1724 conclave

The 1724 papal conclave was called upon the death of Pope Innocent XIII. It began on 20 March 1724 and ended on 28 May that year with the election of Cardinal Pierfrancesco Orsini, a Dominican friar, as Pope Benedict XIII. This papal conclave was made of largely the same electors that had elected Pope Innocent XIII in 1721, and the same factions dominated it. Multiple attempts were made to elect a candidate acceptable to the various Catholic monarchies at the time, but none of which were successful until May. Benedict XIII resisted his election for two days, before he was convinced to accept it.

Background

The papal conclave that had elected Innocent XIII in 1721 was dominated by cardinals appointed by Clement XI, who had been pope for 21 years and appointed over 70 cardinals during that time. The conclave that elected Innocent was marked by a new alliance between the French and Spanish cardinals due to a change in the Spanish dynasty following the War of the Spanish Succession that resulted in Philip V, a Bourbon and the grandson of Louis XIV of France, ascending to what had previously been a Habsburg throne. Innocent was elected unanimously with the prospect that he might cooperate with both Bourbon France and the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor. Innocent had been in poor health for the year before his death on 7 March 1724 and preparations for the conclave to elect his successor had begun before his death.

Conclave

During his pontificate, Innocent XIII only created three new cardinals. When he died, the composition of the College of Cardinals and its factions were similar to that of the one who had elected him. The conclave began on 20 March 1724 with only 33 cardinal electors present, but eventually, 53 total cardinals took part in the election.