Historedia
Episode 2 of 3

Conclave of 1878

When
18-20 February 1878
Where
Sistine Chapel
Part of
Death of Pius IX and election of Leo XIII

The conclave assembled in the Sistine Chapel on 18 February 1878 and elected Pecci on the third ballot.

The conclave was held from 18 to 20 February 1878. Fewer political influences affected the vote due to European crises. Cardinals expected Pecci's papacy to be brief due to his age and health. Pecci was the camerlengo and archbishop-bishop of Perugia.

Sources

  1. 1878 conclave Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-19
  2. Pope Leo XIII Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-04

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.