Papal conclave, 1774-1775

Coat of arms during the vacancy of the Holy See
Dates and location
5 October 1774 – 15 February 1775 Apostolic Palace, Papal States
Key officials
Dean	Gian Francesco Albani
Sub-Dean	Henry Benedict Stuart
Camerlengo	Carlo Rezzonico
Protopriest	Giuseppe Pozzobonelli
Protodeacon	Alessandro Albani
Election
Vetoed	Giovanni Carlo Boschi
Elected Pope
Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi (Name taken: Pius VI)
← 1769 1799–1800 →

The Papal conclave, October 5, 1774 – February 15, 1775 – was the papal conclave convoked after the death of Pope Clement XIV and ended with the election of Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Braschi, who took the name of Pius VI.

Pope Clement XIV died suddenly on September 22, 1774 at the age of 68. His pontificate had been dominated by the problem of the Society of Jesus. The various courts under the House of Bourbon and the Kingdom of Portugal (under the House of Braganza) urged the general suppression of the order. The Pope tried to defend Jesuits and to temporize, but finally had to capitulate, and in 1773 he issued the Brief Dominus ac Redemptor which suppressed the Society of Jesus. Father Lorenzo Ricci, general of the order, had been imprisoned in the Castel Sant'Angelo. However, the Jesuits still had many adherents in the Roman Curia and in the Sacred College of Cardinals. The attitude toward Jesuits remained the main criterion of the appreciation of the candidates to the papal succession in the subsequent conclave.

At the death of Clement XIV there were fifty-five cardinals in the Sacred College, but two of them died during sede vacante, while another nine remained entirely absent. Forty-four cardinals participated in the conclave:

Thirteen cardinals were created by Clement XIV, twenty by Clement XIII, ten by Pope Benedict XIV and one (Alessandro Albani) by Innocent XIII.

Nine cardinals were absent: