Siri thesis - Wikipedia

The Siri thesis is a conspiracy theory held by a small minority of traditionalist Catholics which asserts that the conservative Cardinal Giuseppe Siri, then the Archbishop of Genoa, was elected pope in the 1958 papal conclave, taking the name Pope Gregory XVII, but that his election was suppressed. Siri did not associate himself with this idea. Its exponents claim that a prolonged emission of white smoke on the first day of balloting at the conclave indicated the election of Siri, but that threats applied from outside the conclave caused his election to be reversed, allowing Pope John XXIII to be elected two days later. The source of the threats has been identified variously as Freemasons and agents of the Soviet Union. Adherents of the Siri thesis say that the election of John XXIII was invalid. They regard him and his successors as imposters and antipopes. 1958 conclave[edit] On 25 October 1958, 51 cardinals entered the papal conclave, which was held to elect a successor to …