Who is the only living cardinal to have voted in three conclaves? —UPDATED

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:59 pm by Deacon Greg Kandra

Who is the only living cardinal to have voted in three conclaves? —UPDATED 2016-09-30T16:59:47-04:00 Deacon Greg Kandra

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That would be Washington’s Cardinal William Baum.

His secretary for several years was Msgr. Bart Smith. The cardinal was in poor health, so Msgr. Bart accompanied him throughout the conclave (he was the last out of the Sistine Chapel before the votes took place) and he was on the balcony behind the new Pope when he was announced in St. Peter’s Square in 2005.

From his parish website (not far from where I grew up in scenic Silver Spring, Maryland!), he writes about what Cardinal Baum saw and experienced:

After visiting him on Sunday, a striking fact dawned on me: this will be the first Conclave since 1963 in which Cardinal Baum has not participated. That one, held in the midst of the Second Vatican Council, elected Pope Paul VI. I thought this little statistic would shed light on two things: first, the changing epochs of the life of the Church; and two, the impact a single life, in this case that of Cardinal Baum, can have on the Church.

Cardinal Baum is the only living Cardinal to have voted in three conclaves. [One other man has done so, but he is not a Cardinal. Think… it’s… Pope Benedict. Though not a Cardinal (anymore) he was created one in 1977, one year after Cardinal Baum, and one year before the Year of Two Conclaves, 1978.] At 49, Baum was the youngest Cardinal in the College at the time of his creation. Now 86, there are still 43 Cardinals older than he is. But only one man has been a Cardinal longer.

Cardinal Baum was Archbishop of Washington from Watergate until the Iran Hostage Crisis. Then he was Prefect of the Congregation for Education through the entire Reagan presidency and halfway through Bush One. From then, he served as major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary through two Clinton terms and until Bush Two had been in office almost a year! His service in Rome as a member of many Congregations, which began in 1976 under Paul VI, continued until the end of 2007, well into the reign of Benedict XVI.

That is a huge span of time and experience, however you measure it. But what remains with me is his virtue and fidelity, his conscientious fulfillment of the office of Successor to the Apostles, his love for Christ, and his love for the Church. That is what I know he brought not only to every Conclave, but to every responsibility he has fulfilled in response to Christ’s call to him, from his first discernment of his priestly vocation.

No, I do not assume that every Cardinal in the College has the same degree of devotion and erudition, the same love for the Church, and the same lack of self-interest that I can attest to in Cardinal Baum. But he is just one example, albeit an extraordinary one, of the small group to which now turn all the eyes in the Church. Knowing him as well as I do, and many other Cardinals through him, I can say that I have a great and abiding confidence in this diverse assemblage of churchmen.

These Cardinals are all remarkable in their education and their dedication. They have a range of experiences and a variety of talents. All have committed their lives to Christ and his Church. They all have weaknesses, but together they are more than the sum of their parts. They have been vested with the solemn office of discerning who next will succeed to the Chair of Peter. Ulterior motives find little purchase. The Holy Spirit has willing cooperators in animating and directing the body of Christ.

What could I possibly add to that?

UPDATE: NCR has posted this intriguing piece from Catholic News Service with more papal trivia:

Ambrogio Piazzoni, vice prefect of the Vatican Library and author of a book on the history of papal elections, distributed a sheet of “some curiosities” about elections to reporters Thursday, the day after briefing journalists at the Vatican.

On the topic of the age of the pope at election, he said:

Three popes were under the age of 25. The last was Pope Gregory V, who was 24 when elected in 996.

Seven were between 25 and 40 years old. The last was Pope Leo X, who was 37 in 1513.

Eleven were between 41 and 50. The last was Pope Clement VII, who was elected in 1523 at the age of 44.

24 popes were in their 50s. The most recent was Blessed John Paul II, who was 58 years old when he began his papal ministry in 1978.

37 were between 61 and 70 years old. The last was Pope John Paul I, who was 65 when he began his 33-day papacy in 1978.

Only three popes were over 80 when elected. The last, chosen by cardinals in 1406, was Pope Gregory XII. He was 81.

Read the rest.

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