1061 Papal Election
elected Alexander II30 September 1061 · The first papal elections · San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome
The 1061 papal election was held on 30 September 1061 in San Pietro in Vincoli ("Saint Peter in Chains") in Rome, following the death of Pope Nicholas II. In accordance with Nicholas II's bull, In Nomine Domini, the cardinal bishops were the sole electors of the pope for the first time in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.
Elected pope
Alexander II
Anselmo de Baggio of Lucca
Succeeded
Nicholas II
Duration
1 day
Cardinal electors
—
pre-conclave election
Ballot-by-ballot tallies are destroyed by design — the paper is burned in the stove whose smoke announces the result — so this entry records what the Church documents: the dates, the electors, the number of ballots where known, and the man who walked out onto the balcony.