments. One of them, Iuliu Hossu, died without his appointment being published, though Paul revealed it a few years later.[28] Paul made Script error: No such module "Lang". appointments of Štěpán Trochta on 28 April 1969, published 5 March 1973,[28] and František Tomášek on 24 May 1976, published 22 June 1977.[29] In the case of Joseph-Marie Trịnh Như Khuê, Paul made the appointment Script error: No such module "Lang". on 28 April 1976 when announcing his next consistory. When the government of Vietnam granted Trinh-Nhu-Khuê a visa to travel to Rome, Paul published the appointment as a surprise by having Trinh-Nhu-Khuê's name called as the last of twenty cardinals created at that consistory on 24 May.[30]

Pope John Paul II named four cardinals Script error: No such module "Lang"., three of whom he later revealed: Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei, Bishop of Shanghai, People's Republic of China, appointed Script error: No such module "Lang". 30 June 1979, published 29 May 1991;[31] Marian Jaworski, Archbishop of Lviv, Ukraine; and Jānis Pujāts of Riga, Latvia, both of whom were appointed Script error: No such module "Lang". on 21 February 1998, and published 29 January 2001.[32] John Paul created the fourth in 2003, but never revealed the name, and the appointment expired with the pope's death. Had the name been discovered in the pope's will, the appointment would still have operated under Script error: No such module "Lang". rules, and would have been considered expired.[33][5]

Neither Pope Benedict XVI nor Pope Francis named a cardinal Script error: No such module "Lang"..[34][failed verification]

Popes

Five cardinals who were later elected pope were created cardinals Script error: No such module "Lang".. In each case, publication followed closely upon their appointment. They were:

  • In The Shoes of the Fisherman (1963) by Morris West, a Ukrainian, Kiril Pavlovich Lakota, arrives in Rome and is revealed to have been appointed a cardinal Script error: No such module "Lang". by the previous pope.[40]
  • In Vatican: A novel (1986) by Malachi Martin, a pope on his deathbed reveals that he had named the central character, Richard Lansing, a cardinal Script error: No such module "Lang"..[41]
  • In Father Elijah by Michael D. O'Brien, the titular character is appointed bishop Script error: No such module "Lang". and sent to his new, remote diocese in order to evade arrest for the framed murder of his friend.[citation needed]
  • In The Secret Cardinal (2007) by Tom Grace, the pope enlists a cardinal's godson, former Navy Seal Nolan Kilkenny, to rescue a prelate named a cardinal Script error: No such module "Lang". twenty years earlier from a Chinese prison.[42]
  • In Conclave (2016) by Robert Harris, Vincent Benítez, a Filipino serving as Archbishop of Baghdad, arrives just before the start of a conclave with a document that proves he was named a cardinal Script error: No such module "Lang". by the late pope. To explain this unusual procedure, Harris has the dean of the College of Cardinals remind a cardinal that the late pope "revised the canon law on Script error: No such module "Lang". appointments shortly before he died".[43][44] In the film version, this hidden cardinal is Mexican and the archbishop of Kabul.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Salvador Miranda, who published a compendium of information about the College of Cardinals, objects to considering these appointments Script error: No such module "Lang". because Pope Martin shared the names with the other cardinals,[3] though the customary distinction is whether a cardinal's name has been made public,[4][5] and Martin did make names public in a formal way at a later date. For example, in 1426, to meet the terms established by the Council of Constance (1414–1418), he named three French and three Italian cardinals, and four more who were English, German, Spanish, and Greek. He kept the names of four more secret, a Spaniard and three Italians, one of them his nephew, which would have been another source of contention. He published these additional names in November 1430, just three months before his death.[2]
  2. ^ One of the three is often said to be Josyf Slipyj, who was made a cardinal by Paul VI in 1965.[25][26] Cardinal Gustavo Testa is cited as the source of this information.[27]

