1455 conclave

Election of Catholic Pope Callixtus III April 1455 4–8 April 1455 Apostolic Palace, Papal States Giorgio Fieschi Ludovico Trevisan Domenico Capranica Prospero Colonna Alfons de Borja Callixtus III Calixtus III.jpg 1447 1447 conclave 1458 1458 conclave The 1455 papal conclave (4–8 April) elected Cardinal Alfons de Borja as Pope Callixtus III following the death of Pope Nicholas V. The conclave was the first in the Apostolic Palace, the site of all but five papal conclaves thereafter.Chambers, DS. 1978. "Papal Conclaves and Prophetic Mystery in the Sistine Chapel". Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 41: 322-326.Pham, John-Peter. 2004. Heirs of the Fisherman. p. 85. The conclave was also the first to feature accessus voting (votes cast in accessit), derived from a practice of the Roman Senate, where a cardinal could change their vote after an unsuccessful scrutiny to any cardinal already receiving votes.Rotberg, Robert I. 2001. Politics and political change. p. 62. The early defeat of Greek Cardinal Basilios Bessarion—a potential compromise candidate between the Colonna and Orsini factions—is a notable display of the lingering antipathy towards certain characteristics of the Eastern church, such as bearded priests, centuries after the East-West Schism. Although Western canon law had prohibited beards for priests since at least the eleventh century, the issue would continue to be debated well into the sixteenth century.Fisher, Will. 2006. Materializing gender in early modern English literature and culture. p. 100. The election thumb|left|The bearded Basilios Bessarion The two main factions of the cardinals were divided between the followers of cardinals Prospero Colonna (cardinal-nephew of Pope Martin V) and Cardinal Latino Orsini; among the papabile were Pietro Barbo, Basil Bessarion, Domenico Capranica, Orsini, and Ludovico Trevisan.Burkle-Young, Francis A. 1998. "The election of Pope Calixtus III (1455)". Capranica received a plurality on the first three scrutinies, with the other votes scattered; Orsini and the French cardinals rallied against Capranica because he was close to Colonna. On 6 April, Easter Sunday, the factions began to consider neutral candidates. In this capacity, Bessarion (noted for defecting from the Eastern Church following the East–West Schism) was able to receive eight votes before his candidacy was scuttled following a speech by Alain de Coëtivy—recorded by eyewitnesses—which emphasized Bessarion's former membership in the Eastern Orthodox Church and his retention of Greek mannerisms, such as a full beard.McManamon, John M. 1982. Funeral oratory and the cultural ideals of Italian humanism. p. 72.Setton, Kenneth Meyer. 1978. The Papacy and the Levant . p. 162.Jacks, Philip Joshua, and Caferro, William. 2001. The Spinelli of Florence. p. 66. The French cardinal is reported to have remarked: Shall we select for Pope, for head of the Latin Church, a Greek, a mere interloper? Bessarion still wears his beard—and forsooth, he is to be our Lord!Garner, John Leslie. 1912. Caesar Borgia. p. 31. How poor, then, must be our Latin Church, if we can find no worthy man in it, but must needs resort to a Greek, and to one, too, who but yesterday attacked the Roman faith! And because he has now returned shall he be our master and the leader of the Christian army? Behold, such is the poverty of the Latin Church that she cannot find an apostolic sovereign without resorting to a Greek! Oh, Fathers! Do what you think fit; but for myself and those who think with me, we will never consent to a Greek head of the Church!Montor, Artaud de. 1911. The lives and times of the popes. pp. 147-149. Bessarion made no attempt to defend himself, claiming he was not interested in being elected; his reputations for reform and austerity also would have been unpopular with many of the Renaissance cardinals. Nevertheless, the renowned humanist scholar remained a strong candidate in the following 1464 conclave as well.Harkins, James. 