All Vatican elections
1185December 1187

October 1187 Papal Election

elected Gregory VIII

21 October 1187 · The first papal elections · Ferrara

The October 1187 papal election (held October 21) was convoked after the death of Pope Urban III. He and the papal court had escaped from the imperial blockade of Verona only the month before, and had taken refuge in Ferrara.

Elected pope

Gregory VIII

Alberto di Morra

Succeeded

Urban III

Duration

1 day

Cardinal electors

—

pre-conclave election

Key officials

DeanKonrad von Wittelsbach
CamerlengoMaster Melior

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.