Papal election, 1118

The Papal election of 1118 saw the election of Pope Gelasius II as the successor of Pope Paschal II, who died January 21, 1118 in Rome after an 18-year pontificate.

List of Cardinal-electors

The Papal bull In nomine Domini issued by Pope Nicholas II in 1059, stated that on the death of the incumbent pope, the cardinal-bishops should confer among themselves as to a candidate; when a candidate has been deduced the cardinal-bishops and all other cardinals are to proceed to an election.

Data on the number and composition of the College of Cardinals in January 1118, are very uncertain. The primary source was written over a dozen years later by Pandulf of Pisa, cardinal-priest of Santi Cosma e Damiano. It claimed that the election was attended by 49 cardinals (four bishops, 27 priests and 18 deacons), however, mentions the names of only 35 of them (four bishops, 20 priests and 11 deacons, including the elect).According to Pandulf, one cardinal-priest, Hugh of Santi Apostoli, was absent, to which must be added two other cardinals bishops, which Pandulf in the context of the election, although does not mention, but whose existence and dignity are documented in no uncertain terms. The credibility of the relationship Pandulf, including a list of electors, is challenged by modern historians; indicates on its polemical nature of the atmosphere resulting from the schism Antipope Anacletus II (1130-1138) Critical analysis of the sources revealed that:

Papal conclave, 2005

The Papal conclave of 2005 was convened as a result of the death of Pope John Paul II on 2 April 2005. After his death, the cardinals who were in Rome met and set a date for the beginning of the conclave to elect his successor. The conclave began on 18 April 2005 and ended the following day after four ballots. Eligible members of the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, those who were younger than 80 years of age at the time of the death of Pope John Paul II, met and elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new Pope. After accepting his election, he took the name Benedict XVI.

Papal election process for 2005

Presiding over the conclave was the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Ratzinger from Germany. Given that Ratzinger himself was elected Pope, the duty of asking if he would accept the election and what name he would adopt (duties normally performed by the Dean) fell, in accordance with the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici gregis, to the vice-dean Angelo Sodano.

Papal election, 1061

The papal election of 1061 was held on September 30, 1061 in San Pietro in Vincoli ("Saint Peter in Chains") in Rome, following the death of Pope Nicholas II. In accordance with Nicholas II's bull, In Nomine Domini, the cardinal bishops were the sole electors of the pope for the first time in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. Bishop Anselmo de Baggio of Lucca, a non-cardinal and one of the founders of the Pataria, was elected Pope Alexander II and crowned at nightfall on October 1, 1061 in San Pietro in Vincoli Basilica because opposition to the election made a coronation in St. Peter's Basilica impossible.

Description

Anselmo had the support of his friend Cardinal Hildebrand, a driving force behind the promulgation of In Nomine Domini and the future Pope Gregory VII, Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine, and the Norman forces of Robert Guiscard, present at the election in fulfilment of a security guarantee Guiscard had made to Nicholas II when appointed Duke of Apulia and Calabria. Although Anselmo was well-known and respected within the German court, the assent of the Holy Roman Emperor to the election was not sought.

Papal election, 1119

The papal election from January 29 to February 2, 1119 was, by an order of magnitude, the smallest papal election of the 12th century currently considered legitimate by the Roman Catholic Church.

Pope Gelasius II had died in Cluny having been expelled from Rome by Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, as a result of the Investiture Controversy. Probably only two cardinal bishops, four cardinal priests and four cardinal deacons participated in the election. The election took place in Cluny Abbey in France, while the rest of the College of Cardinals remained in Rome. A non-cardinal Guy de Bourgogne, the Archbishop of Vienne, was elected Pope Callixtus II, and crowned in Vienne on February 9; Callixtus II reached Rome on June 3, 1120.

Cardinal electors

Probably ten cardinals took part in the election.

Proceeding

The cardinals attending the death mass of Gelasius II in Cluny in late January 1119 were divided over whether his successor should be elected on the spot (as was permitted by In Nomine Domini) or whether they should return to Rome and hold the election with the full College of Cardinals; although the cardinals proceeded with the election immediately, they agreed that they would submit their choice to the entire College thereafter. The cardinals which accompanied Gleasius II to Cluny are known from Liber Pontificalis associated with "Pandulphus" (either Pandulf of Pisa or Pandulf of Lucca), from the charter from Cluny, and from the chronicle of Ordericus Vitalis.