The 1241 papal election saw the election of Cardinal Goffredo da Castiglione as Pope Celestine IV. The election took place during the first of many protracted sede vacantes of the Middle Ages, and like many of them was characterized by disputes between popes and the Holy Roman Emperor. Specifically, the election took place during the war between Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and the Lombard League and deceased pontiff, Pope Gregory IX, with Italy divided between pro-Papal and pro-Imperial factions known as the Guelphs and Ghibellines.
The cardinals were divided into factions for and against Emperor Frederick II.
A fragment of the Septizodium, an ancient nymphaeum, in a 1582 engraving
Goffredo da Castiglione, elected Pope Celestine IV
Fieschi was later elected Innocent IV...
A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church.
The 1492 papal conclave was the first to be held in the Sistine Chapel, the site of all conclaves since 1878.
Since the conclave of 2005, the cardinals electors reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae for the length of the conclave.
The camerlengo proclaiming a papal death
Cardinals, bishops and priests attending the funeral of Pope John Paul II
