SEDE VACANTE 1769

(February 2, 1769—May 19, 1769)

CARLO CARDINAL DELLA TORRE REZZONICO, iuniore (1724-1799), nephew of Pope Clement XIII (1758-1769), who ordained him as a priest. He was made Referendary of the Tribune of the Apostolic Segnatura in 1751. After his uncle became pope, he was immediately named Cardinal Deacon (September 11, 1758) and Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church (1758-1763). He was named Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church on January 24, 1763, a post which he held until his death on January 26, 1799. At the time of the Conclave of 1769, he was forty years old.  In the new reign (Clement XIV) in 1773 he became Cardinal Bishop of Sabina, exchanging it for Porto and Santa Rufina in 1776. He was Archpriest of the Lateran and Secretary of the Roman Inquisition.

The Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals was Cardinal Carlo Cavalchini, Bishop of Ostia and Velletri, the Datary of Pope Clement XIII.  He had nearly been elected pope in 1758, but had been vetoed by the French Court (Wahrmund, 228-229; cf. 326-327), a veto which was finally withdrawn by the Duc de Choiseul on March 4, 1769 (Montor, p. 218).

	AE SEDE • VA | CANTE Shield with the Coat of Arms of Msgr. Antonio Casale surmounted by a clerical hat with six tassels on each side.
	ANTONIVS CASALI VRBIS ET CIV(itatis) •LEON(inae) PRÆF(ectus) • VICE CAMERAR(ius) • ANNO MDCCLXIX:

Monsignor Antonio Casali, Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church and the Governor of Rome. He became a cardinal in 1770.

The Treasurer General of the Apostolic Chamber (Reverendae Camerae Apostolicae Thesaurius Generalis) was Msgr. Giovanni Angelo Braschi (the future Pope Pius VI).

The Prefect of the Apostolic Palaces and the Governor of the Conclave was Monsignor Giovanni Battista Rezzonico, the brother of Cardinal Carlo Rezzonico, the Camerlengo.

Pope Clement XIII died on February 2, 1769, at the age of 75, harassed to the end by the demands of the ministers of Naples, Spain, and France. His body was interred on February 7. The conclave began on February 15. The sede vacante was to last for three months and sixteen days.

The Society of Jesus

The main issue at the conclave was the demand of a number of European states for the dissolution of the Society of Jesus. Benedict XIV (1740-1758) had already responded to complaints from Portugal by ordering an investigation of the Jesuits by the Patriarch of Lisbon, Cardinal Saldhana. In 1759 the Portuguese Prime Minister the Conte de Pombal sequestered Jesuit assets and deported the members of the Society to the Papal States. The new Pope, Clement XIII Rezzonico, protested repeatedly, but France joined the attack, abolishing the Society by royal decree (December 1, 1764). In 1767 the Jesuits were expelled from Spain, Naples, and Sicily and, in 1768 from Parma. In January, 1769, these powers made a formal demand for the dissolution of the Society. In a letter to the Pope dated January 18, the Marquis d' Aubeville, the French Ambassador in Rome since 1763, made the major point (Ravignan I, 231; Theiner I, 164-165):

But Clement died of a stroke during the night of February 2/3, the day before a Consistory which had been called to discuss the subject.

The Cardinals

Cardinals attending:

1. Carlo Alberto Guidobono Cavalchini (aged 85), Bishop of Ostia e Velletri (died March 7, 1774). Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals, Datary of His Holiness.
2. Federico Marcello Lante della Rovere (aged 73), Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina (died March 3, 1773). Subdean of the Sacred College of Cardinals, Prefect of the S.C. of Good Government.
3. Giovanni Francesco Albani (aged 49), Bishop of Sabina (died September 15, 1803).
4. Henry Benedict Mary Clement Stuart (aged 43), Bishop of Frascati, (died July 13, 1807). Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church.
5. Fabrizio Serbelloni (aged 73), Bishop of Albano (died December 7, 1775).
6. Giovanni Francesco Stoppani (aged 73), Bishop of Palestrina (died November 18, 1774).
   
