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1740 conclave
1740 conclave
1740 conclave
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Papal conclave
February–August 1740
Dates and location
18 February – 17 August 1740
Apostolic Palace, Papal States
Key officials
Dean
Sub-dean
CamerlengoAnnibale Albani
ProtopriestArmand de Rohan-Soubise
ProtodeaconLorenzo Altieri
Elected pope
Prospero Lambertini
Name taken: Benedict XIV
← 1730
1758 →

The 1740 papal conclave (18 February – 17 August) was convoked after the death of Pope Clement XII on 6 February 1740 and was one of the longest papal conclaves since the 13th century.

The initial favourite to succeed as pope, the elderly Pietro Ottoboni (1667–1740), Dean of the College of Cardinals, died shortly after the beginning of the conclave, and cardinals loyal to the House of Bourbon repeatedly proposed Pompeo Aldrovandi, but eventually had to accept that he could not secure two-thirds of the votes.

After six months, other possible candidates had also failed, and Cardinal Prospero Lambertini, the archbishop of Bologna, who had been a cardinal since 9 December 1726, was elected. He took the name Benedict XIV.

Early candidates

[edit]

The conclave began on 18 February 1740, following the funeral of Clement XII, and lasted for six months.

At the outset, only thirty-two cardinals entered into the conclave, in which there was an expectation that the elderly Pietro Ottoboni (1667–1740), a Cardinal for more than fifty years and Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals, would be chosen to succeed Clement XII. However, opposition to Ottoboni was raised because of his protective relationship with France. After a few days he was taken seriously ill, left the conclave on 25 February, and died on 29 February.[1][2] Ottoboni's place as Dean was taken by Tommaso Ruffo, vice-dean of the Sacred College.[3]

As more cardinals arrived in Rome and entered into the conclave, a group of the French formed an alliance with the Austrians and with the Spanish cardinals from Naples and Tuscany. The cardinals loyal to the Bourbons proposed the name of Pompeo Aldrovandi, but he fell just short of securing the two-thirds majority required. For forty days, his nomination was voted on unsuccessfully before it became clear he could not be elected.[4]

There was considerable and lengthy confusion, with a series of names advanced, all of whom failed to find the necessary level of support. After long deliberation, Cardinal Lambertini, a canon lawyer, was proposed as a compromise candidate, and he is reported to have said to the College of Cardinals, "If you wish to elect a saint, choose Gotti; a statesman, Aldrovandi; an honest man, me."[5][6] This appears to have assisted his cause, which also benefited from his reputation for deep learning, gentleness, wisdom, and conciliation in policy.[7]

Election of Benedict XIV

[edit]
Benedict by Bracci

In the words of one historian, the College of Cardinals was

"...too sensible of their own weakness to risk giving offense to the neighboring courts, At length they fixed on a man who was at least unlikely to be offensive, as he had never in his life been engaged in diplomatic affairs, either as ambassador or nuncio. This was Prospero Lambertini, a native of Bologna.[8]

On 17 August in the evening, Lambertini was elected Pope, receiving the ballots of more than the required two-thirds of the fifty-one Cardinals present. Lambertini accepted his election and took the name of Benedict XIV in honour of his friend and patron Pope Benedict XIII.[7] It had been one of the longer conclaves, though far from the longest.[a] Benedict was crowned a few days later in the loggia of the Vatican Basilica.

Other witnesses

[edit]

Giovanni Angelo Braschi, later Pope Pius VI, attended the conclave while still a layman as assistant to Cardinal Ruffo.[10]

The young Horace Walpole, who was in Rome at the time, attempted to attend the coronation but gave up because he found the waiting interminable. He wrote to his friend and cousin Conway, "I am sorry to have lost the sight of the Pope's coronation, but I might have staid for seeing it till I had been old enough to be Pope myself."[11]

List of cardinal electors

[edit]

List of participants

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Of the sixty-eight cardinals living at the death of Pope Clement XII, four died during the sede vacante and fifty-one took part in the final ballot.:[12]

