A papal conclave was held from 31 August to 3 September 1914 which elected Giacomo della Chiesa to succeed Pius X, who died on August 20, as pope. Della Chiesa, hitherto the archbishop of Bologna, took the name Benedict XV.

Désiré Félicien François Joseph Mercier was a Belgian cardinal of the Catholic Church and a noted scholar. A Thomist scholar, he had several of his works translated into other European languages. He was known for his book, Les origines de la psychologie contemporaine (1897). His scholarship gained him recognition from the Pope and he was appointed as Archbishop of Mechelen (Malines), serving from 1906 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1907.