Papal conclave, 1404

Coat of arms during the vacancy of the Holy See
Dates and location
10–17 October 1404 Rome, Papal States
Key officials
Protodeacon	Ludovico Fieschi
Elected Pope
Cosimo de' Migliorati (Name taken: Innocent VII)
← 1389 1406 →

Papal conclave of October 10 to October 17, 1404 – the papal conclave of the time of the Great Western Schism, convened after the death of Pope Boniface IX, it elected Cardinal Cosimo Gentile Migliorati, who under the name of Innocent VII became the third pope of the Roman Obedience.

Pope Boniface IX died on October 1, 1404. At the time of his death, there were only 12 cardinals in the Roman Obedience of the Sacred College. Nine of them participated in the election of his successor:

All the electors were Italians. Five of them were elevated by Pope Urban VI, and four by Boniface IX.

Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church was at that time Corrado Caraccioli, bishop of Mileto.

Three cardinals, two created by Urban VI and one by Boniface IX, did not participate in this conclave:

Hungarian Alsani was the only non-Italian Cardinal in the Roman Obedience.

Several churchmen and laymen urged "Roman" Cardinals not to elect the successor of Boniface IX and to recognise Benedict XIII of Avignon as Pope (or, at least, to wait for his death and then elect the new pope together with his adherents). Among the supporters of this point of view was Cardinal Protodeacon Ludovico Fieschi, who did not attend the conclave and later did not recognise its result.

In spite of this, nine cardinals present in Rome entered the conclave on October 10. Initially, they subscribed the conclave capitulation, which obliged elect to do everything possible (including abdication) in order to restore the unity of the Church. After seven days of deliberations Cardinal Cosimo Gentile Migliorati was unanimously elected pope and took the name of Innocent VII. Five days later Cardinal Fieschi officially abandoned the Roman Obedience and recognised Benedict XIII as true pope, so the rite of papal coronation on November 11 was performed by the new Protodeacon Landolfo Maramaldo.