List of absentees

[edit]

Fourteen cardinals were absent throughout the conclave:[12]

Notes

[edit]

References

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Sources

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

1740 conclave

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from Grokipedia
The 1740 papal conclave was a prolonged assembly of the College of Cardinals convened in the Apostolic Palace to elect a successor to Pope Clement XII following his death on 6 February 1740. Lasting from 17 February to 17 August—over six months and ranking among the longest in papal history—it involved up to 51 participating cardinals amid severe summer heat, multiple deaths, and deadlock driven by rival factions representing Italian traditionalists (Zelanti), Habsburg imperial interests, French diplomacy, and Spanish Bourbon influence. The conclave's inertia stemmed from early favorites like Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, who died on 29 February, and subsequent failed candidacies of figures such as Cardinals Corio, Aldrovandi, and Firrao, blocked by strategic vetoes and shifting alliances orchestrated by powerbrokers including Cardinals Annibale Albani (camerlengo), Neri Maria Corsini, and foreign agents like Pierre de Tencin for France. Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, Archbishop of Bologna and a canon lawyer known for his erudition and diplomatic tact, emerged as an unexpected compromise after exhaustive negotiations; on the final ballot, he received 50 votes, casting his own for Aldrovandi before accepting the tiara and adopting the name Benedict XIV in homage to his patron Benedict XIII. Lambertini's self-deprecating address to the assembly—"If you elect a saint, you have Gotti; a statesman, Aldobrandini; an honest man, me"—encapsulated the pragmatic resolution to the impasse, underscoring his reputation for integrity over ideological purity. He was crowned on 22 August, ushering in a pontificate noted for scholarly reforms, conciliatory foreign policy, and advancements in liturgy and canon law, though the conclave itself highlighted the vulnerabilities of papal elections to secular interference in the early Enlightenment era. Four cardinals perished during the sede vacante—Ottoboni, Giambattista Altieri, Leandro Porzia, and Serafino Cenci—exacerbating tensions and underscoring the physical toll of isolation and intrigue.

Background

Death and funeral of Pope Clement XII

Pope Clement XII, born Lorenzo Corsini, died on 6 February 1740 in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, aged 87, after suffering prolonged debilitation from chronic gout that had left him bedridden, gout-ridden, and blind in his final years. The condition, which intensified during his pontificate, contributed directly to his decline, as noted in contemporary accounts of his frailty requiring him to be carried in a sedia gestatoria even for routine duties. Following his death, papal custom dictated a period of novendiales, nine days of public mourning and funeral rites commencing immediately, during which his body was prepared through embalming—separating the flesh, viscera, and skeleton for separate interments—and displayed in state at St. Peter's Basilica for veneration by clergy and laity. Solemn requiem masses were celebrated daily by cardinal deacons, priests, and bishops, with participation from the College of Cardinals, who began preparations for the ensuing conclave amid the ceremonies. The rites emphasized the pope's Corsini family heritage and his tenure's architectural legacies, such as the Trevi Fountain, though his physical immobility had limited personal attendance at such events in life. His remains were initially placed in a temporary tomb in St. Peter's before permanent transfer on 20 July 1742 to the family Corsini Chapel in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, where a monument sculpted by Giovanni Battista Maini depicts him in pontifical vestments, symbolizing continuity of the papal line. This relocation adhered to noble papal tradition, ensuring entombment near familial relics rather than the Vatican grottoes reserved for more recent sovereigns. No irregularities or disputes marred the proceedings, which proceeded efficiently despite the cardinals' factional tensions foreshadowing the conclave.

