The papal conclave held on 25 and 26 August 1978 was the first of the two held that year. It was convoked to elect a successor to Paul VI, who had died on 6 August 1978. After the cardinal electors assembled in Rome, they elected Cardinal Albino Luciani, Patriarch of Venice, as the new pope on the fourth ballot. He accepted the election and took the name John Paul I. It was the first conclave since the promulgation of Ingravescentem aetatem (1970), which made cardinals who had reached the age of 80 by the day the conclave began ineligible to participate in the balloting. There were 15 cardinals excluded by that rule. The number of votes cast for Luciani on the final ballot was so great that even the uniform opposition of these cardinals would not have changed the outcome. Papabili Among the papabili, or top candidates, were Sergio Pignedoli, President of the Secretariat for Non-Christians, Giuseppe Siri of Genoa, and Corrado Ursi of Naples. Others named Giovanni Benelli of Florence, until recently Vatican Secretary of State, Sebastiano Baggio, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, and non-cardinal Anastasio Ballestrero, Archbishop of Turin. The non-Italian most often mentioned was Johannes Willebrands, Archbishop of Utrecht. Aloísio Lorscheider of Brazil, head of the Episcopal Conference of Latin America, favored Albino Luciani, the Patriarch of Venice, while Luciani is believed to have favoured Lorscheider. Time reported that the Dean of the College, Carlo Confalonieri, who was excluded from participating because of age, had been the first to suggest Luciani. Proceedings and balloting The conclave was held for two days from 25 August to 26 August 1978 at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Cardinal John Wright, an official of the Roman Curia, was in the U.S. for medical treatments and unable to attend. Proceedings on 25 August 1978 included a Mass celebrated at St. Peter's Basilica by the cardinal electors for divine guidance in their task to elect Pope Paul's successor. The cardinals processed into the Sistine Chapel six hours later while the chapel choir sang the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus. Monsignor Virgilio Noè, the Papal Master of Ceremonies, gave the traditional command of Extra omnes ("Everybody out!"), the doors were locked, and then the actual conclave began, with Cardinal Villot presiding (as would happen again in October) due to being the senior Cardinal bishop in attendance. The chapel windows remained closed, some sealed,