cardijn had first come into contact with paul vi when he was father montini serving in the secretariat of state. the two corresponded over time afterwards, but cardijn’s concern was evident when montini was transferred as the archbishop of milan since cardijn lost a supporter and friend within the secretariat. he likewise expressed his nervousness at the election of john xxiii since he did not know him and did not know how the new pope would respond to his movement. but the two soon became good friends and he was all the more pleased when john xxiii named montini as a cardinal over a month after his election. montini became pope in 1963 and sent him an letter on 4 november 1963 praising cardijn's work. in 1964 the pope asked cardijn to submit his thoughts on ecumenism and dialogue for "ecclesiam suam". cardijn gave a ten-page reflection to the pope as well as 40 additional pages of citations he thought would help in the document's drafting.