Interesting facts about the Conclave you didn’t know

Nowadays, what happens during the Conclave stays secret. In the past, chroniclers wrote about every single detail of each election.
Thanks to them, we know many interesting facts about the Conclave: even the strangest episodes ever, something we could never imagine on our own!

When Cardinals were walled up alive

The historical event which gave name to the Conclave dates back to 1268: 19 Cardinals met in Viterbo to elect the new Pope.
To avoid any political pressure, Cardinals shut themselves in the Papal Palace. Several months later, with all the citizens waiting, still no Pope. To speed things up, they locked all the doors, built a wall around the Palace and took the roof off, forcing the Cardinals to come to a quick solution.
Cardinals announced their decision in 1271, after 33 months from the beginning of the election. The longest Conclave ever in history!

The strange election of Pope Celestine V

In 1292, Cardinals couldn’t come to a decision because torn between two noble families: Orsini and Colonna.
After two years, Cardinal Gaetani received a prediction from an hermit, Pietro da Morrone: “Beware! Terrible things will happens to the Church if you don’t choose quickly!”.
Scared, all they decided to elect him, who humbly accepted and chose the name Celestine V. Unfortunately, he knew nothing about politics, he didn’t speak Latin and he gave all his belongings to the needy.
That man was a big mistake, Cardinals had solve this problem once and for all: it was Cardinal Gaetani himself who tormented him while sleeping, whispering “Celestine, give up your role”.

Outlaws and blackmailing

It happened often that outsiders tried to condition the election of the Pope.
Just like in 1590, when dozens of outlaws tried to invade the city of Rome. A clever set-up organized by Spaniards, who payed those bandits to terrorize the Cardinals.
In fact, Spaniards immediately offered help and protection, giving them money and food during the Conclave. In return, they got exactly what they wanted: a Pope they could get advantage of.

An infestation of bees

Among the most interesting facts about the Conclave there is also the bizarre infestation of 1623. Suddenly, while voting, a bee swarm invaded the room heading to the room of Cardinal Barberini. A strange coincidence, considering that on his coat of arms there are three bees!
According to the witnesses, all the insects took the shape of the Papal tiara: definitely a divine message to the Cardinals.
Two days later, Cardinal Barberini was elected Pope with the name Urban VIII, one of the most important ever in the history of Rome. 

The Polish conspiracy

Historians talked a lot about the Conclave of 1903, because of the Polish conspiracy.
While everyone expected the election of Cardinal Rampolla, Cardinal Puzyna, on behalf of the Austrian Emperor Francis Joseph I imposed the veto. In fact, Rampolla’s sympathies for France represented a serious political problem for the Emperor.
Even though all the Cardinals refused the veto, they preferred to change their votes and elected Giuseppe Sarto (Pope Pius X).
That was also the last time someone imposed the veto.

Nowadays, the Conclave is still a very important event known for its rules, traditions and secrecy.