A conclavist was a personal aide of a
cardinal present in a
papal conclave. The term is sometimes used to refer to all present with a conclave, including the cardinal-electors, but is more properly applied only to the non-cardinals. Conclavists played an important historical role in the negotiations of papal elections and in the evolution of secrecy (or the lack thereof), writing many of the extant accounts of papal elections.
Three popes have been elected from former conclavists,
including
Pope Pius VI (a conclavist in the 1740 conclave). Other conclavists have later been elevated to the cardinalate, such as
Pierre Guérin de Tencin
Pierre-Paul Guérin de Tencin (Grenoble, 22 August 1679 – 2 March 1758), French ecclesiastic, was archbishop of Embrun and Lyon, and a cardinal. His sister was Claudine Guérin de Tencin.
Biography
After studying with the Oratorians in h ...
(1721),
Niccolò Coscia (1724),
Christoph Anton Migazzi Christoph is a male given name and surname. It is a German language, German variant of Christopher (given name), Christopher.
Notable people with the given name Christoph
* Christoph Bach (musician), Christoph Bach (1613–1661), German musician
* ...
(1740),
and
Carlo Confalonieri
Carlo Confalonieri (25 July 1893 – 1 August 1986) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops from 1967 to 1973, and dean of the College of Cardinals from 1977 until his death. Con ...
(1922).
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...
in effect eliminated the role of the historical conclavist by banning private aides and creating a common support staff.
Background
The participation of the
laity in the election of a
pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
predates the creation of the papal conclave, with different degrees of involvement characterizing
papal selection before 1059
The selection of the pope, the bishop of Rome and supreme pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, prior to the promulgation of '' In nomine Domini'' in 1059 varied throughout history. Popes were often appointed by their predecessors or by political ...
. The concept of papal elections as an exclusive event dates to the use of the
Basilica of St. John Lateran
The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...
, which was too small to accommodate "the whole people", as the site of papal elections during the
Byzantine Papacy
The Byzantine Papacy was a period of Byzantine domination of the Roman papacy from 537 to 752, when popes required the approval of the Byzantine Emperor for episcopal consecration, and many popes were chosen from the '' apocrisiarii'' (liaisons ...
(537–752). The modern conception of the papal election as the exclusive provenance of the
College of Cardinals
The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are app ...
dates to
Pope Nicholas II's 1059 bull ''
In Nomine Domini'', which limited suffrage to the cardinal-bishops.
The word ''conclavist'' comes from ''conclave'' (derived from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''cum clave'', meaning "with a key"), which evolved during the thirteenth century, being formalized by
Pope Gregory X
Pope Gregory X ( la, Gregorius X; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. He was ...
's ''
Ubi periculum'' in 1274, promulgated during the
Second Council of Lyon. The procedure of locking in the papal elections was intermittently used until, and exclusively used after, 1294. The norms on the number and type of individuals that could accompany them varied from conclave to conclave until the mid fifteenth century, when the role of the conclavist "had become defined".
[Baumgartner, 2003, p. 71.]
History
From the 15th century
From the mid-fifteenth century, cardinals were permitted only one conclavist each, usually a servant.
This man servant served as a secretary and confidant to his cardinal master, and an intermediary between the cardinals.
Many cardinals preferred to delegate the negotiation of "promises of favors" to their conclavist, which "played so major a role in papal elections for the next three centuries". Clandestine meetings between conclavists were often influential on the outcome of the conclave.
[Baumgartner, 2003, p. 72.] According to Baumgartner, "talented conclavists could achieve a great deal for their masters, but because so much of what they did was behind the scenes, it is difficult to assess accurately their place in the elections, although many conclavists wrote diaries and memoirs detailing the events of the conclaves and their roles".
The allowable number of conclavists was increased by two by the time of the
1484 conclave and these were housed above the cells of the cardinal electors, all of whom could be housed in the same chapel due to their small number. Limitations on the number of conclavists were often viewed as only a suggestion: during the
conclave of 1549–50, when cardinals were limited to two conclavists, some had three or more, and one snapshot of the occupants of the conclave suggests an average of seven conclavists per cardinal.
