Papal election 1061
Dates and location
30 September 1061 San Pietro in Vincoli,Rome
Elected pope
Anselmo de Baggio of Lucca Name taken:Alexander II
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The1061 papal election was held on 30 September 1061 inSan Pietro in Vincoli ("Saint Peter in Chains") inRome, following the death ofPope Nicholas II. In accordance with Nicholas II'sbull,In Nomine Domini, thecardinal bishops were the sole electors of thepope for the first time in the history of theRoman Catholic Church.^[1] BishopAnselmo de Baggio of Lucca, a non-cardinal and one of the founders of thePataria,^[2] was electedPope Alexander II andcrowned at nightfall on 1 October 1061 in San Pietro in Vincoli Basilica because opposition to the election made a coronation inSt. Peter's Basilica impossible.^[3]

Anselmo had the support of his friend Cardinal Hildebrand, a driving force behind the promulgation ofIn Nomine Domini and the futurePope Gregory VII,Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine,^[3] and theNorman forces ofRobert Guiscard, present at the election in fulfilment of a security guarantee Guiscard had made to Nicholas II when appointedDuke of Apulia and Calabria.^[2][4] Although Anselmo was well-known and respected within the German court, the assent of theHoly Roman Emperor to the election was not sought.^[3]

Displeased with the new process, a group ofRoman nobles andLombardbishops, let by Guibert, the royal chancellor of Italy, beseechedAgnes de Poitou, empress-regent ofHenry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, to nominate Bishop Pietro Cadalo to succeed Nicholas II. Cadalo was electedAntipope Honorius II at asynod convoked atBasel on 28 October 1061, at which no cardinals were present.

Antipope Honorius II proceeded to march on Rome, defeating Alexander II and taking control of St. Peter's Basilica and its environs on 14 April 1062. The intervention of Godfrey III convinced Honorius II and Alexander II to retire to Parma and Lucca respectively, awaiting mediation between Godfrey III and the Imperial court. However,Anno II, Archbishop of Cologne had engineered acoup d'état against the empress regent. As regent, Anno convened theCouncil of Augsburg (October 1062) and sentBurchard II, Bishop of Halberstadt as an envoy to Rome. Burchard cleared Alexander II of charges ofsimony and recognized him as the new pontiff.

Alexander IIexcommunicated Honorius II in 1063, but after a counter-synod Honorius II was able to establish himself inCastel Sant'Angelo and wage war against Alexander II for another year before fleeing again toParma. TheSynod of Mantua (Pentecost, 31 May 1064)anathematized Cadalo and declared Alexander II the rightful pope.^[1]

In 1061 there were six cardinal-bishops:^[5]

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