Political context and foreign influences

The 1740 papal conclave occurred amid escalating geopolitical tensions in Europe, particularly over Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI's contested Pragmatic Sanction securing Habsburg succession, and ongoing disputes between Catholic monarchies over ecclesiastical appointments and territorial claims. Pope Clement XII's pontificate (1730–1740) had exacerbated frictions with the courts of Vienna, Madrid, and Naples through nepotistic appointments and diplomatic concessions favoring his Corsini family, leading to demands for a successor who would prioritize monarchical interests over papal autonomy. These rivalries manifested in the conclave as factional divisions among the participating cardinals, whose numbers varied from 32 at the opening to up to 55, with reductions due to deaths during the proceedings, with foreign powers leveraging crown-cardinals and ambassadors to block unfavorable candidates and promote alignments against rivals. France, under Chief Minister Cardinal André-Hercule de Fleury, exerted influence through Cardinal Pierre Guérin de Tencin inside the conclave and Ambassador Charles de Rohan, Duc de Saint-Aignan, who coordinated with Foreign Minister Amelot de Chaillon. French directives opposed pro-Corsini or overly Imperial candidates, recommending alternatives like Pompeio Aldrovandi while advising restraint on the jus exclusivae (veto right), though Tencin maneuvered to provoke Spanish exclusions, such as floating Pier Marcello Corradini to elicit a veto. Spain and the Bourbon Kingdom of Naples, represented by Cardinal Troiano Acquaviva d'Aragona, prioritized blocking Austrian-aligned figures to secure leverage in Italian affairs, initially supporting Giuseppe Firrao before shifting to compromise amid deadlock; their opposition to Imperial candidates prolonged the stalemate, as Spain invoked informal veto threats rooted in historical claims. The Holy Roman Empire's faction, led by Cardinals Niccolò del Giudice and Sigismund von Kollonitz on behalf of Charles VI, resisted Bourbon dominance by rejecting Spanish-leaning papabili and negotiating alliances, such as withdrawing support for Firrao under pressure. This Imperial stance, combined with French mediation forming temporary pacts with Austrian and Spanish cardinals, underscored the conclave's transformation into a proxy arena for European balance-of-power politics, where no power sought a pope overly beholden to another, culminating in the selection of a neutral compromise after 184 days of scrutiny. The absence of formal exclusivae—despite their customary assertion by France, Spain, and Austria—relied instead on diplomatic intrigue and vote-shifting, reflecting the era's shift toward subtler interventions amid declining overt monarchical control over papal elections.

Conclave Proceedings

Opening and initial scrutiny

The 1740 papal conclave convened on February 17 following the death of Pope Clement XII on February 6, 1740, with 32 cardinal electors initially gathering in the Sistine Chapel under the traditional papal constitutions governing conclaves. The opening ceremonies included the oath of secrecy administered by Cardinal Dean Pietro Ottoboni, emphasizing isolation from external influences, after which the chapel doors were sealed at approximately 7 a.m. Initial procedural scrutiny confirmed the presence of electors, with no major disputes recorded at this stage, though additional cardinals arrived later. The first scrutiny ballot occurred on February 18, yielding fragmented results dominated by moderate factions rather than a clear frontrunner, as cardinals tested loyalties amid Habsburg and Bourbon influences. Votes scattered among several figures including Pietro Ottoboni, reflecting early caution against imperial candidates favored by Emperor Charles VI. No candidate approached the two-thirds majority required (approximately 22 votes), underscoring immediate deadlock risks from Italy's divided curia. Scrutinies proceeded daily, with black smoke signaling failures; by February 20, patterns emerged of anti-Austrian sentiment blocking certain candidates, while pro-French cardinals pushed subtle agendas without overt zelanti dominance. Procedural integrity was maintained through multiple tellers verifying ballots, though whispers of external pressures via envoys tested the enclosure's efficacy from the outset.

