Basilica della Santa Casa, in Loreto
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Page 268 of Anura Guruge’s ‘The Next Pope 2011.
We know that U.S Cardinal Henry O’Connell of Boston (1859 – 1944, created 1911) flew in January 1922 in order to make it to the 1922 conclave which started on February 2; though he still missed it!
He might have flown in a Lawson L-2.
Lawson L-2
Italian Cardinals Vittorio Amedeo Ranuzzi de’ Bianchi [1857 - 1927, created 1916] and Giovanni Tacci Porcelli [1863 - 1928, created 1921] are said to have flown on September 10, 1922, in a plane built by Italian aircraft manufacturer Società de Agostini e Caproni (Caproni). They flew to Loreto, on the east coast of Italy, to attend a service for ‘Our Lady of Loreto‘, the Patron Saint of Aviators at the Basilica della Santa Casa. The plane was piloted by a Colonel Armani. The claim in the Cardinals Web site that these two were the first cardinals to fly has to be patently wrong. O’Connell’s flight is well documented. At best, these two were the first Italian cardinals to fly.
It is not documented as to what type of plane they flew in. Given the time-frame and the need for the safety and comfort of the cardinals, I suspect it as a Caproni Ca. 73, built in the 1920s and designated an airliner given that it could accommodate 10 passengers in a proper fuselage cabin. Given that it is Loreto it is unlikely they flew in a seaplane.
Caproni Ca. 73 airliner of the 1920s
Caproni Ca. 60
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