Pope Paul VI

Who was Pope Paul VI?

Pope Paul VI, born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, was the head of the Roman Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 to his death in 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, he continued the Second Vatican Council which he closed in late 1965, and fostered improved ecumenical relations with Orthodox and Protestants, which resulted in many historic meetings and agreements.

Montini served in the Vatican's Secretariat of State from 1922 to 1954. While in the Secretariat of State, Montini and Domenico Tardini were considered as the closest and most influential co-workers of Pope Pius XII, who in 1954, named him Archbishop of Milan, the largest Italian diocese, while not naming Montini a cardinal, a designation that traditionally accompanies the position; Montini automatically became the Secretary of the Italian Bishops Conference. John XXIII elevated him to the College of Cardinals in late 1958, and after the death of John XXIII, Montini was considered one of his most likely successors. The former pontiff in fact had sent oblique signals that Montini would make for a fine pope.

Montini took the name Paul to indicate a renewed worldwide mission to spread the message of Christ, therefore, being the most recent pontiff to date to take that pontifical name. He re-convoked the Second Vatican Council, which was automatically closed with the death of John XXIII, and gave it priority and direction. After the council had concluded its work, Paul VI took charge of the interpretation and implementation of its mandates, often walking a thin line between the conflicting expectations of various groups within Catholicism. The magnitude and depth of the reforms affecting all areas of Church life during his pontificate exceeded similar reform policies of his predecessors and successors.