Papal conclave, 1758
Coat of arms during the vacancy of the Holy See
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| Dates and location | |
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| 15 May – 6 July 1758 Apostolic Palace, Papal States |
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| Key officials | |
| Dean | Rainiero d'Elci |
| Sub-Dean | Giovanni Antonio Guadagni |
| Camerlengo | Henry Benedict Stuart |
| Protopriest | Thomas Philip Wallrad d'Alsace-Boussut de Chimay |
| Protodeacon | Alessandro Albani |
| Election | |
| Vetoed | Carlo Alberto Guidoboni Cavalchini |
| Elected Pope | |
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Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico (Name taken: Clement XIII) |
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The Papal conclave, May 15 – July 6, 1758, convoked after the death of Pope Benedict XIV, was the conclave that elected Cardinal Carlo Rezzonico of Venice, who took the name Clement XIII.
Pope Benedict XIV died on May 3, 1758. Forty-five out of fifty-five Cardinals participated in the subsequent conclave. Only forty-four, however, voted in the final ballot, because Cardinal Bardi left the conclave because of illness on June 24:
Thirty five electors were created by Benedict XIV, eight by Clement XII, one by Benedict XIII (Borghese) and Innocent XIII (A. Albani).
Ten cardinals were entirely absent from this conclave:
All the absentees were creatures of Benedict XIV, except d'Alsace, who was created by Clement XI, and Lamberg, who was appointed by Clement XII.
College of Cardinals was divided into several factions, which initially formed two blocs:
Many cardinals created by Benedict XIV (called "Juniors") did not belong to any faction, but majority of them aligned themselves with "Union of Crowns", particularly with Spanish protector Portocarrero.
During the conclave, however, these two groups mixed with each other. Near the end of the conclave, on the one side there was the Imperial faction together with Zelanti, and on the other side Anziani, together with the Bourbon faction (defending the interests of the Bourbon crowns).
Only twenty-seven cardinals entered the conclave on May 15. Eighteen more cardinals arrived to Rome until June 29. Meantime, however, Cardinal Bardi had to leave the conclave due to illness.
Because of the absence of the political representatives of the main Catholic courts the ambassadors of France and the Empire asked the electors for delay voting until their arrival. Although this demand was rejected before the conclave began, no serious candidates were proposed in the early ballots. In the first scrutiny on May 16 the greatest number of votes (eight in the ballot and three more in the accessus) were received Dean of the College of Cardinals Rainiero d'Elci, who was 88 years old.
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Wikipedia