From 3 hours to almost 3 years: unusual stories of Vatican conclaves
Kyiv • UNN
The successor to Pope Francis has not been elected in the Vatican. The longest conclave in history lasted 1006 days, and the shortest only three hours.
No miracle happened in the Vatican - the cardinals failed to elect a successor to Pope Francis from the next vote, and the faithful, tired of the long wait, saw black smoke over the Sistine Chapel chimney in St. Peter's Square. So the conclave continues, and how long it will take is unknown. How long did the longest and shortest conclaves in history last - says UNN.
The longest conclave lasted almost three years
In the 13th century, the cardinals of the Catholic Church needed 1006 days to elect a successor to Pope Clement IV. This conclave became the longest in history. The term "conclave" comes from here - "under lock and key", because the cardinals who met in Viterbo, north of Rome, dragged out the case so much that the disappointed residents of the city locked them in a room.
The secret ballot, as a result of which Gregory X was elected as the new Pope, lasted from November 1268 to September 1271, and 15 cardinals took part in it. From the very beginning, it was a clash between two camps - French and Italian cardinals. Neither side could secure an advantage. Meetings and disputes lasted for weeks, during which the cardinals, gathered in the bishop's palace, not only tried to convince each other, but also staged a real "guerrilla war" against the candidates of the other side, sending assassins and spies to them.
At the same time, the cardinals lived and ate in the bishop's palace at the expense of the city, which eventually decided that it was time to end this "entertainment". In the summer of 1270, the governor of Viterbo ordered the meeting to be locked up, while reducing their food supply more and more over time. Only after that, the cardinals sped up and managed to choose a compromise candidate.
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It is worth saying that Gregory X took measures to prevent such a long conclave from happening again. In 1274, it was decreed that cardinals would receive food only "once a day" if the conclave lasted more than three days, and only "bread, water and wine" if it lasted more than eight. Although this restriction was later lifted due to opposition from the cardinals, in the future it was possible to achieve more accelerated elections of new pontiffs.
Conclave in three hours
Until 1274, there were cases when the Pope was elected on the day of his predecessor's death, but this practice was abolished for a more balanced and rational electoral process. The Catholic Church decided to wait at least 10 days before the first vote. Later, this period was increased to 15 days.
The fastest conclave that adhered to the 10-day waiting rule was the election of Pope Julius II in 1503, who was elected in just three hours.
Other unusual conclaves
After the conclave of 1268-1271, the longest papal election lasted 179 days, or 5 months and 27 days in 1740, when the cardinals elected Benedict XIV. And since 1846, conclaves have never lasted longer than five days.
As for the present, Pope Francis was elected in 2013 on the second day of the conclave from the fifth vote. Benedict XVI won in 2005 from the fourth, and Pope Pius XII won from the third in 1939.
Addendum
Today, May 8, is the second day of the largest and most geographically diverse conclave in history. Today they will vote four times.