   
7. Giuseppe Pozzobonelli (aged 72), Cardinal Priest of S. Maria sopra Minerva (died April 27, 1783). Archbishop of Milan.
8. Carlo Vittorio Amedeo delle Lanze (aged 56), Cardinal Priest of S. Prassede (died January 25, 1784). Titular Archbishop of Nicosia.
9. Vincenzo Malvezzi (aged 54), Cardinal Priest of SS. Marcellino e Pietro (died December 3, 1775). Archbishop of Bologna.
10. Antonio Sersale (aged 66), Cardinal Priest of S. Pudenziana (died June 24, 1775). Archbishop of Naples.
11. Francisco de Solís Folch de Cardona (aged 56), Cardinal Priest without titulus (died March 21, 1775). Archbishop of Seville, Spain.
12. Paul d'Albert de Luynes (aged 66), Cardinal Priest of S. Tommaso in Parione (died January 21, 1788). Archbishop of Sens, France.
13. Carlo Rezzonico, iuniore (aged 45) [Venetus], Cardinal Priest of S. Clemente (died January 26, 1799). Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church.
14. Antonio Maria Priuli (aged 61), Cardinal Priest of S. Marco (died October 26, 1772). Bishop of Vincenza.
15. François-Joachim de Pierres de Bernis (aged 53), Cardinal Priest without titulus (died November 3, 1794). Archbishop of Albi, France.
16. Fernando Maria de Rossi (aged 72), Cardinal Priest of S. Cecilia (died February 4, 1775). Prefect of the S.C. of the Tridentine Council.
17. Girolamo Spinola (aged 55), Cardinal Priest of S. Balbina (died July 22, 1784). Legate in Ferrara.
18. Giuseppe Maria Castelli (aged 63) [Milanese], Cardinal Priest of SS. Bonifacio ed Alessio (died April 9, 1780). Prefect of the S.C. de propaganda fide.
19. Gaetano Fantuzzi (aged 60), Cardinal Priest of S. Pietro in Vincoli (died October 1, 1778).
20. Pietro Girolamo Guglielmi (aged 74), Cardinal Priest of Santissima Trinità al Monte Pincio (died November 15, 1773).
21. Pietro Paolo de Conti (aged 80), Cardinal Priest of S. Stefano al Monte Celio (died December 14, 1770) .
22. Lorenzo Ganganelli, OFMConv. (aged 63), Cardinal Priest of SS. XII Apostoli (died September 22, 1774).
23. Marcantonio Colonna (aged 44), Cardinal Priest of S. Maria della Pace (died December 4, 1793). Vicar-General of Rome.
24. Buenaventura de Córdoba Espínola de la Cerda (aged 44), Cardinal Priest of S. Lorenzo in Panisperna (died May 6, 1777). Patriarch of the West Indies
25. Giovanni Molino (aged 63), Cardinal Priest of S. Sisto (died March 14, 1773). Bishop of Brescia.
26. Simone Buonaccorsi (aged 60) [Maceraqta], Cardinal Priest of S. Giovanni a Porta Latina (died April 27, 1776).
27. Giovanni Ottavio Bufalini (aged 60), Cardinal Priest of S. Maria degli Angeli (died August 3, 1782). Bishop of Ancona.
28. Giovanni Carlo Boschi (aged 53), Cardinal Priest of SS. Giovanni e Paolo (died September 6, 1788).
29. Ludovico Calini (aged 73), Cardinal Priest of S. Anastasia (died December 9, 1782).
30. Antonio Colonna Branciforte (aged 58), Cardinal Priest of S. Maria in Via (died August 31, 1786). President of Urbino.
31. Lazzaro Opizio Pallavicino (aged 49), Cardinal Priest of Ss. Nereo ed Achilleo (died Febraruy 23, 1785). Legate in Bologna.
32. Vitaliano Borromeo (aged 48), Cardinal Priest of S. Maria in Ara Coeli (died June 7, 1793).
33. Pietro Pamphlj (aged 43), Cardinal Priest of S. Maria in Trastevere (died December 4, 1780).
34. Urbano Paracciani Rutili (aged 54), Cardinal Priest of S. Callisto (died January 2, 1777). Archbishop of Fermo.
35. Filippo Maria Pirelli (aged 60), Cardinal-Priest of S. Crisogono (died January 10, 1771) .
    
