Papal election, October 1187

The papal election of October 21, 1187 was a papal election convoked after the death of Pope Urban III. It resulted in the election of Cardinal Alberto Sartori di Morra, who took the name of Gregory VIII.

At the death of Pope Urban III there were probably 23 cardinals. Basing on the countersigning of the papal bulls in October 1187 it is possible to establish that probably 13 of them participated in the election of successor of Urban III:

Six electors were created by Pope Lucius III, five by Pope Alexander III, one by Pope Lucius II and one by Pope Adrian IV.

Probably ten cardinals were absent:

Six absentees were created by Lucius III, three by Alexander III, and one by Adrian IV.

Pope Urban III died at Ferrara on October 20, 1187. On the following day thirteen cardinals present on his deathbed started proceedings to elect his successor. There were three candidates to the papal throne: Henri de Marsiac, Paolo Scolari and Alberto di Morra. However, Henri de Marsiac refused the papal tiara, while Paolo Scolari was excluded because he was seriously ill at that time, so there remained only the old papal chancellor Alberto di Morra. On October 21, 1187 he was unanimously elected pope and took the name Gregory VIII.

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