388. Editorial Note
Pope Pius XII died at Castel Gandolfo, Italy, on October 9. Cardinal Benedetto Aliosi Masella was appointed Camerlengo of the Holy See to serve as caretaker administrator of the Roman Catholic Church until the election of a new Pope. All appointments made by Pope Pius XII lapsed and all decisions of the interim administration were subject to the approval of the next Pope. During the interregnum, Vatican diplomatic activities were circumscribed. A Department of State background paper noted: “As head of the papal ‘caretaker government,’ Cardinal Aliosi Masella may administer, but he may not innovate.” (Biographic Paper on Cardinal Aliosi Masella prepared by the Division of Biographic Information, October 1958; Department of State, Central Files, 110.11–DU/10–1758)
The U.S. delegation to the funeral ceremonies for Pope Pius XII was headed by Secretary of State Dulles and included former Ambassador to Italy Clare Boothe Luce and Chairman of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission John McCone, both prominent American Catholics. The delegation left Washington on October 17 and arrived in Rome at 7:30 a.m. on October 18. The delegation attended a mass at St. Peter’s Basilica at 10 a.m. Dulles’ subsequent meetings with Italian, French, and German officials are described in Document 226. At 10 a.m. on October 19, the delegation attended the funeral service at St. Peter’s Basilica and at 12:30 p.m. were guests at a reception given by the College of Cardinals in the Vatican. At 2:30, Dulles and his party lunched with Cardinals Spellman of New York and Mclntyre of Los Angeles at the North American College building in Rome. Secretary Dulles left Rome for London that afternoon. No record of his conversations with Church leaders has been found.
[Page 882]On October 28, Angelo Giuseppi Roncalli was elected Pope and took the name John XXIII. Ambassador Zellerbach reported that the new Pope held liberal social and political views and was likely to grant greater autonomy for Catholics in politics and social reform movements. (Telegram 1360 from Rome, October 28; Department of State, Central Files, 765A.11/10–2858) Coronation ceremonies for the new Pope were set for November 4. The U.S. delegation to these ceremonies consisted of Secretary of Labor James P. Mitchell, Deputy Under Secretary of State Robert Murphy, and former Ambassador Luce. The delegation left Washington on the morning of November 3 and arrived in Rome in the late afternoon. On the morning of November 4, they attended the Papal coronation, after which they met with the American members of the College of Cardinals at a reception at Ambassador Zellerbach’s residence. At 9:30 a.m. on November 5, they attended a reception with Pope John. That evening, they were guests of Pro-Secretary of State Tardini at another Vatican reception. No records of conversations with Roman Catholic leaders have been found.
The decision to send high-level delegations to both the funeral of Pope Pius XII and the coronation of Pope John XXIII was a departure from previous U.S. diplomatic practices. At the death of Pope Pius XI in 1939, the United States did not send a special emissary or delegation to the funeral; instead Ambassador to Italy William Phillips represented the U.S. Government at a funeral mass. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Joseph P. Kennedy was subsequently sent as President Roosevelt’s personal representative to the coronation of Pope Pius XII. (Memorandum for the files by Robert Corrigan, Deputy Chief of Protocol, November 12; ibid., Italian Desk Files: Lot 68 D 436, Italy—Pope’s Death and Succession) Documentation relating to the death of Pope Pius XII and the election and coronation of Pope John XXIII is ibid., Central File 765A.11; ibid, Italian Desk Files: Lot 68 D 436; and in the Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, White House Telephone Conversations.