Factional divisions and early voting

The 1740 papal conclave commenced on 18 February amid pronounced factional cleavages within the College of Cardinals, shaped by national allegiances, familial loyalties, and ideological differences. Principal groupings included the zelanti, a reform-oriented bloc led by Cardinals Tommaso Ruffo (sub-dean of the college) and Vincenzo Petra, who prioritized ecclesiastical independence; the Imperial faction, advocating Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI's interests against Spanish dominance and headed by Cardinals Niccolò del Giudice and Sigismund von Kollonitz; the French contingent under Cardinal Pierre Guérin de Tencin, coordinated with Cardinal André-Hercule de Fleury's directives to counterbalance Imperial and Spanish influence; and the Spanish-Neapolitan group directed by Cardinal Troiano Acquaviva d'Aragona, aligned with Bourbon priorities. Overlapping these were the Corsini faction, commanded by Neri Maria Corsini (nephew of the late Pope Clement XII and prefect of the Apostolic Signatura), leveraging residual papal family influence, and the Albani bloc under Camerlengo Annibale Albani, which mustered around 20 votes and vetoed mutual rivals. Foreign powers intensified these rifts: Austria, via Kollonitz and Ambassador Count Kuefstein, blocked candidates perceived as pro-Spanish, while France's Duc de Saint-Aignan and Spain's envoy pressed for compliant figures, fostering mutual exclusions among leading aspirants. With initial attendance at 32 cardinals (rising to 55 by late May as absentees like Prospero Lambertini arrived on 5 March), the required two-thirds supermajority—initially 22 votes, later 37—demanded broad consensus amid scant trust across lines. Early ballots, following the opening scrutiny on 18 February, yielded no decisive victor. Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, dean of the college and an initial frontrunner due to his seniority, received scattered support but died on 29 February, fragmenting his faction and stalling momentum. Neri Corsini advanced several candidates in succession, yet none garnered substantial traction or exceeded modest pluralities, as per contemporary dispatches noting their lack of "great impression." These inconclusive rounds, spanning March and April amid further arrivals and illnesses (e.g., deaths of Giambattista Altieri on 13 March), underscored the impasse, with zelanti withholding from politicanti compromises and national blocs vetoing rivals, prolonging the stalemate.

Candidates and Deadlock

Leading papal candidates

The 1740 papal conclave featured several prominent candidates amid intense factional rivalries, primarily between the Corsini (supporters of the late Pope Clement XII's family) and Albani (allied with the nephew of Pope Clement XI) groups, as well as influences from imperial, French, and Spanish interests. Early scrutiny highlighted Pietro Cardinal Ottoboni, the 72-year-old Dean of the Sacred College and grand-nephew of Pope Alexander VIII, whose high rank and curial experience positioned him as an initial favorite; however, he withdrew due to illness on February 25 and died on February 29, scattering his potential support. As the conclave progressed into spring and summer, Pompeio Cardinal Aldrovandi emerged as a frontrunner, backed by the Corsini faction and a coalition including Spanish and French cardinals, peaking at 33 votes by August 11 but failing to reach the required 34-vote majority due to opposition from the Albani-led bloc. Similarly, Giuseppe Cardinal Firrao gained traction with up to 24 votes from Albani and other allies in mid-conclave ballots, supported by his curial credentials, but encountered resistance from imperial factions, preventing a breakthrough. Giacomo Cardinal Lanfredini, another curial figure, received around 20 votes in July under Albani's influence, reflecting attempts to consolidate anti-Corsini sentiment, though he lacked the broad appeal to overcome divisions. Prospero Cardinal Lambertini, the 65-year-old Archbishop of Bologna, initially hovered on the periphery with modest support from imperial and French cardinals like del Giudice and Tencin, but his reputation for moderation and theological acumen positioned him as a compromise option amid the deadlock; by late August, strategic endorsements from figures like Troiano Cardinal Acquaviva d'Aragona (representing Neapolitan and Spanish interests) propelled him forward. Annibale Cardinal Albani, though not a primary candidate himself, wielded significant influence through his 20-vote faction and roles as Camerlengo and Archpriest of St. Peter's, directing support toward alternatives like Lanfredini while blocking rivals, underscoring the conclave's reliance on kingmakers. These candidacies exemplified the prolonged stalemate, driven by vetoes, external pressures, and the absence of a consensus figure until exhaustive negotiations.

