 As Dean of the Sacred College, he presided at the Funeral Masses of Popes Pius XII and John XXIII and presided over the conclaves to elect their successors in the conclaves of 1958 and 1963.During the 1958 conclave, he was seen as "papabile" by most Vatican-watchers, and it is generally believed that he received at least five votes in the early balloting.In 1956, Tisserant received an honorary doctorate from Coimbra University, and in 1961, he was elected a member of the Académie française.