[Baumgartner, 2003, p. 105.] Attempts to reduce the total number of people in the conclave—including many ambassadors and foreign agents—proved unsuccessful.
The number of the conclavists ensured that the various bookmakers of Rome were well-informed, streamlining the practice of
gambling on papal elections.
Conclavists were compensated for the inconvenience of being locked in the conclave by the ransacking of the furnishings of the cell of the newly elected pope and by the expectation of money and
benefices.
From Pius IV
A frequent choice of conclavist was the brother or nephew of the cardinal elector, until
Pope Pius IV (1559–1565) banned this practice.
Pius IV issued an
apostolic constitution on the subject of conclavists; he limited cardinals to two conclavists, except for princes and the most senior cardinals, whom he permitted three.
[Baumgartner, 2003, p. 120.] In addition to the restriction on relatives, Pius IV required that the conclavist have been in the service of the cardinal for at least one year prior to the conclave.
He also decreed that the conclavists collectively be paid 10,000 crowns from the
papal treasury
The Apostolic Camera ( la, Camera Apostolica), formerly known as the was an office in the Roman Curia. It was the central board of finance in the papal administrative system and at one time was of great importance in the government of the Sta ...
and 2,000 more from vacant benefices.
He banned the practice of sacking the cell of the elected pope, but the practice continued nonetheless.
A document from the seventeenth century entitled "Advice for the Conclavist" describes the duties and rewards of the practice: conclavists were expected to care for the physical needs of the cardinal elector (e.g. making his bed and warming his food), gather information, spread disinformation, carry a heavy purse for distributing funds to minor conclave servants in exchange for information, possess wine and food in his cell for entertaining, and carry disguises for himself and his boss so they could move from cell to cell unrecognized.
The erudite
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...
Felice Gualterio, of the noble family from
Orvieto and younger brother of the conclavist
Sebastiano Gualterio Sebastiano is both a masculine Italian given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
* Sebastiano Antonio Tanara (1650–1724), Italian cardinal
* Sebastiano Baggio (1913–1993), Italian clergyman
* Sebastiano Bianchi (16th cent ...
, in his treatise "The Conclavist" underscores that sentiment: "I wish my conclavist would transform himself, if it were possible, into the nature of a
chameleon, as this animal takes on the quality of the colours of all things which he comes near to and so, speaking and dealing with humans, he would be able to satisfy everyone's nature".
Unlike a cardinal, who—in the case of illness, certified under oath by a physician—may leave a conclave, a conclavist cannot.
In 1621, forty conclavists died during the conclave (along with eight cardinals) due to a bout of
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
. Two conclavists were forcibly ejected from the
1829 conclave on March 15 for being agents of
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. During the
papal conclave, 1878 (the first in the Vatican since 1775) a common kitchen was used from meals and cardinals were barred from receiving food from the outside; as this reduced the chances for communicating with the outside world during meals, the cardinals began objecting to eating with the conclavists and staff and were given a separate table.
Throughout history, conclavists have almost exclusively been men; however, during the
conclave of 1939, Cardinal Pacelli (who was elected
Pope Pius XII) was allowed to bring several German nuns, including
Pascalina Lehnert, into "Cell No. 13" as his conclavists.
Anecdotal accounts have often blamed conclavists for the breach of secrecy in papal elections. For example, after the
1903 conclave
The 1903 papal conclave followed the death of Pope Leo XIII after a reign of 25 years. Some 62 cardinals participated in the balloting. Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria asserted the right claimed by certain Catholic rulers to veto a candidate for t ...
