All Vatican elections

1721 Conclave

elected Innocent XIII

31 March – 8 May 1721 · The early modern conclaves · Apostolic Palace, Papal States

The College of Cardinals was divided into four factions, two political and two curial. The Imperial faction, the strongest faction in the Sacred College, was headed by Imperial minister Althan; its strength was estimated between twenty and twenty five votes.

Elected pope

Innocent XIII

Michelangelo dei Conti

Succeeded

Duration

39 days

75 ballots

Cardinal electors

locked in under conclave rules

Key officials

DeanSebastiano Tanara
CamerlengoAnnibale Albani

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.