Papal conclave, 1878
The conclave of 1878 was held from 18 to 20 February 1878. It had become necessary since Pope Pius IX. after the longest pontificate in history (1846-1878) died on 7 February 1878.
- 2.1 participants
- 2.2 Absent or delayed Cardinals
Course
The conclave entered eleven days after the death of Pius IX. together. It was the third conclave after 1513 and 1523, which took place in the Sistine Chapel. Since this conclave the cardinals always met in the Sistine Chapel. In the third ballot on February 20, including the Camerlengo Vincenzo Gioacchino Pecci was elected by 44 votes to the Pope. He was not among the papabili, since he was already 68 years old and the Camerlengo is actually chosen as well as never to the Pope before the conclave.
First ballot
Already in the first ballot Cardinal Pecci reached the highest number of votes, while the favorites Alessandro Franchi and Luigi Bilio were clearly inferior.
Vincenzo Gioacchino Pecci: 19 votes Luigi Bilio: 6 votes Alessandro Franchi: 4 votes
Second round
Also in the next ballot was Pecci well ahead of the favorite Curia.
Vincenzo Gioacchino Pecci: 26 votes Luigi Bilio: 7 votes Alessandro Franchi: 2 votes
Third ballot
In the third ballot Pecci reached by 44 votes ( = 72.13 %) the required two -thirds majority and was thus elected Pope. He called himself Leo XIII. , And his pontificate was to be very important for the church.
Cardinals
After the death of Pius IX. there were 64 cardinals. 61 took part in the conclave. Of the participants, 4 were still by Pope Gregory XVI. (1831-1846) created the remaining 57 of Pius IX. All 61 participating cardinals were Europeans. The only non-European Cardinal ( John McCloskey ) met only one in Rome, as Leo XIII. has already been selected.
Participant
- Italy 1861 Italy: Luigi Amat di San Filippo e Sassari, Cardinal Dean
- Italy 1861 Italy: Camillo Di Pietro, Kardinalsubdekan
- Italy 1861 Italy: Carlo Sacconi
- Italy 1861 Italy: (. Elected Leo XIII) Vincenzo Gioacchino Pecci, bishop of Perugia, Camerlengo
- Italy 1861 Italy: Giovanni Simeoni, Secretary of State of Pius IX.
- Italy 1861 Italy: Filippo Maria Guidi
- Italy 1861 Italy: Luigi Bilio, Kardinalgroßpönitentiar
- Italy 1861 Italy: Carlo Luigi Morichini
- Austria - Hungary Austria - Hungary: Friedrich Johannes Jacob Celestin von Schwarzenberg, Archbishop of Prague, Cardinal Proto priest
- Italy 1861 Italy: Fabio Maria Asquini
- Italy 1861 Italy: Domenico Carafa della Spina, Archbishop of Benevento
- France France: François- Auguste -Ferdinand Donnet, Archbishop of Bordeaux
- Italy 1861 Italy: Antonio Benedetto Antonucci, Archbishop of Ancona
- Italy 1861 Italy: Antonio Maria Panebianco
- Italy 1861 Italy: Antonino De Luca, Prefect of the Congregation of the Index
- France France: Jean -Baptiste -François Pitra
- France France: Henri -Marie- Gaston de Bois Normand Bonnechose, Archbishop of Rouen
- German Empire German Empire: Gustav Adolf zu Hohenlohe
- France France: Lucien- Louis -Joseph- Napoleon Bonaparte
- Italy 1861 Italy: Innocenzo Ferrieri
- Italy 1861 Italy: Giuseppe Berardi
- Italy 1861 Italy: Raffaele Monaco La Valletta
- Spain 1875 Spain: Juan de la Cruz Ignacio Moreno y Maisonave, Archbishop of Toledo
- Portugal Portugal Kingdom 1830: Inácio do Nascimento de Morais Cardoso, Patriarch of Lisbon
- France France: René- François Régnier
- Italy 1861 Italy: Flavio Chigi
- Italy 1861 Italy: Alessandro Franchi, Prefect of the Congregation De Propaganda Fide
- France France: Joseph Hippolyte Guibert, Archbishop of Paris
- Italy 1861 Italy: Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano
- Austria - Hungary Austria - Hungary: János Simor, Archbishop of Esztergom- Budapest
- Italy 1861 Italy Tommaso Maria Martinelli
- Italy 1861 Italy: Ruggero Luigi Emidio antici Mattei
- Italy 1861 Italy: Pietro Gianelli
- Congress Poland Kingdom of Poland: Mieczysław Halka Ledochowski
- United Kingdom United Kingdom: Henry Edward Manning, Archbishop of Westminster
- Belgium: Victor Augustin Isidore Deschamps
- Italy 1861 Italy: Domenico Bartolini
- Italy 1861 Italy: Bartolomeo d' Avanzo
- Austria - Hungary Austria - Hungary: John Baptist Franzelin
- Spain 1875 Spain: Francisco de Paula Benavides y Navarrete
- Italy 1861 Italy: Francesco Saverio Apuzzo, Archbishop of Capua
- Spain 1875 Spain: Manuel García Gil, Archbishop of Saragosa
- United Kingdom United Kingdom: Edward Henry Howard
- Spain 1875 Spain: Miguel Paya y Rico, Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela
- France France: Louis -Marie- Joseph- Eusèbe Caverot, Archbishop of Lyon
- Italy 1861 Italy: Luigi di Canossa
- Italy 1861 Italy: Luigi Serafini, Bishop of Viterbo
- Austria - Hungary Austria - Hungary: Josip Mihalovič, Archbishop of Zagreb
- Austria - Hungary Austria - Hungary: Johann Rudolf Kutschker, Archbishop of Vienna
- Italy 1861 Italy: Lucido Maria Parocchi, Archbishop of Bologna
- Italy 1861 Italy: Vincenzo Moretti
- Italy 1861 Italy: Antonio Pellegrini
- Italy 1861 Italy: Prospero Caterini, cardinal deacon
- Austria - Hungary Austria - Hungary: Theodulf Mertelsmann
- Italy 1861 Italy: Domenico Consolini
- Italy 1861 Italy: Edoardo Borromeo
- Italy 1861 Italy: Lorenzo Ilarione Randi
- Italy 1861 Italy: Bartolomeo Pacca
- Italy 1861 Italy: Lorenzo Nina
- Italy 1861 Italy: Enea Sbarretti
- France France: Frederic de Falloux de Coudray
Absent or delayed Cardinals
Three cardinals met in conclave a late or unable to attend:
- France France: Geoffroy Brossais Saint -Marc, Archbishop of Rennes ( did not participate due to illness )
- Ireland 1783 Ireland: Paul Cullen, Archbishop of Dublin ( appeared too late )
- United States 38 United States: John McCloskey, Archbishop of New York ( appeared too late )