Papal conclave, 1667
The Papal conclave, 1667 (June 2–20, 1667) to determine the successor to the departed Pope Alexander VII resulted in the election of cardinal Giulio Rospigliosi, who took the name of Clement IX.
Death of Alexander VII
Pope Alexander VII died on May 22, 1667 at the age of 68. At the time of his death, there were 70 cardinals in the Sacred College, but two of them died during sede vacante, and another four were entirely absent, leaving the number of 64 participants.[1][2]
Divisions among cardinals
The College of Cardinals was divided into several factions. The strongest of them was the party of Flavio Chigi, cardinal-nephew of Pope Alexander VII, which grouped twenty-four of his creatures. Another influential person was dean of the College, Francesco Barberini, who was leader of the group of old cardinals created by his uncle Urban VIII. Small but important because of the possibility of using the right of exclusion were the factions of the so-called "Crown-Cardinals", of Spain and France. They represented the respective interests of Charles II of Spain and Louis XIV of France.
The French party was instructed to work for the election of cardinal Secretary of State Giulio Rospigliosi. They thought that Rospigliosi, as former nuncio in Madrid, would be also acceptable for Spain. France had in Rome a clever and active ambassador in the duc de Chaulnes, who had replaced the duc de Créqui at Palazzo Farnese in 1665 and closely cooperated with Cardinal de Retz, the main representative of France in the Sacred College.[3]
Unlike France, Spain placed its interests in the hand of the incompetent ambassador Marquis Astorga. He allied himself with cardinal Chigi, although initially Cardinal Dean Barberini tried to obtain Spanish support for his own candidature[3]
Several cardinals, particularly those created by Innocent X, were unaligned. Some of them formed a group called flying squadron, connected neither with papal nephews nor Catholic monarchs.[4]
The conclave
Sixty-one cardinals thus entered the conclave in the Vatican on June 2. In the following eight days they were joined by three more cardinals.[1]
Initially Flavio Chigi, supported by the Spanish party, proposed to elect cardinal Scipione d'Elci,[4] but was not able to secure for him the required majority of two thirds. Meanwhile, cardinal Retz and his two Italian colleagues d'Este and Grimaldi suggested to the leader of the Spanish party, Ernst Adalbert von Harrach, the candidature of Rospigliosi. The Cardinal Secretary of State was viewed in Spain as a friend, so it was not a difficult task to convince Harrach to vote for him and to break the alliance with Chigi. Cardinal Chigi was furious at Spain’s defection, but was not able to counteract it. The alliance between the representatives of two major Catholic powers proved decisive.[3]
On June 20, 1667 Cardinal Giulio Rospigliosi was elected to the papacy, receiving all votes except those of his own and of Neri Corsini, who voted for Flavio Chigi.[4] He accepted his election and took the name of Clement IX. Six days later he was solemnly crowned on the steps of the patriarchal Vatican Basilica by Cardinal Rinaldo d'Este, protodeacon of S. Nicola in Carcere Tulliano.[5]
List of participants
- Marzio Ginetti (January 19, 1626) – Cardinal-Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina; Sub-Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals; Vicar General of Rome; Prefect of the S. C. of Bishops and Regulars; Prefect of the S. C. of Rites; Prefect of the S. C. of the Ecclesiestical Immunities
- Stefano Durazzo (November 28, 1633) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Lorenzo in Lucina; Protopriest of the Sacred College of Cardinals
- Virginio Orsini, O.S.Io.Hieros. (December 19, 1641) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria degli Angeli; Cardinal-protector of the Kingdom of Poland; Cardinal-protector of Armenia
- Carlo Rosetti (July 13, 1643) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Silvestro in Capite; Bishop of Faenza
- Federico Sforza (March 6, 1645) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Pietro in Vincoli; Cardinal-protector of the Kingdom of Naples
- Benedetto Odescalchi (March 6, 1645) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Onofrio; Prefect of the Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature of Grace
- Lorenzo Raggi (October 7, 1647) – Cardinal-Priest of SS. Quirico e Giulitta
- Jean-François-Paul de Gondi de Retz (February 19, 1652) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria sopra Minerva
- Luigi Omodei (February 19, 1652) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Alessio
- Marcello Publicola Santacroce[7] (February 19, 1652) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Stefano al Monte Celio; Bishop of Tivoli
- Lorenzo Imperiali (February 19, 1652) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Crisogono
- Giberto Borromeo (February 19, 1652) – Cardinal-Priest of SS. Giovanni e Paolo
- Giovanni Battista Spada (March 2, 1654) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Marcello
- Ottavio Acquaviva d'Aragona (March 2, 1654) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Cecilia
- Scipione Pannocchieschi d'Elci (April 9, 1657) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Sabina
- Antonio Bichi (April 9, 1657) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Agostino; Bishop of Osimo
- Girolamo Boncompagni (January 14, 1664) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Marcellino e Pietro; Archbishop of Bologna
- Carlo Bonelii (January 14, 1664) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Anastasia
- Celio Piccolomini (January 14, 1664) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Pietro in Montorio
- Carlo Carafa della Spina (January 14, 1664) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Susanna; Legate in Bologna
- Neri Corsini (January 14, 1664) – Cardinal-Priest of SS. Nereo e Achilleo; Titular Archbishop of Damietta
- Giacomo Filippo Nini (January 14, 1664) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria della Pace
- Paluzzo Paluzzi degli Albertoni (January 14, 1664) – Cardinal-Priest of SS. XII Apostoli; Bishop of Montefisacone e Corneto
- Cesare Maria Antonio Rasponi (January 14, 1664) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Giovanni a Porta Latina; Legate in Urbino
- Giannicolò Conti (January 14, 1664) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria in Transpontina; Bishop of Ancona
- Giulio Spinola (February 15, 1666) – Cardinal-Priest of [no title assigned]
- Carlo Roberti (February 15, 1666) – Cardinal-Priest of [no title assigned]
- Innico Caracciolo (February 15, 1666) – Cardinal-Priest of [no title assigned]; Archbishop of Naples
- Giovanni Stefano Donghi[7] (July 13, 1643) – Cardinal-Deacon of S. Maria degli Angeli; Bishop of Ferrara
- Friedrich von Hesse-Darmstadt, O.S.Io.Hieros. (February 19, 1652) – Cardinal-Deacon of S. Cesareo in Palatio
- Carlo Pio di Savoia (March 2, 1654) – Cardinal-Deacon of S. Eustachio
- Odoardo Vecchiarelli (April 29, 1658) – Cardinal-Deacon of SS. Cosma e Damiano; Bishop of Rieti
- Giacomo Franzoni (April 29, 1658) – Cardinal-Deacon of S. Maria in Aquiro; Bishop of Camerino
- Angelo Celsi (January 14, 1664) – Cardinal-Deacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro; Prefect of the S. C. of the Tridentine Council
- Paolo Savelli (January 14, 1664) – Cardinal-Deacon of S. Maria della Scala; Legate in Romagna
16 electors were creatures of Urban VIII, 20 of Innocent X and 28 of Alexander VII.
Absentees
Four cardinals, all created by Alexander VII, did not participate in this conclave[1][2]:
- Pascual de Aragón-Córdoba-Cardona y Fernández de Córdoba (April 5, 1660) – Cardinal-Priest of S. Balbina; Archbishop of Toledo
- Vitaliano Visconti (February 15, 1666) – Cardinal-Priest [no title assigned]
Notes
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