Causes of the prolonged stalemate

The prolonged stalemate in the 1740 papal conclave stemmed primarily from deep factional divisions among the cardinal electors, exacerbated by competing foreign interests and the looming threat of monarchical vetoes under the jus exclusivae. With 51 cardinals participating in the final ballot out of 68 eligible, no candidate could secure the required two-thirds majority of 37 votes until late summer, as alliances shifted and personal rivalries intensified. Internal factions included the reform-oriented Zelanti group, led by Cardinals Tommaso Ruffo and Vincenzo Petra, which clashed with pro-Spanish Bourbon interests under Cardinal Troiano Acquaviva d’Aragona, and Imperial (Austrian) advocates headed by Cardinals Niccolò del Giudice and Sigismund von Kollonitz. Cardinal Neri Maria Corsini, nephew of the deceased Pope Clement XII, initially exerted strong influence by promoting candidates like Giuseppe Spinelli but lost support due to growing irritability and isolation amid the conclave's hardships. Rivalries, such as that between Camerlengo Annibale Albani and Corsini, further fragmented negotiations, preventing consensus on frontrunners like Pompeio Aldrovandi, who peaked at 33 votes on August 11, 1740, short of the threshold. Foreign powers amplified these divisions through diplomatic pressures and veto threats. Emperor Charles VI's representatives opposed Spanish-leaning candidates to safeguard Habsburg influence, while Spain resisted Imperial favorites; France, via Cardinal Pierre de Tencin and Cardinal Fleury's directives, favored moderates like Bartolomeo Massei but discouraged formal vetoes despite temptations against figures like Ruffo. Although no explicit exclusiva was invoked—unlike in prior conclaves—the credible threat deterred broad support for several prospects, including Giuseppe Firrao, whose candidacy collapsed after signaled Imperial opposition. Compounding these issues were logistical disruptions: the deaths of four cardinals during the sede vacante—Pietro Ottoboni on February 29, Giambattista Altieri on March 12, Leandro Porzia on June 6, and Serafino Cenci on June 24—necessitated repeated vote recalibrations and redistributed blocs without resolving impasses. Late arrivals, including Prospero Lambertini on March 5, delayed full proceedings, while the conclave's confinement fostered boredom and strained tempers, hindering compromise until external mediations aligned in August.

Resolution and Election

Diplomatic pressures and compromises

The conclave of 1740 faced intense diplomatic pressures from the major Catholic powers, including the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, King Louis XV of France, and King Philip V of Spain, who sought to shape the papal election through aligned cardinals and ambassadors to advance their geopolitical interests in Italy and beyond. The Imperial faction, led by Cardinals Niccolò del Giudice and Sigismund von Kollonitz, opposed candidates perceived as overly favorable to Spanish interests, such as Giuseppe Firrao, whose prospective election in June was thwarted by their interventions on behalf of Vienna. Similarly, France, under Cardinal André-Hercule de Fleury's guidance, instructed its representative Pierre de Tencin to counter Spanish dominance without resorting to the formal exclusiva (veto), promoting alternatives like Bartolomeo Massei while navigating tensions with Neapolitan Bourbons aligned with Spain. Spain's influence, channeled through Troiano Acquaviva d’Aragona, emphasized candidates amenable to Bourbon priorities in Naples and Sicily, contributing to the rejection of Imperial or French frontrunners. These external pressures exacerbated internal factional deadlocks, as the 54 participating cardinals—predominantly Italian but including French, Spanish, and German voices—required a two-thirds majority (37 votes out of 55 by May) amid shifting allegiances among Zelanti traditionalists, Corsini loyalists, and power-bloc representatives. By mid-1740, repeated failures to elect figures like Pompeio Aldrovandi, who peaked at 33 votes on August 11 before withdrawing on August 16, underscored the stalemate, with ambassadors exerting indirect leverage through correspondence and private negotiations to block rivals. Camerlengo Annibale Albani, alongside del Giudice and Acquaviva, brokered a pivotal compromise by converging on Prospero Lambertini, Archbishop of Bologna, whose neutrality appealed across factions; despite initial resistance from Neri Maria Cardinal Corsini, his group's eventual support secured Lambertini's unanimous backing. Lambertini's election on August 17, 1740, with 50 votes (including accessus), reflected this diplomatic balancing act, positioning him as a figure untainted by prior power struggles and acceptable to foreign courts wary of escalation. In a notable address to the conclave, Lambertini quipped, "If you wish to elect a saint, choose Gotti; a statesman, Aldrovandi; an honest man, elect me," framing himself as a pragmatic compromise amid exhaustion from six months of intrigue and summer heat. This resolution averted formal vetoes, which had been threatened but unused, preserving conclave autonomy while yielding a pope whose subsequent policies, such as curbing fiscal abuses, aligned with the reformers' demands without alienating monarchs.

