1181 Papal Election
elected Lucius III1 September 1181 · The first papal elections · Rome
The 1181 papal election followed the death of Pope Alexander III and resulted in the election of Pope Lucius III. This was the first papal election celebrated in accordance with the decree Licet de evitanda discordia, promulgated in the Third Lateran Council in 1179, which established that the pope is elected by a majority of two thirds votes.
Elected pope
Lucius III
Ubaldo Allucingoli
Succeeded
Alexander III
Duration
1 day
Cardinal electors
—
pre-conclave election
Key officials
| Dean | Ubaldo Allucingoli |
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.