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SEDE VACANTE
February 21, 1730—July 12, 1730 Card . Albani
The Conclave of 1730 was long, contentious, and sometimes disgraceful. At the opening, on March 5, there were twenty-six cardinals in attendance; by the time of the election, there were fifty-six. In early voting, the fortunes of Cardinals Ruffo, Zondadari, and Banchieri rose and fell. When Cardinal Imperiali came within one vote of success, the Veto (exclusiva) was interposed by Cardinal Bentivoglio in the name of the King of Spain. On June 11 Cardinal Davia obtained twenty-nine votes, but he could not reach the thirty-six votes needed to elect. On the 16th, Cardinal Corradini reached thirty votes. Bentivoglio, who had already cast the Spanish Veto, announced that he and his Spanish-leaning colleagues would leave Rome if Corradini were to be elected. Cardinal Cienfuegos, who had instructions from the Emperor to exclude Corradini, set to work to overcome the distaste among the Imperialist faction against Cardinal Corsini as an alternative to Corradini. Lorenzo Cardinal Corsini, aged seventy-nine, was finally chosen with fifty-two votes on July 12, taking the name Clement XII. He was crowned in the Vatican Basilica on July 16, 1730, and on November 19, he took possession of the Lateran Basilica. For the Conclave of 1730, see: Alexis Francois Artaud de Montor, Histoire des souverains pontifes (Paris 1851) 10-12. Giuseppe de Novaes, Elementi della storia de' sommi pontefici da San Pietro sino al ... Pio Papa VII third edition, Volume 13 (Roma 1822) 160-163. G. Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica Vol. 14 (Venezia 1842) 71, in a strange act of self-censorship, is completely silent about the proceedings. |
John Paul Adams, CSUN
john.p.adams@csun.edu
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