Papal conclave of 1721

Coat of arms during the vacancy of the Holy See
Dates and location
31 March – 8 May 1721 Apostolic Palace, Papal States
Key officials
Dean	Sebastiano Antonio Tanara
Sub-Dean	Vincenzo Maria Orsini
Camerlengo	Annibale Albani
Protopriest	Galeazzo Marescotti
Protodeacon	Benedetto Pamphili
Election
Vetoed	Fabrizio Paolucci, Francesco Pignatelli
Ballots	75
Elected Pope
Michelangelo Conti (Name taken: Innocent XIII)
← 1700 1724 →

The papal conclave of 1721, convoked after the death of Pope Clement XI, was the conclave that elected to the Papacy Cardinal Michelangelo de' Conti, who took the name of Innocent XIII.

Pope Clement XI died on March 19, 1721 in the twenty-first year of his pontificate at the age of 71. At the time of his death there were sixty-eight cardinals in the Sacred College. Fifty-six of them participated in the subsequent conclave, but Giovanni Battista Cardinal Salerni had to leave it because of illness, leaving fifty-five electors in the final ballot:

Forty four electors were created by Clement XI, five by Innocent XII, five by Alexander VIII, one by Innocent XI (Pamphili) and one by Clement X (Orsini).

Twelve cardinals were absent from the election

All the absentees were creatures of Clement XI, except Marescotti, who was appointed cardinal by Clement X, and Noailles, who was named by Innocent XII.

The College of Cardinals was divided into four factions, two political and two curial. The Imperial faction, the strongest faction in the Sacred College, was headed by Imperial minister Althan; its strength was estimated between twenty and twenty five votes. They represented the interests of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor.

The Bourbon faction, the group of cardinals who defended the interests of the two Catholic powers ruled by Bourbon kings — France and Spain — included eleven or twelve cardinals. They represented the interests of Louis XV of France and Philip V of Spain.