September 1590 conclave

Last updated

Papal conclave
September 1590
Dates and location
7–15 September 1590 [1]
Apostolic Palace, Papal States
Key officials
Dean Giovanni Antonio Serbelloni
Sub-dean Alfonso Gesualdo
Camerlengo Enrico Caetani
Protopriest Mark Sittich von Hohenems
Protodeacon Andreas von Österreich
Elected pope
Giovanni Castagna
Name taken: Urban VII
Portrait of Pope Urban VII Castagna (Jacopo del Conte, Vatican Museums).jpg
  1585

The September 1590 papal conclave, attended by 54 cardinals, elected Cardinal Giovanni Castagna as Pope Urban VII. [1] [2]

The conclave lasted a week, and was heavily swayed by the influence of the twenty-two Spanish cardinals. [3] [4] [2] Castagna, who had been favored by Sixtus V as a successor and was on the list of candidates whom Philip II of Spain had approved, was a favorite from the beginning, [1] [2] [5] although a significant opposing faction supported Marco Antonio Colonna. [1] [6] Castagna's poor health, which would ultimately kill him after a papacy of only thirteen days, made him a more palatable candidate to cardinals who were outraged at Philip's attempts to sway the election. [2]

Contemporary newspapers reported that a disagreement between Cardinals Ascanio Colonna and Francesco Sforza di Santa Fiora during the conclave nearly became violent. [7]

Diagram of the cardinals' cubicles at the 1590 papal conclave. September 1590 Conclave.jpg
Diagram of the cardinals' cubicles at the 1590 papal conclave.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Platina (1685). The Lives of the Popes: From the Time of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, to the Reign of Sixtus IV. Christopher Wilkinson. p. 206.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Pattenden, Miles; Baker-Bates, Piers, eds. (17 February 2016). The Spanish Presence in Sixteenth-Century Italy: Images of Iberia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   9781317015000.
  3. Harbaugh, Jim (2003). The Conclave: A Sometimes Secret and Occasionally Bloody History of Papal Elections. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 123.
  4. Jedin, Hubert; Dolan, John Patrick, eds. (1980). History of the Church: Reformation and Counter Reformation. Burns & Oates. p. 508.
  5. Neligan, William H, ed. (1869). The Lives and Times of the Roman Pontifs, from St. Peter to Pius Ix, Volume 1, Issue 2. D. & J. Sadlier. p. 872.
  6. Petrucci, Francesco, ed. (21 September 2013). Papi in Posa: 500 Years of Papal Portraiture. Gangemi Editore. p. 90. ISBN   9788849258769.
  7. Hunt, John M. (11 March 2016). The Vacant See in Early Modern Rome: A Social History of the Papal Interregnum. Brill. p. 226. ISBN   9789004313781.