1990. Plato in the Italian Renaissance. p. 214. It is known that the early scrutinies the following Monday were disorganized; for example, the Minorite friar Antonio de Montefalcone received at least one vote. de Coëtivy and Trevisan pushed for Borja's election, gaining momentum until Borja prevailed the following Tuesday. The core of the requisite two-thirds majority was likely composed of the French, Spanish, and Venetian cardinals: Trevisan, de Coëtivy, Barbo, Orsini, d'Estaing, de Carvajal, Cerda, Rolin, and Torquemada; the vote of Isidore or Calandrini, or both, likely was also required as Borja very likely did not vote for himself; Borja almost certainly did not receive the votes of Colonna, Capranica, or Bessarion. Cardinal electors Elector Nationality Order Title Elevated Elevator NotesGiorgio FieschiLigurianCardinal-bishopBishop of Palestrina18 December 1439Eugenius IVDean of the College of Cardinals; bishop of AlbengaIsidore of KievGreekCardinal-bishopBishop of Sabina18 December 1439Eugenius IVArchbishop of RutheniaBasilios BessarionGreekCardinal-bishopBishop of Frascati18 December 1439Eugenius IVLatin Patriarch of Jerusalem; administrator of Mazara del Vallo; legate in BolognaAlfons de BorjaCatalanCardinal-priestTitle of Ss. IV Coronati, bishop of Valencia2 May 1444Eugenius IVElected Pope Callixtus IIIJuan de Torquemada, O.P.SpanishCardinal-priestTitle of S. Maria in Trastevere18 December 1439Eugenius IVLudovico TrevisanVenetianCardinal-priestTitle of S. Lorenzo in Damaso, patriarch of Aquileia1 July 1440Eugenius IVCamerlengo of the Holy Roman ChurchPietro BarboVenetianCardinal-priestTitle of S. Marco1 July 1440Eugenius IVFuture Pope Paul II; cardinal-nephew;bishop of Vicenza; archpriest of the Vatican BasilicaJuan CarvajalSpanishCardinal-priestTitle of S. Angelo in Pescheria, bishop of Plasencia16 December 1446Eugenius IVAntoni Cerdà i Lloscos, O.SS.T.CatalanCardinal-priestTitle of S. Crisogono, bishop of Lérida16 February 1448Nicholas VLatino OrsiniRomanCardinal-priestTitle of Ss. Giovanni e Paolo20 December 1448Nicholas VAdministrator of the see of BariAlain de CoëtivyFrenchCardinal-priestTitle of S. Prassede, bishop of Avignon20 December 1448Nicholas VAdministrator of the see of NimesFilippo CalandriniLigurianCardinal-priestTitle of S. Susanna, bishop of Bologna20 December 1448Nicholas VCardinal-nephew; camerlengo of the Sacred College of CardinalsGuillaume d'Estaing, O.S.B.FrenchCardinal-priestTitle of S. Sabina19 December 1449Nicholas VBishop of FréjusDomenico CapranicaCapranica PrenestinaCardinal-priestTitle of S. Croce in Gerusalemme, administrator of Fermo23 July 1423 (in pectore, admitted into Sacred College on 30 April 1434)Martin V (confirmed by Eugenius IV)Protopriest; archpriest of the Lateran Basilica; grand penitentiaryProspero ColonnaRomanCardinal-deaconDeacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro24 May 1426Martin VProtodeacon Absentee cardinals Elector Nationality Order Title Elevated Elevator NotesPeter of Foix, O.F.M.FrenchCardinal-bishopBishop of AlbanoSeptember 1414Antipope John XXIIILegate in Avignon; administratort of the sees of Arles and DaxGuillaume d'Estouteville, O.S.B.Clun.FrenchCardinal-bishopBishop of Porto e Santa Rufina, archbishop of Rouen18 December 1439Eugenius IVPapal legate in France; archpriest of the Liberian Basilica; administrator of Saint-Jean-de-MauriennePeter von SchaumbergGermanyCardinal-priestTitle of S. Vitale, bishop of Augsburg18 December 1439Eugenius IVDénes SzécsiHungarianCardinal-priestTitle of S. Ciriaco, archbishop of Esztergom18 December 1439Eugenius IVChancellor of the Kingdom of HungaryJean RolinFrenchCardinal-priestTitle of S. Stefano al Monte Celio, bishop of Autun20 December 1448Nicholas VNicholas of KuesGermanCardinal-priestTitle of S. Pietro in Vincoli20 December 1448Nicholas VBishop of Brixen Notes collapsed Catholicism Christianity Vatican City y Biblical Studies/Christianity/Roman Catholicism/History y Category:Papal conclave y Category:Roman Catholic Church y Category:Popes y Category:Popes y Category:Christian History y Pope y 1455 Category:15th-century elections Category:1455 Category:15th century in Catholicism Category:Pope Callixtus III