Pope Paul VI

Pope of the Catholic Church from 1963 to 1978 (1897–1978)

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Italy rank#121
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Lived 1897–1978, aged 81Italy

Italy Religious Figures

Wikipedia
110 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in Italy
#121
Religious Figures
Era
1897–1978
Aged 81
Known for
Apollo 13
1995

Summary

Updated 2026-06-21

He steered the Catholic Church through its most disruptive modernization in centuries, closing Vatican II and executing reforms that reshaped liturgy, ecumenism, and doctrine — then drew a global line on birth control that still reverberates.

Biography

About

Born Giovanni Battista Montini in Concesio in 1897, he spent three decades in the Vatican's diplomatic corps, becoming the indispensable advisor to Pius XII before being named Archbishop of Milan in 1954. Elevated to cardinal in 1958, he was elected pope in 1963 with near-unanimous support and immediately reconvened the suspended Second Vatican Council, closing it in 1965 and spending the rest of his papacy implementing its sweeping reforms against conflicting pressures within the Church. He became the first pope in over a century to leave Italy, flying to Jordan in 1964, and pushed for wealth…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Pope Paul VI

Pope Paul VI

said30 Nov 1975

it is not admissible to ordain women to the priesthood, for very fundamental reasons.

— Letter from to Donald Coggan, Archbishop of Canterbury, 30 November 1975. Quoted by Pope John Paul II in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, 22 May 1994

Pope Paul VI

said29 Jun 1972

It is as if from some mysterious crack, no, it is not mysterious, from some crack the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God.

— Homily, 29 June 1972. Quoted in William O'Connor: Opus Dei: an Open Book (1991), pg 55.

Pope Paul VI

said1968

The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator.

— HUMANAE VITAE tradendae munus gravissimum, ex quo coniuges liberam et consciam Deo Creatori tribuunt operam, magnis semper ipsos affecit

Pope Paul VI

said1968

No member of the faithful could possibly deny that the Church is competent in her magisterium to interpret the natural moral law

— Nemo sane christifidelium eat infitias, ad Ecclesiae Magisterium interpretationem legis moralis naturalis spectare.

Pope Paul VI

said1968

The marriage of those who have been baptized is, in addition, invested with the dignity of a sacramental sign of grace, for it represents the union of Christ and His Church.

— Sacro autem baptismate ablutis, matrimonium eiusmodi praeditum est dignitate, ut gratiae sacramentale signum exsistat, cum Christi et

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

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