Conclave 1740

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The conclave of 1740 occurred after the death of Pope Clement XII. († February 6, 1740 ) and met from February 19, 1740 to August 17, 1740. It elected Benedict XIV as Pope.

College of Cardinals

Attendees

The following cardinals took part in the conclave:

Absent cardinals

The following cardinals did not attend the conclave:

course

Since Pope Clement XII. was blind and bedridden for almost all of his pontificate, the Catholic powers made arrangements for his successor at an early stage. When the Pope's imminent death had to be expected in October 1739, the Council of Ministers in Vienna had sent instructions to Cardinal Giudice and Minister Harrach in Rome and Emperor Charles VI. the imperial cardinals Lamberg , Sinzendorf , Kollonitsch and Schönborn were urged to leave quickly (and charged them an expense of 12,000 guilders ) because it was feared that the cardinal nepot Neri Corsini would insist that the conclave begin soon in order to exclude cardinals from abroad from the papal election.

The conclave began on February 19, 1740. At that time, only 32 of the 68 living cardinals were present; by April another 24 had arrived. What was novel and characteristic of this conclave was that the usual fractions of the electoral college joined together to form two large unions, which kept themselves in balance with smaller shifts throughout the course. One union was the French and Austrians, who joined forces with the “young” cardinals, mainly creatures of Clement XII, under the leadership of Neri Corsini. The opposing party was formed by Spain, Naples and Tuscany with the "old" cardinals around Camerlengo Annibale Albani . Initially, the Conprotector of the German Nation, Cardinal Niccolò del Giudice, was entrusted with the management of the imperial secretum (the representation of the imperial interests in the conclave) , later the Imperial and Hereditary Protector Cardinal Kollonitsch, who only left Vienna on February 20, 1740, was entrusted.

After the conclave dragged on for more than half a year, Cardinal Prosper Lambertini was elected surprisingly on August 17, 1740 , who out of solidarity with Benedict XIII. , who had elevated him to cardinal, took the name of Pope Benedict XIV.

literature

  • Rudolf Weiß: The Diocese of Passau under Cardinal Joseph Dominikus von Lamberg (1723–1761). Sankt Ottilien: EOS-Verlag, 1979, pp. 142–144. ISBN 3-88096-121-2

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