Habemus Papam
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
Habemus Papam refers to the announcement given in Latin by the senior Cardinal Deacon upon the election of a new Pope.
The announcement is given from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. After the announcement, the new pope is presented to the people and he gives his first Urbi et Orbi blessing.
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[edit] Format
The format for the announcement is:
- Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum:
- Habemus Papam!
- Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum Dominum,
- Dominum [First Name],
- Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ Cardinalem [Last Name],
- Qui sibi nomen imposuit [Papal Name].
This translates to:
- I announce to you a great joy:
- We have a Pope!
- The most eminent and most reverend Lord,
- the Lord [First Name],
- Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church [Last Name],
- Who takes to himself the name of [Papal Name].
In the most recent Habemus Papam announcement, given by Jorge Cardinal Medina Estévez on 19 April 2005 upon the election of Pope Benedict XVI, the announcement was preceded by a greeting in several languages:
[edit] Announcing the Names of the New Pontiff
In announcing the name of the newly-elected pontiff, the new pontiff's birth forename or first name is announced in Latin in the accusative case (e.g., Angelum Iosephum, Ioannem Baptistam, Albinum, Carolum, Iosephum), but the new pontiff's surname or family name is given in the original form (e.g., Roncalli, Montini, Luciani, Wojtyła, Ratzinger). The new pope's regnal name is usually given in the genitive case in Latin (e.g., Ioannis vicesimi tertii, Ioannis Pauli primi etc.), although it can also be declined in the accusative case in Latin (as was the case in 1963 when Pope Paul VI's regnal name was announced as Paulum sextum). Many Latinists consider the accusative form to be the more proper declension.
[edit] Protodeacons who gave announcement
This is a partial list of protodeacons (senior cardinal deacons) who have been known to have given the Habemus Papam announcement.
- Antonio Doria Pamphilj, announced Pope Pius VII's election (1800)
- Fabrizio Ruffo, announced Pope Leo XII's election (1823)
- Giuseppe Albani, announced the elections of Pope Pius VIII (1829) and Pope Gregory XVI (1831)
- Tommaso Riario Sforza, announced Pope Pius IX's election (1846)
- Prospero Caterini, announced Pope Leo XIII's election (1878)
- Luigi Macchi, announced Pope Pius X's election (1903)
- Francesco Salesio Della Volpe, announced Pope Benedict XV's election (1914)
- Gaetano Bisleti, announced Pope Pius XI's election (1922)
- Camillo Caccia Dominioni, announced Pope Pius XII's election (1939)
- Nicola Canali, announced Pope John XXIII's election (1958)
- Alfredo Ottaviani, announced Pope Paul VI's election (1963)
- Pericle Felici, announced the elections of Pope John Paul I and Pope John Paul II (1978)
- Jorge Medina Estévez, announced Pope Benedict XVI's election (2005)
[edit] Media
- Habemus Papam (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Narration of this article
- Problems playing the files? See media help.
[edit] Habemus Papam recordings
- Habemus Papam of Pope Pius XII (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Camilo Caccia Dominioni announcing the election of Eugenio Pacelli as Pope Pius XII (March 2, 1939)
- Habemus Papam of Pope John XXIII (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Nicola Canali announcing the election of Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli as Pope John XXIII (October 28, 1958)
- Habemus Papam of Pope Paul VI (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani announcing the election of Giovanni Battista Montini as Pope Paul VI (June 21, 1963)
- Habemus Papam of Pope John Paul I (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Pericle Felici announcing the election of Albino Luciani as John Paul I (August 26, 1978)
- Habemus Papam of Pope John Paul II (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Pericle Felici announcing the election of Karol Wojtyła as John Paul II (October 16, 1978)
- Habemus Papam of Pope Benedict XVI (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Jorge Arturo Medina Estévez announcing the election of Joseph Ratzinger as Benedict XVI (April 19, 2005)
- Problems playing the files? See media help.