1471 Conclave
elected Sixtus IV6–9 August 1471 · The early modern conclaves · Apostolic Palace, Papal States
The 1471 papal conclave (6–9 August) elected Pope Sixtus IV following the death of Pope Paul II. With the exception of the conclaves of the Western Schism, this conclave was the first since 1305 to feature a working, two-thirds majority of Italians within the College of Cardinals, in no small part because of the absence of six non-Italian cardinals.
Elected pope
Sixtus IV
Francesco della Rovere
Succeeded
Paul II
Duration
4 days
Cardinal electors
—
locked in under conclave rules
Key officials
| Dean | Basilios Bessarion |
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.