    
36. Alessandro Albani (aged 76), Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria in Via Lata and S. Maria in Cosmedin (died December 11, 1779). Bibliothecarius S. R. E.
37. Neri Maria Corsini (aged 83), Cardinal Deacon of S. Eustachio (died December 6, 1770). Archpriest of the Lateran Basilica, Secretary of the Roman and Universal Inquisition.
38. Domenico Orsini d'Aragona (aged 49), Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria ad Martyres (died January 19, 1789) .
39. Flavio Chigi (aged 57), Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria in Portico (died July 12, 1771). Prefect of the S.C. of Rites.
40. Luigi Maria Torregiani (aged 71) [Florentinus], Cardinal Deacon of S. Agata alla Suburra (died January 6, 1777). Secretary of State.
41. Giovanni Costanzio Caracciolo (aged 53), Cardinal Deacon of S. Cesareo in Palatio (died September 22, 1780).
42. Nicola Perrelli (aged 72), Cardinal Deacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro (died February 24, 1772).
43. Andrea Corsini (aged 33), Cardinal Deacon of S. Angelo in Pescheria (died January 18, 1795).
44. Andrea Negroni (aged 58), Cardinal Deacon of SS. Vito, Modesto e Crescenzia (died January 17, 1789).
45. Saverio Canale (aged 74), Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria della Scala (died March 20, 1773).
46. Benedetto Veterani (aged 65), Cardinal Deacon of Ss. Cosma e Damiano (died August 12, 1776).

Cardinals not attending:

1. Giacomo Oddi (aged 89), Cardinal Priest of S. Lorenzo in Lucina (died May 2, 1770). Bishop of Viterbo e Toscanella.
2. Carlo Francesco Durini (aged 76), Cardinal Priest of Ss. Quattro Coronati (died June 25, 1769). Bishop of Pavia e Amasea.
3. Luis Fernández de Córdoba Portocarrero (aged 73), Cardinal Priest without titulus (died March 26, 1771). Archbishop of Toledo.
4. Etienne-René Potier de Gesvres (aged 72), Cardinal Priest of S. Agnese fuori le mura (died July 24, 1774). Bishop of Beauvais.
5. Franz Konrad Casimir von Rodt (aged 62), Cardinal Priest of S. Maria del Popolo (died October 16, 1775). Bishop of Konstanz.
6. Francisco de Saldanha da Gama (aged 45), Cardinal Priest without titulus (died November 1, 1776). Patriarch of Lisbon.
7. Christoph Anton von Migazzi von Waal und Sonnenthurn (aged 54), Cardinal Priest without titulus (died April 14, 1803). Archbishop of Vienna.
8. Antoine Clairiard de Choiseul de Beaupré (aged 61), Cardinal Priest without titulus (died January 7, 1774). Archbishop of Besançon.
9. Jean-François-Joseph Rochechouart (aged 60), Cardinal Priest of S. Eusebio (died March 20, 1777). Bishop of Laon.
10. Franz Christoph Freiherr von Hutten zu Stolzenfels (aged 62), Cardinal Priest without titulus (died April 20, 1770). Bishop of Speyer.
11. Louis-César-Constantine de Rohan-Guéménée (aged 71), Cardinal Priest without titulus (died March 11, 1779). Bishop of Strasbourg.

Conclave: Positions and Candidates

The Conclave was seriously divided by the joint campaign of the Bourbon monarchs to achieve their goals. Even before the death of Clement XIII, various ambassadors and their courts were compiling lists of acceptable and unacceptable candidates. At the beginning of 1764, the first secretary at the French Embassy, the Chevalier de la Houze, indicated in a dispatch that he was most inclined toward Cardinals Conti (of Camerino, former secretary of the SC on Good Government), Monti e Caprara (of Bologna, former Governor of Rome and Vice-Chamberlain), Guglielmi (of Jesi, former secretary of the SC of Bishops and Regulars) and Fantuzzi (of Ravenna, former auditor of causes of the Apostolic Palace); among those he thought should be excluded were Cavalchini (of Tortona, Dean of the Sacred College), Castelli (of Milan, Prefect of the Congregation de propaganda fide), De Rossi (a Roman, Prefect of the SC de Concilio), Torregiani (of Florence, the Secretary of State) Buonacorsi (Macerata), and Antonelli (Pergola).

In a document written on August 29, 1765, d' Aubeville, the French Ambassador, analyzing the various cardinals, indicated strong negative opinions on Rezzonico, Castelli, De Rossi, Antonelli and Buonaccorsi. The French Court favored Cardinals Galli, Conti, Durini and Ganganelli. (Theiner, 194-195). Aubeville believed that there was a faction gathered around Cardinal Rezzonico, the Cardinal nipote, which included Torregiani, Castelli, Buonaccorsi and Boschi, and that the two Cardinals Albani, Cardinal Chigi and Cardinal Fantuzzi would adhere to this party.

The Neapolitan Court intimated that there were eleven 'good' cardinals: Antonio Sersale (Archbishop of Naples), Cavalchini (the Dean), Neri Corsini, Conti, Durini (of Milan, Bishop of Pavia, former ambassador to France), Ganganelli, Pirelli (a Neapolitan patrician), Negroni, Branciforte (of Palermo, the presidente of Urbino, former ambassador to Venice), Caracciolo, and Andrea Corsini. The 'pessimi' included Torregiani, Castelli, Buonacorsi, Chigi, Boschi and Rezzonico. Another fifteen cardinals were designated 'cattivi' (Theiner, 229).