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Tuquero, Loreben (2 May 2025). "How accurate is 'Conclave' in depicting the papal election process? We fact-checked the movie". Poynter. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  2. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Richardson, Carol Mary (2009). Reclaiming Rome: Cardinals in the Fifteenth Century. Brill Publishers. p. 78. ISBN 9789047425151. Retrieved 23 July 2018. Prospero Colonna and Giuliano Cesarini were made cardinals in pectore on 24 March 1426.
  3. ^ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. "These secret creations are different than those created and reserved in pectore. The latter ones [by Paul III] are known only to the pope while the former creations [by Martin V] are also known to the other cardinals."
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Beal, John P. (2000). New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law. Paulist Press. p. 469. ISBN 9780809140664. Retrieved 24 July 2018. After the Roman Pontiff has made his name public...
  5. ^ a b  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Script error: No such module "template wrapper". "Until they have been publicly announced" and "But the canonists having raised serious doubts as to the validity of such a posthumous publication..."
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Alberigo, Giuseppe (1960). "Aleandro, Girolamo". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in italiano). Vol. 2. Istituto Treccani.
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  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Collins, Roger (2009). Keepers of the Keys of Heaven: A History of the Papacy. Basic Books. ISBN 9780786744183. Retrieved 18 July 2018.[page needed]
  11. ^ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
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  15. ^ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
  16. ^ Template:ÖBL2
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Pope Bestows Red Hats at a Consistory; Rev. J.G. Murray of Hartford Made a Bishop" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sacrum Consistorium". Acta Apostolicae Sedis (in Latina). XI (14). Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis: 485, 487–488. 19 December 1919.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Cortesi, Arnaldo (14 March 1933). "Pope Cites Dangers Facing the World in Consistory Talk" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Cortesi, Arnaldo (17 December 1935). "20 New Cardinals Created by Pope" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.José M. Sánchez (April 1963). "The Second Spanish Republic and the Holy See: 1931–1936". The Catholic Historical Review. 49 (1): 47–68, esp. 65–66. JSTOR 25017192.
  22. ^ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hadden, Briton; Luce, Henry Robinson (1960). "Religion: Three in pectore". Time. Vol. 75. p. 55.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Pope Gives Red Hats to 7 New Cardinals" (PDF). The New York Times. 31 March 1960. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kosicki, Piotr H. (2016). Vatican II Behind the Iron Curtain. Catholic University of America Press. p. 32. ISBN 9780813229126.
  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Chenaux, Philippe (2009). L'Église catholique et le communisme en Europe, 1917–1989: de Lénine à Jean-Paul II (in français). Cerf. p. 341.
  27. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Dorn, Luitpold A. (1988). Giovanni XXIII: gli ultimi testimoni (in italiano). Edizioni Paoline. p. 107. Alla morte del papa Slipyj era uno dei tre cardinali da lui creati e rimasti « in pectore »: glielo confidò il cardinale Gustavo Testa.
  28. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hofmann, Paul (6 March 1973). "Pope, at Installation of Cardinals, Details Possible Reforms in Electing Successors" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  29. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Shuster, Alvin (3 June 1977). "Pope Names Top Aide a Cardinal, Making Him Potential Successor" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  30. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Shuster, Alvin (25 May 1976). "Archbishop of Hanoi Among 20 New Cardinals Installed by Pope". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  31. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Haberman, Clyde (30 May 1991). "Pope Names 22 Cardinals; Chinese Prelate Is Identified". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  32. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Stanley, Alexandra (29 January 2001). "Pope Adds 7 Cardinals to a Record 37 Chosen Last Week". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  33. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."With pope's death, secret cardinal will never be known". The Baltimore Sun. Los Angeles Times News Service. 7 April 2005. Retrieved 17 July 2018. If the holy father had made that person's name known before dying, it would have been disclosed by now," said Cardinal Edmund Casimir Szoka of Michigan. "It's over. That person will no longer be a cardinal.
  34. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Miranda, Salvador. "Consistories for the creation of Cardinals 21st Century (2005-)". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church.
  35. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Alberigo, Giuseppe (1960). "Leone X, papa". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in italiano). Vol. 2. Istituto Treccani.
  36. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kelly, J. N. D.; Walsh, Michael J., eds. (2014) [2010]. "Innocent X". The Oxford Dictionary of Popes (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191726811.
  37. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Schutte, Anne Jacobson (2011). By Force & Fear: Taking and Breaking Monastic Vows in Early Modern Europe. Cornell University Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-0801463181. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  38. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kelly, J. N. D.; Walsh, Michael (2015). Dictionary of Popes. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-104479-3. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  39. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Massaro, Thomas (2010). "The social question in the papacy of Leo XIII". In Corkery, James; Worcester, Thomas (eds.). The Papacy Since 1500: From Italian Prince to Universal Pastor. Cambridge University Press. p. 126. ISBN 9780521509879. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  40. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Books: When the Pope Was Russian". Time. 31 May 1963. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  41. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Vatican by Malachi Martin". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  42. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gress, Carrie (25 November 2007). "Cardinal's Witness Inspires Novel". Zenit (Interview). Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  43. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Harris, Robert (2016). Conclave. Robert A. Knopf. pp. 56ff. 'He has a letter of appointment from the late Pope addressed to the archdiocese of Baghdad, which they kept secret at the Holy Father's request.' [...] The papers certainly looked authentic....
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Sources

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