The Papal conclave of 1939 was convoked on the brink of World War II with the death of Pope Pius XI on 10 February that year in the Apostolic Palace. With all 62 living cardinals in attendance, the conclave to elect Pius' successor began on 1 March and ended a day later, on 2 March, after three ballots. The cardinals elected Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, then Camerlengo and the deceased pontiff's Secretary of State, as the new pope. He accepted the election and took the regnal name of Pope Pius XII.