Election of Prospero Lambertini as Benedict XIV

After months of deadlock, Cardinal Troiano Acquaviva d'Aragona, acting on behalf of Neapolitan Bourbon and Spanish interests, proposed Prospero Lambertini, the Archbishop of Bologna, as a compromise candidate during negotiations in mid-August 1740. This suggestion followed intense discussions involving Camerlengo Annibale Albani, Cardinal Niccolò del Giudice representing Imperial Austria, and Cardinal Armand-Gaston-Maximilien de Rohan for France, amid resistance from the faction led by Cardinal Neri Corsini who favored alternatives like Pompeio Aldrovandi. Lambertini's reputation for scholarly depth, administrative competence, and impartiality—honed through curial positions including as secretary to the Congregation of the Council—made him acceptable to divided factions seeking to avoid further prolongation of the conclave, which had already claimed four cardinals' lives due to its summer heat and confinement. In the decisive scrutiny on the evening of August 17, 1740, with 51 cardinal electors present, Lambertini received 50 votes, surpassing the required two-thirds majority; he himself had voted for Aldrovandi, reflecting the abrupt shift as many of Aldrovandi's supporters transferred allegiance in the final hours. Prior to the ballot, Lambertini reportedly addressed the assembly with characteristic wit: "If you wish to elect a saint, choose Gotti; a statesman, Aldrovandi; an honest man, elect me," underscoring his self-perceived strengths in practicality over sanctity or diplomacy and helping to consolidate support. Upon acceptance, he selected the name Benedict XIV to honor his patron and predecessor Benedict XIII, under whom he had served as secretary of the Congregation of the Council. Lambertini's election surprised many, as he had not been among the initial frontrunners like Corsini or Aldrovandi, but it resolved the impasse through a consensus on a figure unaligned with major foreign powers or Roman factions. He was solemnly crowned on August 22, 1740, in the Vatican Basilica by Cardinal Protodeacon Carlo Maria Marini, marking the end of the six-month conclave that began on 18 February. This outcome highlighted the efficacy of behind-the-scenes diplomacy in papal elections, prioritizing a candidate's proven governance experience over ideological alignment.

