The 1061 papal election was held on 30 September 1061 in San Pietro in Vincoli ("Saint Peter in Chains") in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, following the death of

Pope Nicholas II Pope Nicholas II (; c. 990/995 – 27 July 1061), otherwise known as Gerard of Burgundy, was 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 election, he was bish ...

. In accordance with Nicholas II's

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, '' In Nomine Domini'', the cardinal bishops were the sole electors of the

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

for the first time in the history of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Bishop Anselmo de Baggio of Lucca, a non-cardinal and one of the founders of the Pataria,Vincent, Martin Richardson. 1896. ''The Age of Hildebrand''. Christian Literature Co. p. 50. was elected Pope Alexander II and crowned at nightfall on 1 October 1061 in San Pietro in Vincoli Basilica because opposition to the election made a coronation in St. Peter's Basilica impossible.

Description

Anselmo had the support of his friend Cardinal Hildebrand, a driving force behind the promulgation of ''In Nomine Domini'' and the future

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. One of the great ...

, Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine, and the Norman forces of

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard ( , ; – 17 July 1085), also referred to as Robert de Hauteville, was a Normans, Norman adventurer remembered for his Norman conquest of southern Italy, conquest of southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th century. Robert was born ...

, present at the election in fulfilment of a security guarantee Guiscard had made to Nicholas II when appointed Duke of Apulia and Calabria. Although Anselmo was well-known and respected within the German court, the assent of the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

to the election was not sought.Levillain, Philippe. 2002. ''The Papacy: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge. . Displeased with the new process, a group of Roman nobles and Lombard

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s, let by Guibert, the royal chancellor of Italy, beseeched Agnes de Poitou, empress-regent of

Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV (; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and List of kings of Burgundy, Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was t ...

, to nominate Bishop Pietro Cadalo to succeed Nicholas II. Cadalo was elected Antipope Honorius II at a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

convoked at

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on 28 October 1061, at which no cardinals were present. Antipope Honorius II proceeded to march on Rome, defeating Alexander II and taking control of St. Peter's Basilica and its environs on 14 April 1062. The intervention of Godfrey III convinced Honorius II and Alexander II to retire to Parma and Lucca respectively, awaiting mediation between Godfrey III and the Imperial court. However, Anno II, Archbishop of Cologne had engineered a ''

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'' against the empress regent. As regent, Anno convened the Council of Augsburg (October 1062) and sent Burchard II, Bishop of Halberstadt as an envoy to Rome. Burchard cleared Alexander II of charges of simony and recognized him as the new pontiff. Alexander II excommunicated Honorius II in 1063, but after a counter-synod Honorius II was able to establish himself in Castel Sant'Angelo and wage war against Alexander II for another year before fleeing again to

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

. The Synod of Mantua (

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

, 31 May 1064) anathematized Cadalo and declared Alexander II the rightful pope.

Cardinal electors

In 1061 there were six cardinal-bishops:Reconstruction based on Hans-Walter Klewitz, ''Reformpapsttum und Kardinalkolleg'', Darmstadt 1957, p. 115-118; and Rudolf Hüls, ''Kardinäle, Klerus und Kirchen Roms: 1049-1130'', Tübingen 1977, p. 88 ff.

References

{{Authority control 1061 Papal Papal Papal Papal Papal Robert Guiscard