Conclave 1689

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The conclave of 1689 was made after the death of Pope Innocent XI. convened. It led to the election of Pietro Vito Ottoboni as Pope Alexander VIII. The conclave saw the merger of earlier factions, which lacked numerical strength, and the rise of the Zelanti as a political force in the election of the next Pope. Ottoboni was ultimately elected unanimously with the consent of the secular monarchs and was elected Pope as the first Venetian in over 200 years.

background

The central political question regarding the papacy during the pontificate of Innocent XI. was the diplomatic tension between the papacy and the French monarchy over the Droit de régale , the alleged claim of French monarchs to the income of dioceses during an interregnum between the death of a bishop and the installation of a new one. In response to a papal bull of Innocent condemning this practice, the French held a national synod in 1682 confirming this right of the king. In return, Innocent refused to confirm new French bishops, so that by 1688 35 vacancies had arisen. Louis XIV reacted in turn by occupying the papal territory of Avignon .

Within the church, Innocent had waited a long time to appoint new cardinals, until 1681, five years after his election, to announce the first surveys, 16 cardinals, all of whom came from Italy. This led to dissatisfaction among the Catholic monarchs, because at that time there were only a few non-Italians in the college of cardinals . At his next round of appointments in 1686, twelve of the 27 new cardinals were non-Italians, including one French. In total, he appointed 43 cardinals during his pontificate, although 52 had died.

conclave

Innocent XI. died on August 12, 1689 , leaving eight vacancies in the college. The conclave for the election of his successor was opened on August 23, 1689 , but until the arrival of the French cardinals a month later (September 23, 1689 ) there were no significant votes. The French cardinals attended the conclave from September 28th . The bull Aeterni Patris Filius Gregory XV. has stipulated that two thirds of the cardinals must be present for ballots.

53 cardinals took part in the conclave of 1689, seven of which were not from Italy. Of the Italians, seven were from the Papal States . Innocent's appointments were generally not coordinated with the secular rulers, which was reflected in the respective factions: five French, seven from the sphere of influence of the Habsburgs (Spain / Germany). The Squadrone Volante faction , which had skilfully pushed through its candidate in two previous conclaves, 1655 and 1667 , was no longer a factor, as its leaders Christina of Sweden and Dezio Azzolini had died in April and June 1689, respectively. Instead of the squadron , the group of Zelanti (zealots) appeared, which sought to choose the best Pope regardless of political ties .

Francesco Maria de 'Medici took responsibility for the Spaniards, Rinaldo d'Este for the French. Flavio Chigi and Paluzzo Paluzzi Altieri degli Albertoni , who had previously led factions, joined forces due to their reduced number and joined Benedetto Pamphilj and Medici. Charles d'Albert d'Ailly , 3rd Duke of Chaulnes , acted in the conclave with d'Este and the Marquis de Tore as advisor to Louis XIV. Medici was accompanied by Luis Francisco de la Cerda , the Spanish embassy to the Holy See. Emperor Leopold I sent Prince Anton Florian von Liechtenstein to the conclave as his representative because he was not satisfied with the Medici representation. Liechtenstein was received at the gates of the conclave on September 27th, Chaulnes on October 2nd.

Raimondo Capizucchi and Gregorio Barbarigo were the favorites in the early stages of the conclave, but neither were elected. On September 20, there were rumors that Barbarigo had been elected, but it turns out that he had asked the Cardinals not to vote for him.

Election of Alexander VIII.

Pietro Vito Ottoboni has been considered the most qualified candidate since the conclave opened, but his supporters (Chigi and the Zelanti) moved cautiously because it was expected that he would have opponents because he was Venetian. Chigi finally convinced Medici and Altieri to support Ottoboni as well. He was not the Emperor's favorite candidate and Louis XIV was initially against his election, but both of them agreed in the end. His supporters promised that - in contrast to Innocent XI. - would confirm the French bishops and this was the last step to ensure his election. Ottoboni was 79 years old when the conclave opened - which was also a positive factor in his choice.

On October 6, 1689, Ottoboni was unanimously elected Pope by the 49 cardinals present. He was the first Venetian Pope in more than two centuries. Ottoboni had originally thought of adopting the Pope's name Urban in honor of Urban VIII , who was at the beginning of his career, but then decided on Alexander VIII in honor of Flavio Chigi's uncle to Alexander VII , as Chigi helped with his election had, but also because of Pope Alexander III. which was popular in Venice.

