Alternate Catholic Popes:Post-1900

A pretty simple thread.

Who are some of the men who could have ended up being The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church but didn't? I realize this may be hard to find information on, since their is a shroud of secrecy around all papal conclaves, but I'm curious to see what is out there.

This thread is to discuss possible Popes during the twentieth century and beyond. The pre-1900 thread can be found here.
 
the first one is easy

Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro, was going to be elected in 1903 but was vetoed by Franz Josef and Sarto got elected instead. he was secretary with Leo XIII and would have probably continued his policy of reconciliation with Italy and France, instead of prohibiting french catholics to comply with the law against religious orders in 1905.

Name, you might be asking? Leo XIV, of course
 
There have been 10 Papal Conclaves since 1900; so absent a Pope dying earlier, we have about a dozen potential PoDs:kissingheart:

1903
1914
1922
1939
1958
1963
1978 (with two elections, plus Pope who died young)
2005
2013 (plus Benedict's decision to step down)

*where the papacy is concerned -- obviously this is counting a prior PoD could also count a Papal Election among the butterflies, but even there the dates of the elections should go largely unaffected
 
The biggest PoD here I'd say is 1958, when it looked most likely that a conservative cardinal would win (which, if it had happened, would've meant no Second Vatican Council).
 

Stolengood

Banned
And we could've had Paul VI in 1958, except that Giovanni Martini was not officially a cardinal at that time.
 
Cardinal Siri as Pope Gregory XVII in 1958, 1963, and two conclaves in 1978.

Cardinal Bergoglio as Pope Francis in 2005.

Cardinal Tettamanzi in 2005.

Cardinal Scola last week.
 
August Hlond, 1939. Have a Polish Pope on the eve of WWII.

Drew's "Fear, Loathing and Gumbo" TL has an interesting alternate pope from the '78 conclave.
 
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One of the more mind boggling possibilities is that Armenian Cardinal Agagianian was taken very seriously in the early ballots of the 1958 conclave until he made it clear he was not interested.
 
This is from a thread on ordination of women:

Find the most liberal cardinal out of these in order to have a shot:

1914
Pietro Maffi

1939
August Hlond
Karl Joseph Schulte
Eugene Tisserant
Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster
Adeodato Giovanni Piazza
Maurilio Fossati

1958
Ernesto Ruffini
Gregorie-Pierre Agagainian
Benedetto Aloisi Masella
Alfredo Ottaviani

1963
Guiseppe Siri

August 1978
Aloisio Lorcheider
Bernardin Gantin

October 1978

Giuseppe Siri
Giovanni Benelli
Franz Konig
 
Who would have been the strongest position to succeed John Paul II in 1981? I know it is an additional divergence, and I am sure there are threads on the subject, albeit I am having trouble finding them. I apologize if this goes beyond the scope of this thread.
 
Who would have been the strongest position to succeed John Paul II in 1981? I know it is an additional divergence, and I am sure there are threads on the subject, albeit I am having trouble finding them. I apologize if this goes beyond the scope of this thread.

Presumably the other contenders of 78.
 
Presumably the other contenders of 78.

This WI has come up before in the last year. One thing changing the equation in 198 is that there was a consistory in 1979 where JP II created 15 new cardinals (one in pectore) I have trouble envisioning more than one (if that) of the new cardinals voting for Siri
 
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