Pope Leo XIII was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the oldest pope, whose age can be validated, holding office and had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Apostle, Pius IX and John Paul II.
The papal conclave held from 31 July to 4 August 1903 saw the election of Cardinal Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto to become pope in succession to Leo XIII, who had died on 20 July after a 25-year-long pontificate. 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 the papacy, blocking the election of the leading candidate, Cardinal Secretary of State Mariano Rampolla. Sarto was elected on the seventh ballot and took the name Pius X.
Camillo Mazzella was an Italian Jesuit theologian and cardinal.
The Archdiocese of Reggio Calabria-Bova is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Calabria, southern Italy. It received its current title in 1986, when the independent Diocese of Bova was suppressed, and the territory and title of the diocese added to that of the Archdiocese of Reggio.
The Diocese of Cassano all'Jonio is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Calabria.
Pietro Respighi S.T.D. JUD was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran and vicar general of Rome. He was made a cardinal in 1899.
Ignazio Camillo Guglielmo Maria Pietro Persico was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.
François-Désiré Mathieu was a French Bishop and Cardinal.
Francesco Salesio Della Volpe was an Italian Catholic Cardinal.
Angelo Di Pietro was a cardinal of the Catholic Church and prefect of the Congregation of the Council.
Francesco Segna S.T.D. was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archivist of the Holy Roman Church.
Agostino Richelmy was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Turin from 1897 until his death, and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1899.
Giuseppe Francica-Nava de Bontifè was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Catania from 1895 until his death; he was elevated to the cardinalate in 1899.
Francesco di Paola Cassetta was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Council from 1914 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1899.
The Diocese of Ischia is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Campania, southern Italy. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Naples. The diocese comprises the entire island of Ischia, which contains seven communes divided into two circumscriptions. In 1743, the population was about 4,000. The city of Ischia constituted one single parish, with two religious houses of men and one of women. In 2018, the population of the town of Ischia was 20,118.
Mario Mocenni was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, who served both in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and in the Roman Curia, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1893.
The former Italian Catholic diocese of Nicotera-Tropea, in Calabria, existed until 1986. In that year it was united into the diocese of Mileto, to form the diocese of Mileto-Nicotera-Tropea. It was a suffragan diocese of the archbishopric of Reggio di Calabria.
Amilcare Malagola was a Cardinal of the Catholic Church, and was archbishop of Fermo 1877–1895.
Giovanni Battista Casali del Drago was an Italian cardinal and member of the Italian noble Del Drago family. He was a second cousin of the Prince del Drago.
Pope Leo XIII created 147 cardinals in 27 consistories held at roughly annual intervals. With his appointments he approached but did not exceed the limit on the size of the College of Cardinals set at 70 in 1586. The size of the college was 64 at the beginning and end of Leo XIII's 25-year papacy. With 147 additions to a body of fewer than 70, Leo had, as one observer phrased it, "renewed the Sacred College more than twice".