Eligible voters

51 cardinals attended the conclave:

  1. Pietro Ottoboni , Bishop of Porto-Santa Rufina , Sub-Dean of the Holy College
  2. Alderano Cibo , Bishop of Ostia and Velletri, Dean of the Holy College
  3. Flavio Chigi , Bishop of Albano
  4. Antonio Bichi , Bishop of Palestrina and Administrator of Osimo
  5. Giacomo Franzoni , Bishop of Frascati
  6. Francesco Maidalchini , Cardinal Protodeacon
  7. Carlo Barberini
  8. Gregorio Barbarigo , Bishop of Padua
  9. Gianicolò Conti , Bishop of Ancona
  10. Giulio Spinola , Bishop of Lucca , left the conclave on September 24th for health reasons
  11. Giovanni Delfino
  12. Emmanuel Théodose de la Tour d'Auvergne
  13. Niccolò Acciaiuoli
  14. Carlo Cerri
  15. Gasparo Carpegna
  16. César d'Estrées
  17. Pierre de Bonzi , Archbishop of Narbonne
  18. Vincenzo Maria Orsini , OP, Bishop of Benevento , later Pope Benedict XIII.
  19. Francesco Nerli , Archbishop of Assissi
  20. Girolamo Casanate
  21. Federico Baldeschi Colonna
  22. Galeazzo Marescotti , Bishop of Tivoli
  23. Fabrizio Spada
  24. Philip Thomas Howard , OP
  25. Paluzzo Paluzzi Altieri degli Albertoni , Bishop of Sabina , Camerlengo
  26. Giambattista Spinola
  27. Antonio Pignatelli , Archbishop of Naples , later Pope Innocent XII.
  28. Savo Millini , Archbishop of Orvieto
  29. Federico Visconti , Archbishop of Milan
  30. Raimondo Capizucchi , OP
  31. Francesco Lorenzo Brancati di Lauria , OFMConv., Librarian of the Holy Roman Church
  32. Urbano Sacchetti , Bishop of Viterbo and Toscanella
  33. Gianfrancesco Ginetti , Archbishop of Fermo
  34. Benedetto Pamphilj , prefect of the signature
  35. Giacomo de Angelis
  36. Opizio Pallavicini , legate in Urbino
  37. Marcantonio Barbarigo , Archbishop of Montefiascone and Corneto
  38. Carlo Stefano Anastasio Ciceri , Bishop of Como
  39. Leopold Karl von Kollonitsch , Bishop of Győr
  40. Pier Matteo Petrucci , Cong. Orat., Bishop of Iesi
  41. Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg , Bishop of Strasbourg
  42. Jan Kazimierz Denhoff , Bishop of Cesena
  43. José Sáenz de Aguirre , OSB
  44. Leandro Colloredo , Congr. Orat., Major Penitentiary
  45. Fortunato Ilario Carafa della Spina , Bishop of Aversa
  46. Domenico Maria Corsi , Bishop of Rimini and legate in Romagna
  47. Gianfrancesco Negroni , Bishop of Faenza and legate in Bologna, left the conclave on October 4th for health reasons
  48. Fulvio Astalli
  49. Gasparo Cavalieri Archbishop of Capua
  50. Francesco Maria de 'Medici
  51. Rinaldo d'Este

At the death of Innocent XI. on August 12, 1689, the College of Cardinals consisted of 60 cardinals, of which 29 entered the conclave on August 23. Due to numerous illnesses during the conclave, the number of participants fluctuated; 49 cardinals were present in the decisive ballot.

Eight cardinals did not participate in the election:

Angelo Maria Ranuzzi , Archbishop of Bologna, died on September 27 on arrival.

The 51 cardinals present in the conclave came from the pontificate:

  • 4 cardinals from the pontificate of Pope Innocent X.
  • 8 cardinals from the pontificate of Pope Alexander VII.
  • 3 cardinals from the pontificate of Pope Clement IX.
  • 10 cardinals from the pontificate of Pope Clement X.
  • 26 cardinals from the pontificate of Pope Innocent XI.

literature

  • Frederic J. Baumgartner: Behind Locked Doors. Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. ISBN 0-312-29463-8 .
  • Ludwig von Pastor , Ernst Graf (Ed.): The History of the Popes. Volume XXXII. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd. (1940) [1891].
  • Edward J. Olszewski: Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni (1667-1740) and the Vatican Tomb of Pope Alexander VIII. American Philosophical Society, 2004, ISBN 978-0-87169-252-8 .
  • Gianvittorio Signorotto, Maria Antonietta Visceglia: Court and Politics in Papal Rome, 1492–1700. Cambridge University Press, 2002, ISBN 9781139431415 .