2005 Conclave
elected Benedict XVI18–19 April 2005 · The modern conclaves · Sistine Chapel, Apostolic Palace, Vatican City
A conclave was held on 18 and 19 April 2005 to elect a new pope to succeed John Paul II, who had died on 2 April 2005. Of the 117 eligible cardinal electors, all but two attended.
Elected pope
Benedict XVI
Joseph Ratzinger
Succeeded
John Paul II
Duration
2 days
4 ballots
Cardinal electors
115
locked in under conclave rules
Key officials
| Dean | Joseph Ratzinger |
| Camerlengo | Eduardo Martínez Somalo |
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.