| Papal conclave June 1846 | |
|---|---|
| Dates and location | |
| 14–16 June 1846 Quirinal Palace,Papal States | |
| Key officials | |
| Dean | Ludovico Micara |
| Sub-dean | Vincenzo Macchi |
| Camerlengo | Tommaso Riario Sforza |
| Protopriest | Carlo Oppizzoni |
| Protodeacon | Tommaso Riario Sforza |
| Secretary | Giovanni Bussi |
| Election | |
| Electors | 50 (12 absentees) |
| Ballots | 4 |
| Elected pope | |
| Giovanni Mastai-Ferretti Name taken:Pius IX | |
 | |
← 1830–31 1878 → | |
Aconclave was held from 14 to 16 June 1846 to elect a newpope to succeedGregory XVI, who had died in 1 June. Of the 62 eligible cardinal electors, all but twelve attended. On the fourth ballot, the conclave elected CardinalGiovanni Mastai-Ferretti, thearchbishop-bishop of Imola. After accepting his election, hetook the namePius IX. This conclave was the last to elect a ruler of thePapal States, the extensive lands around Rome andCentral Italy which the Catholic Church governed until 1870.
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It was the issue of the government of the Papal States that was to prove central to the 1846 conclave. The College of Cardinals was split into two factions.[1] The conservatives wished to see a continuation of papalabsolutism in the governance of the Papal States, a continuation of the hardline policies of Pope Gregory XVI and his right-wingSecretary of State,Luigi Lambruschini, while the liberals wished for some measure of moderate reform and favored two candidates inTommaso Pasquale Gizzi andGiovanni Mastai-Ferretti.[1][2] A fourthpapabile was CardinalLudovico Micara, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, who was favored by the residents of Rome itself but he never gained support among the cardinals.[3] Lambruschini himself was the leader of the conservatives, whileTommaso Bernetti, who had served aspro-secretary of state under Pope Leo XII and the early part of Pope Gregory XVI's reign, was the leader of the liberal faction.[3]
Lambruschini received a majority of the votes in the early ballots but failed to achieve the required two-thirds majority. Cardinal Mastai-Ferretti reportedly received 15 votes with the rest going to Lambruschini and Gizzi. Cardinal Gizzi was favored by the French government but failed to get additional support from the cardinals and the conclave ended up ultimately as a contest between Cardinals Lambruschini and Mastai-Ferretti.[3] In the meantime, Cardinal Bernetti reportedly received information thatKarl Kajetan von Gaisruck, the Austrian Archbishop of Milan, was on his way to the conclave to veto the election of Mastai-Ferretti and realized that, if Mastai-Ferretti was to be elected, he had to convince the cardinals within a few hours or accept the election of Lambruschini.[3] Bernetti then on his own initiative personally convinced the majority of the electors to switch their support to Mastai-Ferretti.[3] Cardinal Mastai-Ferretti himself, however, made no effort to campaign for the papacy, made no promises, and maintained aloofness throughout the process.[3] Despite not having campaigned for the papacy, Cardinal Mastai-Ferretti was perceived to be "A glamorous candidate, ardent, emotional with a gift for friendship and a track-record of generosity even towards anti-Clericals andCarbonari. He was apatriot, known to be critical ofGregory XVI."[2] Faced with deadlock and persuaded by Bernetti to keep Lambruschini from being elected pope, liberals and moderates decided to cast their votes for Mastai-Ferretti in a move that contradicted the general mood throughout Europe.
On the second day of the conclave, on 16 June 1846, during the evening ballot or the fourth ballot, the liberal candidate, Mastai-Ferretti, Archbishop (personal title) ofImola, achieved that requirement and was elected, receiving four more than the required two-thirds majority.[1] It is reported by papal historian Valérie Pirie that, on the same ballot where he was elected, Mastai-Ferretti was one of the scrutineers formally tabulating the votes and that he became emotional as it became apparent that he would be elected.[3] Mastai-Ferretti at one point begged to be excused from his role as scrutineer but was not permitted to do so, since it would have invalidated the ballot.[3] As a result, Mastai-Ferretti had the rare experience of having to formally proclaim his own election to the cardinal-electors inside the conclave.[3] He took the namePius IX (known also asPio Nono).
Because it was night, no formal announcement was given, just the signal of white smoke. Many Catholics had assumed that Gizzi had been elected successor of St. Peter. In fact, celebrations began to take place in his hometown, and his personal staff, following a long-standing tradition, burned his cardinalitial vestments. On the following morning, theSenior Cardinal-Deacon,Tommaso Riario Sforza, announced the election of Mastai-Ferretti before a crowd of faithful Catholics. When the new pope appeared on the balcony, the mood became joyous. After his election, Pius IX appointed Cardinal Gizzi as hissecretary of state. Pius IX was crowned on 21 June 1846.
As with other conclaves up to and including the1903 conclave, various Catholic monarchs claimed a right to veto acardinal who might be elected, forcing the cardinals to pick someone else. EmperorFerdinand of Austria had charged CardinalKarl Kajetan Gaisruck, theArchbishop of Milan (then part of the empire's territory), with vetoing the liberal Mastai-Ferretti. However, Gaisruck arrived too late at the conclave.[1] By the time he got there, Mastai-Ferretti had been elected, had accepted the papacy, and had been proclaimed publicly.[a]
Pope Pius IX wascrowned with thepapal tiara on 21 June 1846. He became the longest-reigning pope sinceSaint Peter, sitting on the papal throne for nearly 32 years. Initially a liberal, following a short-liveddeposition and the proclamation of theRoman Republic, Pius was returned to power by troops from theFrench Second Republic and became a conservativereactionary.
In 1870, the remaining territories of the Papal States were seized byVictor Emmanuel II,King of Italy. Rome became the capital of theKingdom of Italy, with the former papal palace, the Quirinal, becoming the king's palace. Pius IX withdrew in protest to theVatican, where he lived as a self-proclaimed "prisoner in the Vatican." He died in 1878.
| Region | Number |
|---|---|
| Italy | 49 |
| Rest of Europe | 1 |
| North America | 0 |
| South America | 0 |
| Asia | 0 |
| Oceania | 0 |
| Africa | 0 |
| Total | 50 |
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