AHC: Latin American Pope before 1900

My guess? Either you make Europe too unstable for a pope (or for a conclave) or you have to set the POD way back to early South American colonization.
 
Given that iotl the last nonITALIAN pope was hadrian vi, around 1500?, Id guess that getting a French, Spanish or Austrian pope, even, would be tough, let alone an American one, north or south.

The most plausible idea might be the papacy fleeing rome, during a more successful 1848, where a united italy takes all of Rome. Or possibly during the French Revolution. The latter might provide the pope and cardinals impetus to flee Europe entirely. Then if a new conclave were held in eg Rio..... you might get a Latin American pope. But its pretty darned unlikely.

If the French Republic were so hostile to Catholocism that the pope thought he had to flee, weell, thered be a LOT less support for it, and the exile wouldnt likely be long enough to need a new pope.

How would you get enough cardinals in one place to elect a new pope?

What I could see is multiple antipopes, one of whom was Latin American, but he would surely not be considered the 'real' one.
 

KaiserCorax

Banned
Given that iotl the last nonITALIAN pope was hadrian vi, around 1500?, Id guess that getting a French, Spanish or Austrian pope, even, would be tough, let alone an American one, north or south.

???

Plenty of non-Italian popes before 1500, including Egyptian and Greek ones. However, non-European/Hellenised is a different story.

If there was a Latin American Pope, he'd be white.
 
???

Plenty of non-Italian popes before 1500, including Egyptian and Greek ones. However, non-European/Hellenised is a different story.

If there was a Latin American Pope, he'd be white.

He's taking about the most recent non-Italian Pope. Considering it would be 1700+ before a Latin American could even be thought about as being a potential candidate, that leaves a good 200 years at least of Italian Popes, which means a non-Italian doesn't look like he's going to have much of a chance.
 
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Maybe a Latin rises to power in Rome? Perhaps back when Spain controlled Latin America, a prominent Latin family could send a son to Rome to be educated and he moves threw the ranks of the Church, eventually becoming the Spanish Candidate for the Papal tiara. It would be better if this Latin Cardinal wasn't seen as an outsider to the College of Cardinals.
 

Dorozhand

Banned
Here's an idea:


-Maximilian remains in power in Mexico

-Napoleon III's France is more powerful, and participates in an earlier Italian Unification

-Italy becomes a republic, Catholicism is stripped of some of its privileges and ceases to be the state religion.

-The Spanish First Republic (Complete with its really cool Red-White-Purple Tricolour) lasts, and does Italy's schtick the same way.

-Austro-Hungary breaks up in confusion.

-Mexico, under a Habsburg Emperor, is now the world's greatest bastion of Catholicism. The Emperor invites the pope to come to Mexico, and sets up the city of Tuxpan as an Avignon-like state under the economic and military protection of Mexico.

-When the current pope dies, a Mexican cardinal is elected.
 
Here's an idea:

-Maximilian remains in power in Mexico

-Napoleon III's France is more powerful, and participates in an earlier Italian Unification

-Italy becomes a republic, Catholicism is stripped of some of its privileges and ceases to be the state religion.

-The Spanish First Republic (Complete with its really cool Red-White-Purple Tricolour) lasts, and does Italy's schtick the same way.

-Austro-Hungary breaks up in confusion.

-Mexico, under a Habsburg Emperor, is now the world's greatest bastion of Catholicism. The Emperor invites the pope to come to Mexico, and sets up the city of Tuxpan as an Avignon-like state under the economic and military protection of Mexico.

-When the current pope dies, a Mexican cardinal is elected.

This sounds like a good path. But I'm not sure the Pope would move to Mexico. Rome is still Rome even if it is within an unfriendly Italy. Most likely you could get a Pope that travels a lot outside of Italy/Europe (ala John Paul II) much earlier on. And one that focuses heavily on missionary work outside Europe. If he makes it across the Atlantic (likely paying Mexico and Brazil) it could result in Latin America being seen as the new heart of Catholicism.

Follow this guy with a short lived by very influential Pope that continues to push missionary work outside Europe and that works closely with the few non-European candidates. (Best if this second guy is not Italian).

And in 1899, probably the earliest you'd get it. You might have a Brazilian (I find Mexico less likely at this point) Pope.

Probably helps if you keep the Brazilian Monarchy intact as well. And maybe fused back with the Portuguese one after Portugal goes the way of Spain and Italy.


Dorozhand: curious why you chose Tuxpan as your cede in Mexico? At this point it would just be a small fishing town. If it is anything outside Mexico City it would likely be Puebla, which has is an archdiocese and traditionally a rather conservative town.
 
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