Participants and Composition

Cardinal electors in attendance

The 1740 papal conclave opened on February 18 with 32 cardinal electors present out of 68 total members of the College of Cardinals following the death of Pope Clement XII on February 6. Late arrivals progressively increased participation, with the total reaching 55 by late May before declining due to deaths; 51 cardinals ultimately voted in the decisive ballot on August 17 that elected Prospero Lambertini. Four electors died during the proceedings: Dean Pietro Ottoboni on February 29, Giambattista Altieri on March 12, Leandro Porzia on June 6, and Serafino Cenci on June 24, with some departing temporarily due to illness prior to their deaths. The attendees represented diverse nationalities and factions, predominantly Italian (44 of the peak 55), alongside French, Spanish, and Imperial interests, reflecting geopolitical tensions among Bourbon powers, the Holy Roman Empire, and local Roman families. Key figures included Camerlengo Annibale Albani, who managed conclave operations, and faction leaders such as Tommaso Ruffo and Vincenzo Petra (Zelanti, favoring strict orthodoxy), Niccolò del Giudice (Imperial faction), and Pierre-Guérin de Tencin (French interests). Prospero Lambertini, the eventual pope, entered on March 5. Notable electors and their entry details included:
  • Initial attendees (32 on February 18): Tommaso Ruffo, Annibale Albani, Giambattista Altieri, Lodovico Pico, Pier Marcellino Corradini, Thomas Philippe d'Alsace de Chimay, Luis Antonio Belluga y Moncada, Vincenzo Petra, Niccolò Coscia, Angelo Maria Quirini, Francesco Antonio Finy, Vincenzo Ludovico Gotti, Pierluigi Carafa, Giuseppe Accoramboni, Francesco Borghese, Carlo Vincenzo Ferreri, Bartolomeo Massei, Vincenzo Bichi, Giuseppe Firrao, Antonio Saverio Gentili, Giovanni Antonio Guadagni, Troiano Acquaviva d'Aragona, Domenico Riviera, Marcello Passeri, Pompeio Aldrovandi, Pietro Maria Pieri, Giuseppe Spinelli, Rainiero d'Elci, Domenico Passionei, Gaetano Stampa, Pierre-Guérin de Tencin, and Alessandro Albani (among others).
  • Key late arrivals: Prospero Lambertini (March 5), Sigismund von Kollonitz, Agapito Mosca, and Giacomo Lanfredini (March 8), Rainiero Pannocchieschi d'Elci (March 20), Carlo Maria Marini (March 21), Armand-Gaston de Rohan (March 23), Niccolò Maria Lercari, Belluga (late confirmation), and Henri-Osvald de la Tour d'Auvergne (by March 27), with Philip Ludwig von Sinzendorf, Silvio Valenti Gonzaga, Camillo Cibo, and others entering through April.
This composition underscored the conclave's prolongation, as arriving cardinals shifted voting dynamics amid veto threats from European courts.

Absent or non-participating cardinals

At the death of Pope Clement XII on February 6, 1740, the College of Cardinals comprised 68 members. Four cardinals died during the ensuing sede vacante period—Pietro Ottoboni on February 29, Giambattista Altieri on March 12, Leandro Porzia on June 6, and Serafino Cenci on June 24—reducing the pool of eligible electors to 64. The conclave convened on February 18 with only 32 cardinals initially in attendance, reflecting significant absenteeism due to factors such as advanced age, illness, geographical distance, and political obligations in distant sees or courts. By the conclave's conclusion on August 17, 51 cardinals had participated in the final ballot, indicating that additional electors arrived over the six-month deadlock but that a substantial number remained non-participating. Thirteen cardinals were absent from the outset and did not join the proceedings, including prominent figures like André Hercule de Fleury, the influential French statesman and cardinal-minister under Louis XV, whose non-attendance underscored France's external diplomatic maneuvering during the election. The full list of permanently absent electors comprised:
  • Nuño da Cunha e Ataíde
  • Melchior de Polignac
  • Benedetto Erba-Odescalchi
  • Giulio Alberoni
  • Léon Potier de Gesvres
  • Damian Hugo Philipp von Schönborn
  • André Hercule de Fleury
  • João da Mota e Silva
  • Luis Antonio Jaime de Borbón y Farnesio
  • Joseph Dominicus von Lamberg
  • Tomás de Almeida
  • Gaspar de Molina y Oviedo
  • Jan Aleksander Lipski
Two others, Leandro Porzia (prior to his death) and Lorenzo Altieri, initially participated but withdrew due to illness, further depleting active voters amid the prolonged stalemate. Such non-participation, while not uncommon in pre-modern conclaves given slower travel and health risks, amplified factional imbalances, as absentees like Fleury and Alberoni represented key European powers whose influence operated indirectly through proxies or correspondence.

