1534 papal conclave


The 1534 papal conclave was convened after the death of Pope Clement VII, and elected as his successor cardinal Alessandro Farnese, who became Pope Paul III.

Candidates to the papacy

Although several Cardinals were considered papabili, it was generally thought that Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, dean of the Sacred College, has the best prospects for the election. He had already official support of the king Francis I of France and of Cardinal Medici, leader of Italian party, who realized this way the will of his uncle Clement VII, but, as neutral, he was also acceptable for the Imperial faction. Emperor Charles V declared this time a total disinterest in the result of the papal election, because the last two Popes, Clement VII and Adrian VI, whom he had helped to obtain the tiara, failed his hopes. The great advantage of Cardinal Dean was his relatively advanced age and poor health. It indicated that his pontificate would be very short, so even those cardinals, who themselves had papal ambitions, inclined to vote for him, hoping for the next conclave in the near future.

The election of Pope Paul III

Conclave began on October 11, but the first electoral assembly took place on the next day. Cardinal de Lorraine in the name of king of France officially proposed the candidature of Farnese, and this initiative immediately obtained the support of Trivulzio, leader of pro-French Italians, and of Medici, leader of the Italian party. The consent of Imperialists was also quickly achieved, and in the evening it was clear that Alessandro Farnese would be elected unanimously. On October 13 in the morning a formal scrutiny took place, but it was a mere formality: Farnese received all votes except of his own. He accepted his election and took the name of Paul III. On November 3 he was solemnly crowned by Protodeacon Innocenzo Cibo.

List of participants

died on September 25, 1534. At the time of his death, there were forty six Cardinals, but only thirty five of them participated in the election of his successor:
Twenty electors were created by Clement VII and thirteen of Leo X. Cardinal Dean Farnese was created by Alexander VI, while Cardinal Lang von Wellenberg by Julius II.

Absentees

Eleven Cardinals did not participate in this conclave:
Seven absentees were creatures of Clement VII, three of Leo X and one of Julius II.

Divisions among Cardinals

was divided into three factions:
Cardinals Farnese, Ferreri and Cornaro were considered neutral.