Unlike the papabile cardinals Giacomo Lercaro of Bologna and Giuseppe Siri of Genoa, he was not identified with either the left or right, nor was he seen as a radical reformer. He was viewed as most likely to continue the Second Vatican Council, which already, without any tangible results, had lasted longer than anticipated by John XXIII, who had a vision but "did not have a clear agenda. His rhetoric seems to have had a note of over-optimism, a confidence in progress, which was characteristic of the 1960s." When John XXIII died of stomach cancer on 3 June 1963, it triggered a conclave to elect a new pope. COUNT 5
QSN1 What role was Montini not perceived to fill unlike some of his fellow cardinals? ANS1 reformer QSN2 In what year did Pope John XXIII die? ANS2 1963 QSN3 What role did Pope John XXIII's death precipitate the election of? ANS3 pope QSN4 What illness caused the death of Pope John XXIII ANS4 stomach cancer QSN5 What organization did the church expect Montini to continue? ANS5 Second Vatican Council