Papal conclaves: Shortest, fastest, lesser-known stories and surprises

Gulf News

30-04-2025

What actually happens behind Vatican walls during the papal "conclave", set for May 7, 2025?
Insiders offer fascinating details of when Catholic cardinals meet for the centuries-old practice of electing the next pope.
So when the pope dies, there's funeral, mourning, and the next man up.
It turns out it's neither that simple, nor straightforward: The conclave can pull off some surprises.
With locked doors, smoke signals, and even royal vetoe it s,is one of the oldest and most secretive rituals in the world.
Here's a quick list of fascinating facts about how popes have been chosen across the ages:
'Conclave': May 8
The word "conclave" comes from cum clave ("with a key") as the Church mandated that cardinals be locked in until a pope was chosen. Conclaves are usually held 15 to 20 days after the pope's death. On May 8, cardinals are set to meet for mass at St. Peter's Basilica with the purpose of praying for the wisdom needed to choose the next pope.
#1. Longest conclave lasted nearly 3 years
The 1268–1271 conclave in Viterbo (Italy) dragged on for almost three years because the cardinals couldn't agree.
Citizens finally locked the cardinals in, cut their food supply, and even removed the building's roof to hurry them up, according to The Conclave: A Sometimes Secret and Occasionally Bloody History of Papal Elections, by prominent Catholic historian Michael Walsh Michael Walsh (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003).
#2. Shortest conclave: It lasted just a few hours
The 1503 conclave that elected Pius III lasted only a few hours — practically a "snap election." As per Chamberlin's tome on popes (1969). The second-shortest was Pope Pius XII (1939), who was elected on just the third ballot, within less than 24 hours of the conclave starting.
#3. Youngest pope elected
Pope Benedict IX was elected in the early 11th century — at around age 20 (or even younger by some accounts).
Pope Benedict IX (Latin: Benedictus IX; c. 1012 – c. 1056), born Theophylactus of Tusculum in Rome, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States for three periods between October 1032 and July 1048. Aged about 20 when first elected, he is the youngest pope in history.
He later resigned, was re-elected.
#4. Mob violence influenced the 1378 conclave
After Pope Gregory XI's death, a Roman mob stormed the building, demanding an Italian pope, threatening to kill the cardinals unless they elected an Italian pope.
Tensions got so bad that, according to some accounts, arguments in the conclave almost led to physical fights among cardinals.
Fearing for their lives, the cardinals rushed to elect Bartolomeo Prignano (Pope Urban VI).
Urban turned out to be so harsh and temperamental that some cardinals later tried to 'un-elect' him and elect another pope — triggering the massive Western Schism (where there were two, then three 'popes' at once). (Source: Norwich, Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy, 2011).
#5. A hermit was elected pope (then quit)
In 1294, the cardinals elected Celestine V, a hermit living in a cave, out of desperation. He resigned after five months — one of the very few papal resignations in history. (Duffy, Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes, 1997).
#6. Latin confusion at modern conclaves
Latin is the official language used inside the conclave, but by the 20th century many cardinals were poor Latin speakers, causing confusion during ballots and discussions. (Allen, Conclave: The Politics, Personalities, and Process of the Next Papal Election, 2002.)
#7. One conclave had a fake "smoke signal" accident
In 1958, during the conclave that elected Pope John XXIII, white smoke initially appeared by accident — causing premature celebration before the election was finalised. (Collins, Absolute Power: The Vatican in the Twentieth Century, 2001.)