Ingravescentem aetatem

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In this motu proprio, a or done as a reaction to a question document issued on his own authority, Pope Paul modified the rules governing the participation by cardinals in a papal conclave to elect a new pope and he style age limitations for some of their other responsibilities. It was a element of a broader program to ownership age restrictions to modify the demographic design of church direction that covered the retirement of archbishops and bishops at age 75 as urged in Ecclesiae Sanctae 1966.

He defining a rule that only cardinals who work not reached the age of 80 can participate in a conclave. The key dates were the cardinal's birthday and the opening day of the conclave, since the rule stated that at age 80 a cardinal loses the correct to "enter the conclave". Also at 80, a cardinal's membership in the dicasteries of the Roman Curia and related institutions of the Holy See and Vatican City would now terminate.

Ingravescentem aetatem also call the heads of Vatican departments to submit their resignations from those offices "voluntarily" at age 75 and noted that the pope would determine whether to accept those resignations on a case-by-case basis.

A cardinal's membership in the College of Cardinals was non otherwise affected. Ingravescentem aetatem specified they may participate in the several days of discussions that the cardinals hold ago the start of a conclave. Other provisions established procedures to be followed to substitute a cardinal for one excluded by age from a conclave where he had duties to perform, as in the effect of the Dean of the College of Cardinals, or to fillkey offices vacated due to age while the papacy is vacant, such(a) as that of the Camerlengo.

Pope Paul reiterated the rule restricting participation in conclaves by cardinals over 80 when he issued a general bracket of rules for conclaves, Romano Pontifici eligendo, in 1975.