Editing Pope John Paul II (section)

=== Election ===
{{Main|October 1978 papal conclave}}
[[File:Habemus papam Ioannes Paulus II.jpg|thumb|left|First appearance of Pope John Paul II following his election on 16 October 1978]]

In August 1978, following the death of Pope Paul VI, Wojtyła voted in [[August 1978 papal conclave|the papal conclave]], which elected [[John Paul I]]. John Paul I died after only 33 days as pope, triggering another [[conclave]].<ref name="ShortBio" /><ref name="Vatican2" /><ref name="Time1978" />

The second conclave of 1978 started on 14 October, ten days after the funeral. It was split between two strong [[Papabile|candidates for the papacy]]: Cardinal [[Giuseppe Siri]], the conservative [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Genoa|Archbishop of Genoa]], and Cardinal [[Giovanni Benelli]], the liberal [[Archbishop of Florence]] and a close friend of John Paul I.<ref name="Time1978b" />

[[File:Coat of arms of Ioannes Paulus II.svg|thumb|upright|The [[coat of arms]] of John Paul&nbsp;II displaying the ''[[Marian Cross]]'' with the letter M signifying the [[Blessed Virgin Mary]], the mother of Jesus]]

Supporters of Benelli were confident that he would be elected, and in early [[ballot]]s, Benelli came within nine votes of success.<ref name="Time1978b" /> However, both men faced sufficient opposition for neither to be likely to prevail. [[Giovanni Colombo]], the [[Archbishop of Milan]], was considered as a compromise candidate among the Italian cardinal-electors, but when he started to receive votes, he announced that, if elected, he would decline to accept the papacy.<ref>{{cite book |title=Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FYMKOgA5lSAC |first=Thomas J. |last=Reese |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-674-93261-6 |pages=91, 99}}</ref> Cardinal [[Franz König]], [[Archbishop of Vienna]], suggested Wojtyła as another compromise candidate to his fellow electors.<ref name="Time1978b" /> Wojtyła won on the eighth ballot on the third day (16 October).

Among those cardinals who rallied behind Wojtyła were supporters of Giuseppe Siri, [[Stefan Wyszyński]], most of the American cardinals (led by [[John Krol]]), and other moderate cardinals. He accepted his election with the words: "With obedience in faith to Christ, my Lord, and with trust in the Mother of Christ and the Church, in spite of great difficulties, I accept".{{sfn|Stourton|2006|p=171}}<ref name="NewPope" /> The pope, in tribute to his immediate predecessor, then took the [[Papal name|papal name]] of ''John Paul II'',<ref name="Vatican2" /><ref name="Time1978b" /> also in honour of the late Popes Paul VI and John XXIII, and the traditional white smoke informed the crowd gathered in [[St. Peter's Square]] that a pope had been chosen. There had been rumours that the new pope wished to be known as ''Pope Stanislaus'' in honour of [[Stanislaus of Szczepanów|the Polish saint of the name]], but was convinced by the cardinals that it was not a Roman name.<ref name="Time1978" /> When the new pontiff appeared on the balcony, he broke tradition by addressing the gathered crowd:{{sfn|Stourton|2006|p=171}}

<blockquote>"Dear brothers and sisters, we are saddened at the death of our beloved Pope John Paul I, and so the cardinals have called for a new bishop of Rome. They called him from a faraway land—far and yet always close because of our communion in faith and Christian traditions. I was afraid to accept that responsibility, yet I do so in a spirit of obedience to the Lord and total faithfulness to Mary, our most Holy Mother. I am speaking to you in your—no, our Italian language. If I make a mistake, please {{sic|''corrict''}}{{efn|In his speech, John Paul deliberately chose to mispronounce the Italian word for 'correct'.}} <!-- ATTENTION! Please leave this word as 'corrict'. This is how it is written in the source --> me."{{sfn|Stourton|2006|p=171}}<ref>Agasso, Renzo. [https://books.google.com/books?id=jUkrNOuindcC&pg=PA23 ''Caro Karol'']. Effata Editrice IT, 2011. p. 23.</ref><ref name="Bottum" /><ref>[https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1978/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19781016_primo-saluto_it.html First Greetings and First Blessing to the Faithful: Address of John Paul II, Monday, October 16, 1978] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018234821/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1978/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19781016_primo-saluto_it.html |date=18 October 2013 }}. [[Holy See|Vatican]]. ''Vatican.va''.</ref></blockquote>

Wojtyła became the 264th pope according to the chronological [[list of popes]], and the first non-Italian in 455 years.<ref name="upi" /> At only 58 years of age, he was the youngest pope since [[Pope Pius IX]] in 1846, who was 54.<ref name="Vatican2" /> Like his predecessor, John Paul&nbsp;II dispensed with the traditional [[papal coronation]] and instead received ecclesiastical [[investiture]] with a simplified [[papal inauguration]] on 22 October 1978. During his inauguration, when the cardinals were to kneel before him to take their vows and kiss his ring, he stood up as the Polish prelate, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński knelt down, stopped him from kissing the ring, and simply embraced him.<ref name="Vatican-bio-en" />