, before the election of Giuseppe Sarto as
Pope Pius X was announced, several conclavists apparently attempted to signal his election from the window by "imitating the sewing motions of a tailor, ''sarto'' in Italian". The
papal conclave, 1963
The 1963 papal conclave was convoked following the death of Pope John XXIII on 3 June 1963 in the Apostolic Palace. After the cardinal electors assembled in Rome, the conclave to elect John's successor began on 19 June and ended two days later, ...
was the first swept for listening devices, and there are contradictory accounts of a conclavist using a small radio to alert the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
(or, alternatively, the
Vatican Radio
Vatican Radio ( it, Radio Vaticana; la, Statio Radiophonica Vaticana) is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City.
Established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave, ...
) of the results of the election before flushing the device down the toilet.
From Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...
(1963–1978) reformed the rules of the conclave in an attempt to enforce secrecy; he replaced the allowance of two conclavists per cardinal with a set of common secretaries and servants. Paul VI's reforms in effect eliminated the conclavists, increasing the space available for the rapidly expanding
size of the College of Cardinals
The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appo ...
(the common secretaries and servants numbered about seventy in the two
1978 papal conclaves). Since the reign of Paul VI, the only non-cardinals present in conclave after the pronunciation of ''Extra omnes'' ("everyone out") by the
master of papal liturgical celebrations are the master himself and the priest chosen to give a
homily on the subject of electing the pope, and even they depart after the homily.
Other notable conclavists
The following conclavists have written notable historical accounts of conclaves:
*
Pietro Paolo Gualtieri of
Arezzo, conclavist to
Bernardino Maffei during the
conclave of 1549–1550
*
Sebastiano Gualterio Sebastiano is both a masculine Italian given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
* Sebastiano Antonio Tanara (1650–1724), Italian cardinal
* Sebastiano Baggio (1913–1993), Italian clergyman
* Sebastiano Bianchi (16th cent ...
,
bishop of Viterbo
The Diocese of Viterbo ( la, Dioecesis Viterbiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in central Italy. From the 12th century, the official name of the diocese was the Diocese of Viterbo e Tuscania. In 1 ...
, of the noble family from
Orvieto (also spelled "Gualtieri", but not related to
Pietro Paolo Gualtieri), conclavist to
Alessandro Farnese during the conclave of 1549–1550
*
Angelo Massarelli Angelo Massarelli (1510–1566) was the Roman Catholic bishop of Bishop of Telese o Cerreto Sannita (1557–1566). ''(in Latin)'' He is best known for keeping the Acts of the Council of Trent
The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum) ...
, conclavist to
Cardinal Cervini during the conclave of 1549–1550
*
Antonio Maria di Savoia di Collegno, conclavist to
Cristoforo Madruzzo
200px, '' Portrait of Cristoforo Madruzzo'' by Titian (1552). Museu de Arte de São Paulo, São Paulo">Museu_de_Arte_de_São_Paulo.html" ;"title="Titian (1552). Museu de Arte de São Paulo">Titian (1552). Museu de Arte de São Paulo, São Paulo. ...
during the conclave of 1549–1550
*
Pedro de Toledo, conclavist and brother to
Juan Álvarez de Toledo
Juan Álvarez de Toledo (15 July 1488 – 15 September 1557) was a Spanish Dominican and Cardinal, from 1538. Considered '' papabile'' in the papal conclave (1549–1550), he was initially running second in votes to Reginald Pole. He was again ...
during the conclave of 1549–1550
[Setton, 1978, p. 527.]
Notes
References
*Baumgartner, Frederic J. 2003. ''Behind Locked Doors: A History of the Papal Elections''. Palgrave Macmillan. .
*Hofmann, Paul. 2002. ''The Vatican's Women: Female Influence at the Holy See''. St. Martin's Griffin. .
*Setton, Kenneth Meyer. 1978. ''The Papacy and the Levant (1204-1571)''. Vol. II. Darby, PA: DIANE Publishing. .
*Signorotto, Gianvittorio, and Visceglia, Maria Antonietta. 2002. ''Court and Politics in Papal Rome, 1492-1700''. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN, 0-521-64146-2
*
Election of the Pope
Women and the papacy