Papal Conclave of 1623: Election of Urban VIII
- When
- 1623
- Where
- Vatican City
- Episodes
- 3
Following the death of Pope Gregory XV, the 1623 conclave elected Cardinal Maffeo Barberini as Pope Urban VIII. This was the first election under Gregory XV's 1621 reforms, concluding on 6 August 1623 after fifty-four cardinals deliberated.
Episodes
- Conclave Opening
The conclave opened on 19 July 1623 following Gregory XV's death, with fifty-four cardinals participating under new reforms.
- Election of Barberini
Cardinal Barberini was elected on 6 August 1623 after Borghese supported him, taking the name Urban VIII.
- Coronation Postponement
Urban VIII's coronation was delayed until 29 September 1623 because he was ill at the time of his election.
Background and detail
Conclave Context. The 1623 conclave was convened after the death of Pope Gregory XV. It marked the first papal election to follow the reforms issued in Gregory XV's 1621 bull Aeterni Patris Filius, which aimed to streamline the conclave process.
Election Process. Fifty-four cardinals participated in the conclave from 19 July to 6 August 1623. After candidates from major factions were rejected, Cardinal Borghese supported Maffeo Barberini, who had previously served as papal nuncio to France and was created a cardinal under Paul V.
Outcome and Coronation. Barberini was elected on 6 August 1623 and took the name Urban VIII. His coronation was postponed until 29 September 1623 due to illness. His papacy later covered twenty-one years of the Thirty Years' War.
People involved
- Maffeo Barberini · Elected Pope Urban VIII
- Pope Gregory XV · Predecessor whose death convened the conclave
- Cardinal Borghese · Key supporter of Barberini's election
Sources
- 1623 conclave Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-19
- Pope Urban VIII Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-03
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.