yes there were instances where catechumens were elected as bishops Guess I wasn’t thinking that far back. I was kind of thinking Gregory the Great time frame. He was a deacon when elected.(though I know of no papal election in such a case) and he was immediately baptized, confirmed, and ordained. Bear in mind catechumens studied for years at that time. but never was there a case where “baptism was not necessary”. It did not arise at that time but in the unlikely event since the Reformation a baptized non-Catholic was elected–and a formal process of papal elections was in effect then so this is only theoretical, not possible–he would immediately make a profession of faith, be confirmed, brought into full communion with the Church, and ordained. There is a precedent for this in the modern age with Protestant clergymen who enter the Church, discern a priestly vocation, and go on to ordination. But current rules restrict electors to the college of cardinals who are under 80, so no today it is not possible.
This is from an artcle I found when looking for something to illustrate what I was saying.
It was a special privledge for us to do so. St. Gregory is one many popes that was a deacon when he was elected, rather than a bishop or even a priest.
You might find it interesting that from 432 – 684 thirty-seven men were elected pope. Of those the breakdown was:
Only three of them were priest or bishops at the time of election
Thirty-four were deacons when they were elected
Like Gregory, a deacon elected pope is immediately ordained a priest, and then immediately ordained a bishop. It can even be during the same liturgy that both ordinations occur.
For Gregory it took only about three hours for him to be elected pope, be ordained twice, and then assume the office of the papacy.
Today it is at least theoretically possible for a deacon to be elected pope, but it hasn’t happened for a very, very long time. In fact, even a layman can be elected pope. If he was, he would be ordained a deacon, priest & bishop, all in succession and probably during the same Mass.
It’s not terribly likely though – usually the cardinal electors choose someone that is actually in the Sistine Chapel during the balloting (though they do not have to).
Pray for us, Pope St. Gregory the Great!
My only point was that many have been elected as pope while holding the office of deacon, as St. Gregory the Great. As far as catecumens, I’m sure in the very early church this could have been the case, I’m not familiar with this though. That is what I meant by not needing baptism, they were alread baptised if they were deacons.
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