The Conclave

The Conclave did not settle down to business for a considerable time, since the Powers demanded a sufficient interval so that their cardinals, suitably advised, could be present in Rome. On February 15, the opening day, there were only twenty-seven cardinals in attendance, out of a total of fifty-seven. In a dispatch of that date, Aubeville informed Choiseul that the general of the Jesuits, Father Leonardo Ricci, had visited all of the cardinals, with the exception of Cardinal Domenico Orsini d' Aragona (the Ambassador of Naples, who had refused to receive him) (Theiner, 210; Saint-Priest, 84-85). In fact, as Cardinal Bernis, one of the French agents inside the Conclave, admitted, three-quarters of the cardinals were on the side of the Jesuits. Also present in Rome were the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Pietro Leopoldo, and his brother, the Emperor Joseph II (arrived on March 6 and March 15), who demanded entrance to the Conclave, despite the clearest constitutional prohibitions against such an intrusion; nonetheless, they had their way.

In the first half of March, instructions finally arrived from Spain for Cardinal Orsini as to the ranking of cardinals according to their desirability. Among the 'good' cardinals, the Spanish listed Sersale, Cavalchini, Neri Corsini, Conti, Durini, Ganganelli, Pirelli, Negroni, Branciforte, Caraccioli, and Andrea Corsini (Ravignan, 552).

On April 19, Aubeville wrote to Choiseul, "Je juge par bien de choses que le Cardinal Ganganelli a de l' esprit, de connaissances, et même une caractère décidé. Mais il a peur de son ombre, il crainte la moindre communication apparente avec les Français. Il vit tout seul dans sa cellule... On le craint, et en général on ne l' aime pas.' (Montor 219-220)  On April 23, Count Ernst von Kaunitz, the Ambassador Extraordinary of Joseph II and Maria Theresa arrived in Rome, and on the 27th he appeared before the Cardinals to make his formal oration. (Vita di Clemente XIV, 26). Likewise, on April 27, the Spanish cardinals de Solis (Seville) and de la Cerda (Toledo) entered conclave. Cardinal de Solis, it was said, brought a plan, sanctioned by the Court of Spain, that would require any candidate who hoped to be elected, to enter into the most solemn promise to bring about the destruction of the Jesuits. According to Father Theiner (I, 211), they began immediately to cast their votes for Cardinal Ganganelli. In addition, de Solis' conclavist, Aguirre, had begun to circulate among the cardinals with remarks hostile to Cardinal Fantucci (Montor, 231).  By April 30, the number of cardinals had risen to forty-six. The zelanti, in opposition to the Courts, were promoting Cardinals Pozzobonelli (who, as it happened, was the agent of the Empire inside the Conclave) and Colonna (Ravignan, 264). Cardinal Bernis wrote to Choiseul on May 3 that the French interest had at least eighteen votes, and perhaps four other doubtful ones, to exclude any candidate. (Montor, 227).

A. Theiner provides a list of the votes between April 27 and May 18.

The Understanding

On May 17, a conversation took place between Cardinal Ganganelli and the conclavist of Cardinal Bernis, Abbé Deshaises. (Masson, 107-108). This was the last stage in an effort to pin down Ganganelli as to his attitude toward the suppression of the Jesuits. The Spanish were insistant that no one could become pope without a specific committment. Whether this was given in writing, as some allege, or perhaps by word of mouth, or whether there ever was a specific committment by Ganganelli, is a highly controversial point.

Election of Pope Clement XIV (Ganganelli)

Lorenzo Cardinal Ganganelli, a Franciscan, son of a physician and a professional theologian, educated by the Jesuits, but who had managed to offend neither side and yet had made no binding promises, was finally elected as a compromise (Clement XIV) on May 19, 1769. The vote was unanimous, his own vote going to Cardinal Rezzonico, the only vote Rezzonico received at the entire conclave. On May 28, the new pope was consecrated a bishop by the Sub-Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Federico Lanté della Rovere. The coronation took place in St. Peter's Basilica on June 4, 1769, the tiara being placed on the pope's head by Cardinal Alessandro Albani, the Cardinal Proto-deacon. On November 26, Pope Clement XIV took possession of his cathedral church, the Lateran Basilica. He dissolved the Society of Jesus on August 16, 1773

.
Pope Clement XIV