Pope Leo XI, born Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici, was bishop of Rome from 1 April 1605 to his death. His pontificate is one of the briefest in history, having lasted under a month. He was from the prominent House of Medici originating from Florence. Medici's mother opposed his entering the priesthood and sought to prevent it by having him given secular honours, but after her death he eventually was ordained a priest in 1567. In his career he served as Florence's ambassador to the pope, Bishop of Pistoia, Archbishop of Florence, papal legate to France, and as the cardinal Prefect for the Congregation of the Bishops and Religious. He was elected to the papacy in the March 1605 papal conclave and served as pope for 27 days.
Francesco Marchetti-Selvaggiani was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, Vicar General of Rome, Secretary of the Holy Office, and Dean of the College of Cardinals. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1930.
William Wakefield Baum was an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau (1970–1973) and Archbishop of Washington (1973–1980) before serving in the Roman Curia as Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education (1980–1990) and Major Penitentiary (1990–2001). He was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 1976. At the time of his 1980 appointment as Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, he was the highest-ranking American ever in the Church. Cardinal Baum was the longest-serving American cardinal in history.
Pio Laghi was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. His service was primarily in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and the Roman Curia. He served as Apostolic nuncio to several countries and as the Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1991. Cardinal Laghi was Pope John Paul II's secret emissary to the White House and to several presidents of the United States. He had a particularly close relationship with George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush.
Jozef Tomko is a Slovak Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 1985 to 2001, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1985.
The 1878 papal conclave, which resulted from the death of Pope Pius IX on 7 February 1878, met from 18 to 20 February. The conclave followed the longest reign of any other pope since Saint Peter. It was the first election of a pope who would not rule the Papal States. It was the first to meet in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican because the venue used earlier in the 19th century, the Quirinal Palace, was now the palace of the King of Italy, Umberto I.
Adeodato Giovanni Piazza, O.C.D. was an Italian friar of the Discalced Carmelite Order, who became a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and Patriarch of Venice, as well as a member of the Roman Curia in Vatican City.
Luigi Traglia was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Vicar General of Rome from 1965 to 1968, and Dean of the College of Cardinals from 1974 until his death. Traglia was elevated to the cardinalate in 1960.
Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy was an Indian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in the Roman Curia and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1985. His episcopical motto was Aedificare domum Dei which means "To build the house of God". He was the fourth cardinal from India and the first curial cardinal of Asia outside of the Middle East.
Enrico Dante was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Papal Master of Ceremonies from 1947 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965.
Clemente Micara was an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1909 to 1950 and was Vicar General of Rome from 1951 until his death.
Silvio Antoniani was a musician, canon lawyer, writer on education, priest and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, who spent most of his career in the Roman Curia.
Paolo Giobbe was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Papal Datary in the Roman Curia from 1959 to 1968, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958.
Vincenzo Lapuma was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He spent forty years in the Roman Curia and served as prefect of Sacred Congregation for Religious from 1935 until his death. He was raised to the rank of cardinal in 1935.
Joseph Schröffer was a German Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Universities from 1967 to 1976, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1976.
Basilio Pompili was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Vicar General of Rome from 1913 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1911.
Giovanni Battista Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of Bologna from 1921 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1923.
Benedetto Lorenzelli was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Studies from 1914 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1907.
Niccolò Marini was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches from 1917 to 1922, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1916.
Giuseppe Casoria was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Congregation for Sacraments and Divine Worship from 1981 to 1984, and elevated to the cardinalate in 1983.
