The papal conclave of May 1605 was convened on the death of

Pope Leo XI Pope Leo XI ( it, Leone XI; 2 June 153527 April 1605), born Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 April 1605 to his death in April 1605. His pontificate is one of the briefest in his ...

and ended with the election of Camillo Borghese as

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...

on 16 May 1605. It was the second of two papal conclaves in 1605, with Leo dying on 27 April 1605, twenty-six days after he was elected in the March–April 1605 papal conclave.

Pope Nicholas II Pope Nicholas II ( la, Nicholaus II; c. 990/995 – 27 July 1061), otherwise known as Gerard of Burgundy, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 January 1059 until his death in 27 July 1061. At the time of his ...

had reserved the right to elect the pope to the cardinal bishops, priests, and deacons of Rome in 1059. The

cardinal bishop A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

s were the highest rank, being the bishops of the ancient

suburbicarian dioceses The seven suburbicarian dioceses are Roman Catholic dioceses located in the vicinity of Rome, whose (titular) bishops are the (now six) ordinary members of the highest-ranking order of cardinals, the cardinal bishops (to which the cardinal-patriarc ...

. Cardinal priests ranked next, serving as the titular head of historically important churches in Rome. Last ranked the cardinal deacons, who were nominally assigned one of the ancient diaconia where traditionally deacons had administered the material possessions of the Church of Rome. Cardinals were required to have been ordained at least to the rank of their order within the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appoi ...

, but could also be ordained to a higher order. In 1586, Pope Sixtus V had mandated that the maximum number of cardinals be seventy. Of these, the College of Cardinals had sixty-nine total members at the time of Clement VIII's death. Following Leo's election,

Girolamo Agucchi Girolamo Agucchi (15 January 1555 – 27 April 1605) was a Catholic cardinal from 1604 to 1605. Biography Agucchi was born in Bologna on January 15, 1555, the son of Gian Giorgio Agucchi and Isabella Sega. His mother was the sister of Cardinal F ...

had also died on 27 April, the same day as Leo, reducing the total number of cardinals in the College by two. The electors present had been created by six different popes:

Pius IV Pope Pius IV ( it, Pio IV; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered ...

Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...

Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...

Gregory XIV Pope Gregory XIV ( la, Gregorius XIV; it, Gregorio XIV; 11 February 1535 – 16 October 1591), born Niccolò Sfondrato or Sfondrati, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 December 1590 to his death in October ...

Innocent IX Pope Innocent IX ( la, Innocentius IX; it, Innocenzo IX; 20 July 1519 – 30 December 1591), born Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 October to 30 December 1591. Prior to hi ...

, and

Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

. Clement's creations were the most numerous, as he had created thirty-nine of the cardinal electors. Innocent IX had created one of the conclave's electors, Gregory XIV had created five, Sixtus V had created eleven, Gregory XIII had created three, and Pius IV had created one.

Cardinal electors

Fifty-nine total cardinals entered the conclave, and Paolo Emilio Zacchia and

Carlo Gaudenzio Madruzzo Carlo Gaudenzio Madruzzo (1562 – 14 August 1629) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal and statesman. Biography Born in the castle of Issogne, Aosta Valley, he was the son of Baron Giovanni Federico Madruzzo and Isabelle of Challant, and ne ...

participated in the conclave, assenting to the final vote, but did not enter the proceedings because they were sick. Domenico Toschi cropped

Notes

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References

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