Longer conclave to define a pope lasted almost three years

The vote, which usually happens days after death or renunciation of a Pope dates back to the thirteenth century, when papal elections lasted years. In some cases, cardinals have already died during the exhaustive process.

The longest conclave in history was in the election of Pope Gregory X which after almost three years, was completed in September 1271.

The process happened at a time when the Church It was divided by political reasons. The vote reached an outcome after almost endless deliberations in the city of Vitrebo about 85 kilometers north of Pomegranate .

THE longest conclave in history was summoned after the death of the Pope Clement IV on November 29, 1268. There is no exact record of when the papal election to replace it began that year.

However, history records that the Successor was elected on September 1, 1271, after 33 months without the largest representative of the Catholic Church – The longest in history.

Reaction of the faithful

After years of deliberations without completion of who would be chosen as a new pope, frustrated residents revolted, removed the roof from the palace where the cardinals were gathered – with the argument that they should leave the Holy Spirit join the religious.

The revolt cut the food entry into the cardinals to encourage them to end the impasse.

The conditions were so unhealthy that two cardinals died and a third had to leave confinement due to health problems. Only after much chaos was Gregory chosen as a new Pope.

To avoid new episodes like this, Gregory Pontiff changed the rules of the conclave in 1274 . He was determined that the situation would never happen again.

The Pontiff decided that from that time the cardinals would be locked in a single room with a adjacent washbasin in the papal palace after 10 days of the death of a Pope.

After three days, if no pope were elected, they would only be served with a dish for lunch and dinner instead of two meals. After five days, the cardinals would only receive bread, water and some wine until they reached a decision.

According to the longest conclave it lasted two years

In 1294, 20 years after the longest conclave in history, the cardinals had another impasse that lasted years. This happened when the choice took more than two years to define the new Pope, in one of the most curious choices of the Catholic Church.

In 1292, after the death of Pope Nicholas IV, the church was without a leader temporarily for 27 months. The next Pope was only elected on July 5, 1294.

The impasse ended when priest Pietro del Morrone, who was in isolation fasting and prayers on a hill in east of Rome, prophesied that the cardinals would be punished by God if they did not reach a decision within a few months.

In the end, the cardinals eventually voted for the author of the prophecy, the priest himself, to be the new Pope.

After being elected in his 80s, Morrone entered the city of L’Aquila, in the center of Italy, mounted on a donkey and chose the name of Pope Celestino V.

However, work as a pontiff full of tasks and bureaucracies did not please the religious who was used to being alone. Therefore, he decided to give up his position after just a few months, in the same year.

Celestino V was the last Pope to renounce his own will before Benedict XVI in February 2013.

** With information from Reuters.

This content was originally published in a longer conclave to define a Pope lasted almost three years on the CNN Brazil website.

Source: CNN Brasil