Legacy and Analysis

Immediate aftermath and pontificate preview

Following his election on August 17, 1740, Prospero Lambertini accepted the papacy and chose the name Benedict XIV, a decision influenced by his admiration for prior popes of that name and his intent to signal continuity in reformist traditions. Cardinals immediately paid homage by kissing his hand, after which he dined and held an initial audience in Cardinal Corsini's cell. He offered the secretaryship of state to Corsini, who declined, prompting Lambertini to appoint Silvio Valenti Gonzaga to the position that day. The election, achieved with near-unanimity after six months of deadlock, surprised many observers due to Lambertini's non-factional status and the conclave's prior divisions. Benedict XIV's coronation occurred on August 22, 1740, in St. Peter's Basilica, performed by Cardinal Protodeacon Carlo Maria Marini, marking the formal commencement of his visible authority amid ceremonies emphasizing papal continuity. Early reactions from European courts were cautiously positive, viewing his scholarly reputation as a stabilizing force after the contentious conclave, though some French influences expressed reservations over his independence from imperial factions. The pontificate previewed a pragmatic, conciliatory approach to governance, prioritizing fiscal recovery in the Papal States depleted by predecessors' expenditures; Benedict refrained from creating new cardinals for three years to conserve resources and enacted administrative reforms, including urban reorganization for efficiency, promotion of agriculture and trade, and curbs on usury via the 1745 encyclical Vix Pervenit. Diplomatically, he adopted a policy of measured concessions to absolutist monarchs to avert conflicts, granting Portugal full patronage rights over its ecclesiastical sees in 1740 and permitting Spain to tax clerical incomes in 1741, while mediating disputes like those involving the Knights of Malta. In ecclesiastical affairs, initial efforts targeted missionary discipline through 1742 and 1744 bulls restricting rites in China and India, alongside revisions to liturgical texts like the Roman Martyrology (1748) and overtures to Eastern Churches, such as recognizing the Greek Melkite patriarchate in 1744. These steps reflected his emphasis on intellectual rigor, moral reform, and preservation of spiritual authority amid Enlightenment-era pressures.

Historical evaluations and controversies

Historians regard the 1740 conclave as a prime example of entrenched factionalism within the College of Cardinals, divided between older cardinals elevated by Clement XI, Innocent XIII, and Benedict XIII, and newer appointees of Clement XII, who formed rival blocs amid personal and ideological animosities. This internal schism, compounded by generational tensions between younger and senior electors, prolonged the assembly to 181 days—one of the longest in modern papal history—despite 51 participating cardinals, including representatives from major Catholic powers. The deadlock persisted through fruitless ballots, candidate withdrawals, and substitute proposals, exacerbated by Rome's summer heat that induced illnesses among participants, highlighting systemic vulnerabilities in the electoral process to intrigue over merit. External diplomatic maneuvering by European monarchies, particularly Habsburg Austria seeking a pliable pontiff and Bourbon Spain and France countering with veto threats, intensified the stalemate without overt zelanti (zealous) resistance, as no candidate garnered the required two-thirds majority until compromises emerged. Evaluations by contemporaries and later analysts, such as those in ecclesiastical chronicles, critiqued the conclave for prioritizing bloc loyalties over theological or administrative qualifications, though the absence of documented bribery, violence, or post-election invalidity claims distinguishes it from more scandal-plagued assemblies like 1378. Prospero Lambertini's elevation as a neutral compromise has elicited mixed assessments: praised for installing a scholarly jurist untainted by nepotism, yet faulted by some for rewarding endurance over bold leadership amid power vacuums that delayed Church governance for half a year. His self-effacing address—"If you elect a saint, choose Gotti; a statesman, Aldobrandini; an honest man, me"—is cited as a pivotal, authentic intervention that dissolved impasse, but critics among diplomatic observers argued it underscored cardinals' susceptibility to rhetorical expediency rather than principled discernment. Overall, the conclave's resolution reinforced the efficacy of ad hoc diplomacy in averting schism, though it prompted informal reflections on tightening enclosure rules to curb prolonged negotiations, influencing 19th-century procedural tweaks without formal overhaul.
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