All Vatican elections

1521–1522 Conclave

elected Adrian VI

28 December 1521 – 9 January 1522 · The early modern conclaves · Apostolic Palace, Papal States

The 1521–22 papal conclave elected Pope Adrian VI to succeed Pope Leo X. The conclave was marked by the early candidacies of cardinal-nephew Giulio de'Medici (future Pope Clement VII) and Alessandro Farnese (future Pope Paul III), although the Colonna and other cardinals blocked their election.

Elected pope

Adrian VI

Adriaan Boeyens

Succeeded

Leo X

Duration

13 days

Cardinal electors

locked in under conclave rules

Key officials

DeanBernardino de Sande
CamerlengoFrancesco de' Medici

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.