1655 Conclave
elected Alexander VII18 January – 7 April 1655 · The early modern conclaves · Apostolic Palace, Papal States
The 1655 conclave was convened following the death of Pope Innocent X and ended with the election of Cardinal Fabio Chigi as Alexander VII. The conclave quickly reached a deadlock, with Giulio Cesare Sacchetti receiving 33 votes throughout the conclave, but never securing enough for his own election.
Elected pope
Alexander VII
Fabio Chigi
Succeeded
Innocent X
Duration
3 months
Cardinal electors
—
locked in under conclave rules
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.