1655 papal conclave
Papal conclave January–April 1655 | |
---|---|
Dates and location | |
18 January – 7 April 1655 Apostolic Palace, Papal States | |
Elected pope | |
Fabio Chigi Name taken: Alexander VII | |
The 1655 papal conclave was convened following the death of
The 1655 papal conclave was a notable event in the history of the Catholic Church, reflecting the political complexities of the time and resulting in a change of leadership.
Background
Innocent X created
During Innocent's papacy, the Peace of Westphalia brought an end to the Thirty Years' War, the most significant secular event that occurred during his reign. Innocent did not approve of the treaty because his representatives had not been a part of the discussions and he had not been consulted or asked to approve the recognition of the Protestant religion in Germany. He called upon secular Catholic leaders to renounce the peace, but they did not do so. Innocent in return refrained from appointing cardinals outside of Italy during his reign. He only created six non-Italian cardinals during his pontificate, and five of those were Crown-cardinals that Catholic monarchs insisted upon. Aside from these, the remainder of his 40 creations all came from Italy.[3]
Conclave
The
The stalemate continued through February, and younger members of the College of Cardinals began to play
Election of Alexander VII
In mid-February, Sacchetti, recognizing that his own candidacy was lost, contacted Mazarin and requested that the French cardinals move their support to Fabio Chigi.
In April 1655, Mazarin wrote back to Sacchetti agreeing to allow electors loyal to France to vote for Chigi should Sacchetti's own election become impossible. Sacchetti then proceeded to ask his supporters to transfer their support to Chigi. On the first scrutiny on 7 April 1655, twenty written ballots were cast for Chigi, before the other electors
Notes
- ^ Baumgartner 2003, p. 154.
- ^ Trollope, Thomas Adolphus. 1876, The Papal Conclaves: As They Were and As They Are, Chapman and Hall
- ^ a b c d e Baumgartner 2003, p. 155.
- ^ a b Freiherr von Pastor 1940, p. 2.
- ^ Baumgartner 2003, pp. 155–156.
- ^ a b c d e f Baumgartner 2003, p. 156.
- ^ Freiherr von Pastor 1940, pp. 3–4.
- ^ Vernon 2013, p. 248.
References
- Baumgartner, Frederic J. (2003). Behind Locked Doors. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-29463-8.
- Freiherr von Pastor, Ludwig (1940) [1891]. Graf, Ernest (ed.). The History of the Popes. Vol. XXXI. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd.
- Vernon, H. M. (13 June 2013) [1909]. Italy from 1494 to 1790. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-69867-3.