Cardinal de Rebiba lived his entire 73+ years in the sixteenth century (1504-1577). Ordained a priest at 23, he was ordained a bishop at age 37. On 20 December 1555 then-Bishop Rebiba was created a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church by Pope Paul IV.
Like 1978, 1555 was a year of three popes. Julius II, who became pope in 1550 died on 23 March. He was succeeded by Marcellus II, whose pontificate lasted less than a month- from 10 April to 1 May. On 26 May, Paul IV was selected as the 223rd Successor of Saint Peter. He reigned until 18 August 1559. Quite a tumult during the century of the Protestant Reformation and in the midst of an Ecumenical Council!
To give an idea of the times in which Cardinal de Rebiba lived, it bears noting that the Council of Trent was convened by Pope Paul III in 1545 and brought to its conclusion after twenty-five sessions by Pope Pius IV in 1563. In 1552 the Council was halted when Maurice, Elector of Saxony, triumphed over the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, resulting in the occupation of the Tirol region in the spring 1552.
After the death of Julius II and brief reign of Marcellus II, the virulently anti-Protestant Paul IV became Bishop of Rome. Due to his hostility to the Protestants, he did not see the need to continue the Council. As a result, no sessions were held in the decade 1552-1562.
Portrait of Scipione Cardinal de Rebiba
Why does Scipione Cardinal de Rebiba matter when it comes to the Conclave of 2025? Well, one hundred twenty-eight of the one hundred thirty-three Cardinal electors for this Conclave are in Rebiba’s episcopal line. Three of the five Cardinals who are not part of Rebiba’s episcopal lineage are from Eastern Catholic Churches: Mykola Bychok, C.Ss.R., from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Louis Raphaël I Sako, from the Chaldean Church, and Baselios Cleemis (Isaac) Thottunkal, from the Syro-Malabar Church.
One Cardinal, Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., is not a bishop. Therefore, he has no episcopal lineage. He is the first non-bishop Cardinal to participate in a Conclave since Pope John XXIII promulgated, motu proprio, the Apostolic Letter Cum Gravissima in 1962, the year he died. It was in 1962 that Pope Paul VI was chosen to walk in the shoes of the fisherman.
This leaves one Latin Rite Cardinal serving as a bishop who does not belong to Rebiba’s line: Sebastian Francis. Cardinal Francis is one of those members of Sacred College called by Pope Francis from the margins. He is the bishop of the Diocese of Penang, Malaysia.
It’s hard to imagine that Scipione de Rebiba could’ve imagined this.
Let's be diligent in praying for the Cardinal electors, who enter Conclave on Wednesday.
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