The 1181

papal election A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. ...

followed the death of Pope Alexander III and resulted in the election of

Pope Lucius III Pope Lucius III (c. 1097 – 25 November 1185), born Ubaldo Allucingoli, reigned from 1 September 1181 to his death in 1185. Born of an aristocratic family of Lucca, prior to being elected pope, he had a long career as a papal diplomat. His pa ...

. This was the first papal election celebrated in accordance with the decree '' Licet de evitanda discordia'', promulgated in the Third Lateran Council in 1179, which established that the pope is elected by a majority of two thirds votes.

''Licet de evitanda discordia''

The contested

papal election, 1159 The 1159 papal election (held 4–7 September) following the death of Pope Adrian IV resulted in a double papal election. A majority of the cardinals elected Cardinal Rolando of Siena as Pope Alexander III, but a minority refused to recognize him ...

, which resulted in the election of Pope Alexander III and

Antipope Victor IV (1159-1164) Two antipopes used the regnal name Victor IV: * Antipope Victor IV (1138) * Antipope Victor IV (1159–1164) Victor IV (born Octavian or Octavianus: ''Ottaviano dei Crescenzi Ottaviani di Monticelli'') (1095 – 20 April 1164) was elected as a G ...

, created a schism in the Catholic Church that lasted almost twenty years (until 1178). In 1159 the cardinals were unable to achieve consensus, though an electoral compact had set that as its goal. The cardinals had been divided into two parties, those who favored the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and those who favored

William I of Sicily William I (1120 or 1121May 7, 1166), called the Bad or the Wicked ( scn, Gugghiermu lu Malu), was the second king of Sicily, ruling from his father's death in 1154 to his own in 1166. He was the fourth son of Roger II of Sicily, Roger II and Elvi ...

, and each of them elected their own pope. In August 1178 Antipope Callixtus III, the successor of Victor IV, finally submitted to Alexander III. In the following year Alexander III celebrated the

Third Lateran Council The Third Council of the Lateran met in Rome in March 1179. Pope Alexander III presided and 302 bishops attended. The Catholic Church regards it as the eleventh ecumenical council. By agreement reached at the Peace of Venice in 1177 the bitter ...

, which promulgated the decree ''Licet de evitanda discordia''. To avoid schism in the future, the decree established that the pope is elected with the majority of two thirds of the cardinals, if unanimity cannot be achieved. It confirmed also that the cardinals are the sole electors of the pope.

Election of Lucius III

Pope Alexander III died on August 30, 1181 in

Civita Castellana Civita Castellana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, north of Rome. Mount Soracte lies about to the south-east. History Civita Castellana was settled during the Iron Age by the Italic people of the Falisci, who called it "F ...

. Two days later, on September 1, 1181, the cardinals assembled at Rome (probably at Lateran or Vatican Basilica) and unanimously elected the senior member of the Sacred College, Cardinal Ubaldo of Lucca, Bishop of Ostia. He took the name Lucius III. On September 6, 1181 he was crowned by Cardinal Teodino of Porto at

Velletri Velletri (; la, Velitrae; xvo, Velester) is an Italian ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, approximately 40 km to the southeast of the city centre, located in the Alban Hills, in the region of Lazio, central Italy. Neighbouring comm ...

Cardinal-electors

There were probably 27 cardinals in the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1181. Based on the examination of the subscriptions of the papal bulls in 1181Jaffé, pp. 145-146 and 431-432
Regesta Imperii – Liste der Kardinalsunterschriften unter Lucius III.
/ref> and the available data about the external missions of the cardinals it is possible to establish that no more than 19 cardinals participated in the election: Thirteen electors were created by Pope Alexander III, four by Pope Adrian IV, one by Pope Innocent II and one by

Lucius II Pope Lucius II (died 15 February 1145), born Gherardo Caccianemici dal Orso, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1144 to his death in 1145. His pontificate was notable for the unrest in Rome associated wi ...

Absentee cardinals

Notes

Sources

*Adams, John Paul (2011)
"Sede Vacante 1181"
California State University Northridge. Retrieved: 10 February 2022. * * * Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1905)
''The History of Rome in the Middle Ages'' Vol. IV, part 2.
2nd ed. London: George Bell 1905. * * * * {{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism , portal2= Christianity , portal3= Vatican City , b=y, b-search=Biblical Studies/Christianity/Roman Catholicism/History , commons=y, commons-search=Papal conclave , n=y, n-search=Roman Catholic Church , q=y, q-search=Popes , s=y, s-search=Popes , v=y, v-search=Christian History , wikt=y, wikt-search=Pope , d=y 12th-century elections 1181 1181 12th-century Catholicism 1181 in Europe