1903 Conclave
elected Pius X31 July – 4 August 1903 · The long nineteenth century · Sistine Chapel, Apostolic Palace, Kingdom of Italy
A conclave was held from 31 July to 4 August 1903 to elect a new pope to succeed Leo XIII, who had died on 20 July. Of the 64 members of the College of Cardinals, all but two attended.
Elected pope
Pius X
Giuseppe Sarto
Succeeded
Leo XIII
Duration
5 days
7 ballots
Cardinal electors
62
locked in under conclave rules
Key officials
| Dean | Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano |
| Camerlengo | Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano |
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.