Editing Pope Pius XII (section)

===Election and coronation===
{{Main|1939 papal conclave}}
{{Infobox popestyles
|image = C o a Pius XII.svg
|dipstyle = [[His Holiness]]
|offstyle = Your Holiness
|relstyle = Holy Father
|deathstyle = [[Venerable]]
}}
[[File:Correio da Manhã AN 432.jpg|left|thumb|Pope Pius XII appears on the central loggia after his election on 2 March 1939.]]
[[File:Piusxii.jpg|right|thumb|The signature of Pius XII never changed.<ref>Tardini, Pio XII roma 1960</ref>]]

Pope Pius XI died on 10 February 1939. Several historians have interpreted the conclave to choose his successor as facing a choice between a diplomatic or a spiritual candidate, and they view Pacelli's diplomatic experience, especially with Germany, as one of the deciding factors in his election on 2 March 1939, his 63rd birthday, after only one day of deliberation and three ballots.<ref>Michael F. Feldkamp. ''Pius XII und Deutschland''; {{ISBN|3-525-34026-5}}.</ref><ref>Dalin, 2005, pp. 69–70</ref> He was the first cardinal Secretary of State to be elected pope since [[Pope Clement IX|Clement IX]] in 1667.<ref>Catholic Forum. [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/pope0260.htm Pope Pius XII profile] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060424052820/http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/pope0260.htm |date=24 April 2006 }}.</ref> He was one of only two men known to have served as [[Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church|Camerlengo]] immediately prior to being elected as pope (the other being [[Pope Leo XIII]]). According to rumours, he asked for another ballot to be taken to ensure the validity of his election. After his election was indeed confirmed, he chose the name Pius XII in honour of his immediate predecessor.

His [[Papal coronation|coronation]] took place on 12 March 1939. Upon being elected pope he was also formally the Grand Master of the Equestrian [[Order of the Holy Sepulchre]] of [[Jerusalem]], [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith|prefect of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office]], [[Congregation for the Oriental Churches|prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Churches]] and [[Congregation for Bishops|prefect of the Sacred Consistorial Congregation]]. There was however a Cardinal-Secretary to run these bodies on a day-to-day basis.

Pacelli took the same papal name as his predecessor, a title used exclusively by [[:Category:Italian popes|Italian popes]]. He was quoted as saying "I call myself Pius; my whole life was under Popes with this name, but especially as a sign of gratitude towards [[Pius XI]]."<ref>Pacelli’s assertion was factually incorrect. Pacelli, born in 1876, was elected Pope at the age of 63. For 33 of those 63 years, the Pope was not named Pius. Leo XIII was Pope from 1878 to 1903, including the day in 1899 when Pacelli was ordained a priest. Benedict XV was Pope from 1914 to 1922, including the day in 1917 when Pacelli was consecrated a bishop.
Pius XII, quoted in Joseph Brosch, Pius XII, Lehrer der Wahrheit, Kreuzring, Trier,1968, p. 45</ref> On 15 December 1937, during his last consistory, Pius XI strongly hinted to the cardinals that he expected Pacelli to be his successor, saying "He is in your midst."<ref>"Medius vestrum stetit quem vos nescetis. Everybody knew what the Pope meant". Domenico Cardinale Tardini, Pio XII, Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, 1960, p. 105</ref><ref>Lehnert, Pascalina. ''Ich durfte Ihm Dienen, Erinnerungen an Papst Pius XII''. Naumann, Würzburg, 1986, p. 57</ref> He had previously been quoted as saying: "When today the Pope dies, you'll get another one tomorrow, because the Church continues. It would be a much bigger tragedy, if Cardinal Pacelli dies, because there is only one. I pray every day, God may send another one into one of our seminaries, but as of today, there is only one in this world."<ref>Lehnert, Pascalina. ''Ich durfte Ihm Dienen, Erinnerungen an Papst Pius XII''. Naumann, Würzburg, 1986, p. 49</ref>