With a key: The extraordinary beginnings of the conclave

The election of a Catholic pope is steeped in mystery, history, and political intrigue. But what are the origins of the conclave – the locked-room tradition that has was used in pontifical elections since the 13th century? How did a traumatic election moved Gregory X to develop this unique practice?

Guy Fassler

5/1/20254 min read

Each election of a new Catholic pope is pretty much guaranteed to capture the attention and imagination of people from all faiths or none. It is secretive and mysterious (quite literally, as the process is said to be guided by the Holy Spirit) and is a political event as much as it is theological; the cardinals are electing a head of state after all. Waiting in St Peter’s square for the white smoke to rise from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signifying that a new pontiff has been chosen, is familiar not only from the news but from recently released critically acclaimed films as well. One question remains, though, why do the cardinals need to be locked in with a key to elect a pope?

Despite the fact that popes have been selected in one way or another for the better part of two millennia, the word conclave (from the Latin, cum clave meaning ‘with a key’), can be traced as far back as the Middle Ages, specifically the thirteenth century. It emerged from a rather unfortunate event which shaped all following papal elections.

The Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, the traditional venue for conclaves.

The first conclave

After pope Clement IV died in November 1268 while staying in his palace in Viterbo, a charming city in northern Lazio (just north of Rome), cardinals who were with him in town got together to elect his successor. But this proved to be a rather difficult task. A deadlock between the French and Italian cardinals made it impossible to find a candidate who had the necessary majority. This went on for nearly three years(!) and had such a destabilising effect on European geopolitics and the life of the faithful that the good people of Viterbo locked the cardinals in their palace until they were open enough to the benign influence of the Holy Spirit as well as their earthly discomfort to elect Gregory X in September 1271. Thus, the longest papal election in the history of the Church was finally concluded.

One of the cardinals who attended was quoted as saying: ‘Gentlemen, we should take off the roof of this hall, as the Holy Spirit cannot come to us through the roof’, revealing how desperate the situation had become.

So, yes, the first proper conclave was not in Rome but Viterbo, and not in the Sistine Chapel (which was about 200 years away from being built) but in the Palazzo dei Papi (Popes’ Palace). It was also not uncommon for popes in the Middle Ages to take residence in Viterbo whenever Rome became too unmanageable, a fact that gained Viterbo the nickname la città dei Papi (the city of popes).

Palazzo dei Papi in Viterbo, where the first conclave was held.

Tedaldo Visconti, who became Pope Gregory X after he was elected at the end of this very lengthy first conclave, was determined to never let the pontifical election go on for so long, and in 1274 he issued a papal bull that would prevent that from happening. A papal bull is so-called not because of any bovine connection, but after the lead seal that is attached to it which resembles a bubble (bulla, in Latin). It is often referred to by its opening words, and Gregory’s bull was known as Ubi Periculum (Where danger).

Pope Gregory X

In this decree Gregory set out the rules for future conclaves, and although these have changed somewhat throughout the intermittent seven-and-a-half centuries, they are still largely recognisable. Let’s look at the gist of it.

The Ubi periculum

After a pope breathes his last, and a period of ten days in which cardinals who were not with him have the chance to assemble, everyone must go to the papal palace to conduct the election. They must all live in the same space for the duration of the conclave, with no barriers, and no one is allowed to come in or out. No one may approach the cardinals while in conclave or pass any secret messages to them (unless they want to risk excommunication, that is). The cardinals, however, were allowed to have one window through which the bare necessities can be given to them, but to reiterate, no one should try to enter through it!

The bull goes on to say that if three days have passed and still no pope was elected, there should be an escalation in the living conditions; for the course of the next five days the elector cardinals would have to contend only with one food tray for lunch and dinner with no more than bread, wine, and water. Inhumane conditions, indeed.

The hope was that through the cramped living arrangements, lack of privacy, and basic and limited amount of food, the cardinals – who were Princes of the Church, after all, and not used to that sort of discomfort – would be quick to do what it takes to elect a pope as quickly as possible. The same principle of seclusion and maintaining an intense schedule of prayers and ballots is still maintained today, but I expect the culinary situation is more favourable. Still, by looking at these milestones in the development of centuries-old institutions like the Catholic Church, we can better understand the eccentricities of the present day and appreciate them for the remarkable stories they tell.