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Part 10: Papal conclave, 1978
...After a fifteen-year papacy, Paul VI died after a heart attack, having been plagued by ill health for much of the last year of his life. The College of Cardinals, upon meeting in August, attempted to find another papal nominee who could walk the same line that the late holy father had: allowing the Church to modernize while at the same time staying faithful enough to the traditional roots of Catholic thought. A compromise candidate was sought to balance the needs of the liberal and conservative factions of the College of Cardinals, and in the end, the college chose Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops Sebastiano Baggio as the new pope.
Baggio would take the name Pius XIII, and become one of the most popular popes in recent memory. Pius XIII would largely eschew formulating new dogma and interpreting Vatican doctrine and instead shift the church's focus to increasing attention to the developing world, greater emphasis on good deeds and charity and in keeping the church relevant as the 21st century loomed ever closer.