1294 papal conclave


The 1294 papal conclave was convoked in Naples after the resignation of Pope Celestine V on 13 December 1294. Celestine V had only months earlier restored the election procedures set forth in the papal bull Ubi periculum of Pope Gregory X, which had been suspended by Pope Adrian V in July 1276. Every papal election since then has been a papal conclave. It was the first papal conclave held during the lifetime of the preceding pontiff, an event not repeated until the papal conclave of 2013 following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.

Abdication of Celestine V

Celestine V, founder of the Order of Celestines, widely esteemed and venerated for his holiness, was elected to the papacy on 7 July 1294, as a compromise choice after an over two-years long sede vacante. It quickly became clear that this saintly eremite was wholly incompetent and unsuited for a job as pope. Admitting his own incompetence soon after his election, Celestine expressed the wish to abdicate and return to his solitary cave in the Abruzzi Mountains. However, before doing so he issued two bulls. The first bull established the regulations concerning the abdication of a pope. The second bull restored the constitution Ubi periculum, which established the papal conclave; the constitution had been suspended by Pope Adrian V in July 1276. During his short papacy, he also created 13 cardinals. Eventually, on 13 December 1294, Celestine V abdicated the papacy at Naples, three days after confirming the restoration of the institution of the papal conclave.
It has been widely stated that the alleged great influence of the ambitious Cardinal Benedetto Caetani and the pressure he applied on Celestine V were important factors in Celestine's decision to abdicate, but it seems nearly as certain that it was an entirely voluntarily step of the Pope, with the role of Caetani limited to participation in the solution of the legal problems connected with the resignation of a pope. In particular, there were doubts whether a pope could resign at all, and who would be authorized to accept such a resignation.

List of participants

All 22 living cardinals participated in the conclave; 12 of them were created by Celestine V, five by Nicholas IV, two by Nicholas III, one by Urban IV and one by Honorius IV:
ElectorPlace of birthCardinalatial titleElevatedElevatorOther ecclesiastical titlesNotes
Gerardo BianchiParmaBishop of Sabina12 March 1278Nicholas IIIDean of the Sacred College of Cardinals
Giovanni BoccamazzaRomeBishop of Frascati22 December 1285Honorius IVNephew of Honorius IV; former archbishop of Monreale
Hugh Aycelin, O.P.Billom, FranceBishop of Ostia e Velletri16 May 1288Nicholas IV
Matteo d'Acquasparta, O.F.M.AcquaspartaBishop of Porto e Santa Rufina16 May 1288Nicholas IVGrand penitentiaryFormer minister general of the Order of Franciscans
Simon de BeaulieuChâteau de Beaulieu, FranceBishop of Palestrina18 September 1294Celestine VFormer archbishop of Bourges
Bérard de GotVillandraut, FranceBishop of Albano18 September 1294Celestine VFormer archbishop of Lyon ; older brother of Bertrand de Got – future Pope Clement V
Benedetto CaetaniAnagniPriest of SS. Silvestro e Martino12 April 1281Nicholas IIIProtopriest of the Sacred College of Cardinals; Cardinal-protector of the Order of S. GuglielmoElected Pope Boniface VIII
Pietro PeregrossoMilanPriest of S. Marco16 May 1288Nicholas IVCardinal-protector of the Order of Humiliati; Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals
Tommaso d'Ocra, O.Cel.Ocre, AbruzziPriest of S. Cecilia18 September 1294Celestine VCamerlengo of the Holy Roman Church
Jean LemoineCrécy, FrancePriest of SS. Marcellino e Pietro18 September 1294Celestine V
Pietro d'Aquila, O.S.B.Cas.L'AquilaPriest of S. Croce in Gerusalemme18 September 1294Celestine V
Guillaume de FerrièresProvencePriest of S. Clemente18 September 1294Celestine VCrown-cardinal of King Charles II of Naples
Nicolas de NonancourtNonancourt, FrancePriest of S. Marcello18 September 1294Celestine V
Robert de Pontigny, O.Cist.FrancePriest of S. Pudenziana18 September 1294Celestine VCrown-cardinal of kings Philip IV of France and Charles II of Naples; former Abbot General of his order
Simon de Armentières, O.S.B.Clun.FrancePriest of S. Balbina18 September 1294Celestine V
Giovanni Castrocoeli, O.S.B.Cas.CastrocieloPriest of S. Vitale18 September 1294 Celestine VVice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church; archbishop of Benevento; administrator of the see of Sant'Agata de' Goti
Matteo Rosso OrsiniRomeDeacon of S. Maria in Portico22 May 1262Urban IVProtodeacon of the Sacred College of Cardinals; archpriest of the patriarchal Vatican Basilica; Cardinal-protector of the Order of FranciscansRelative of Cardinal Napoleone Orsini Frangipani and nephew of Pope Nicholas III ; not to be confused with his grandfather, Senator Matteo Rosso Orsini
Giacomo ColonnaRomeDeacon of S. Maria in Via Lata12 March 1278Nicholas IIIArchpriest of the patriarchal Liberian BasilicaUncle of Cardinal Pietro Colonna
Napoleone Orsini FrangipaniRomeDeacon of S. Adriano16 May 1288Nicholas IVRelative of Cardinal Matteo Orsini Rosso and nephew of Pope Nicholas III
Pietro ColonnaRomeDeacon of S. Eustachio16 May 1288Nicholas IVNephew of Cardinal Giacomo Colonna
Landolfo BrancaccioNaplesDeacon of S. Angelo in Pescheria18 September 1294Celestine V
Guglielmo de LonghiBergamoDeacon of S. Nicola in Carcere18 September 1294Celestine V

Election of Pope Boniface VIII

On 23 December 1294, the cardinals assembled in the Castel Nuovo at Naples for the election of the successor of Celestine V. On the next day, Christmas Eve, Cardinal Benedetto Caetani received the required two-thirds majority and took the name of Boniface VIII. Caetani's nephew, who was an eyewitness, says that Caetani was elected after one scrutiny and an accessio: scrutinio accessioneque eligitur. Soon after his election he returned to Rome, where on 23 January 1295 he received his episcopal consecration from Cardinal Hugh Aycelin, Bishop of Ostia. He was crowned by Matteo Rosso Orsini, who was prior Diaconorum of the Sacred College.