Papal conclave of May 5 to May 7, 1342 – the papal conclave

Papal conclave

A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...

 convened after the death of Pope Benedict XII

Pope Benedict XII

Pope Benedict XII , born Jacques Fournier, the third of the Avignon Popes, was Pope from 1334 to 1342.-Early life:...

, it elected Cardinal

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

 Pierre Roger, who under the name of Clement VI became the fourth Pope of the period of Avignon Papacy

Avignon Papacy

The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven Popes resided in Avignon, in modern-day France. This arose from the conflict between the Papacy and the French crown....

.

Cardinal electors

Pope Benedict XII

Pope Benedict XII

Pope Benedict XII , born Jacques Fournier, the third of the Avignon Popes, was Pope from 1334 to 1342.-Early life:...

 died at Avignon

Avignon

Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...

 on April 25, 1342. At the time of his death, there were nineteen Cardinals in the Sacred College, of whom seventeen participated in the subsequent conclave:

Elector	Cardinalatial Title	Elevated	Elevator	Notes
Pierre Desprès Pierre Desprès Pierre Desprès was a French Cardinal during the period of Avignon Papacy. He was son of Raymond II Desprès, seigneur of Montpezat....	Bishop of Palestrina	December 20, 1320	John XXII	Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals; Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church
Bertrand du Pouget Bertrand du Pouget Bertrand du Pouget was a French papal diplomat and Cardinal.He may have been a nephew of Pope John XXII. As cardinal he was closely involved in dealing with the practical consequences of the migration of the papacy to Avignon, and also in striving to uphold papal prestige in Italy, for example by...	Bishop of Ostia e Velletri	December 17, 1316	John XXII (Cardinal-nephew Cardinal-nephew A cardinal-nephew is a cardinal elevated by a Pope who is that cardinal's uncle, or, more generally, his relative. The practice of creating cardinal-nephews originated in the Middle Ages, and reached its apex during the 16th and 17th centuries. The word nepotism originally referred specifically to... )
Jean-Raymond de Comminges	Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina	December 18, 1327	John XXII
Annibaldo di Ceccano	Bishop of Frascati	December 18, 1327	John XXII
Pedro Gómez de Barroso	Bishop of Sabina	December 18, 1327	John XXII
Imbert Dupuis	Priest of SS. XII Apostoli	December 18, 1327	John XXII (Cardinal-nephew Cardinal-nephew A cardinal-nephew is a cardinal elevated by a Pope who is that cardinal's uncle, or, more generally, his relative. The practice of creating cardinal-nephews originated in the Middle Ages, and reached its apex during the 16th and 17th centuries. The word nepotism originally referred specifically to... )	Protopriest Protopriest Protopriest — in the College of Cardinals, is the first Cardinal-Priest in the order of precedence. This title is always attached to the most senior Cardinal Priest according to date of his creation. From the 17th century until the end of 19th century Protopriest usually opted for the titulus San...  and Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals The Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals was the treasurer of that body.He administered all property, fees, funds and revenue belonging to the College of Cardinals, celebrated the requiem Mass for a deceased cardinal and was charged with the registry of the Acta Consistoralia.It is...
Hélie de Talleyrand-Périgord Hélie de Talleyrand-Périgord Hélie de Talleyrand-Périgord was a French Cardinal, from an aristocratic family in Périgord, south-west France. He was born at Périgueux, son of Elias VII, Count of Périgord....	Priest of S. Pietro in Vincoli	May 25, 1331	John XXII	Cardinal-protector of the Order of Franciscans
Pierre Bertrand Pierre Bertrand (cardinal) Pierre Bertrand was a French Cardinal, theologian, and canonist....	Priest of S. Clemente	December 20, 1331	John XXII
Gozzio Battaglia	Priest of S. Prisca	December 18, 1338	Benedict XII
Bertrand de Déaulx	Priest of S. Marco	December 18, 1338	Benedict XII
Pierre Roger Pope Clement VI Pope Clement VI , bornPierre Roger, the fourth of the Avignon Popes, was pope from May 1342 until his death in December of 1352... , O.S.B.	Priest of SS. Nereo ed Achilleo	December 18, 1338	Benedict XII	Elected Pope Clement VI Pope Clement VI Pope Clement VI , bornPierre Roger, the fourth of the Avignon Popes, was pope from May 1342 until his death in December of 1352...
Guillaume Court Guillaume Court Guillaume Court was a French Cistercian theologian and Cardinal.He was briefly bishop of Nîmes, and then bishop of Albi, in 1337, but only for a year, as Pope Benedict XII shortly elevated him to the cardinalate... , O.Cist.	Priest of SS. IV Coronati	December 18, 1338	Benedict XII (Cardinal-nephew Cardinal-nephew A cardinal-nephew is a cardinal elevated by a Pope who is that cardinal's uncle, or, more generally, his relative. The practice of creating cardinal-nephews originated in the Middle Ages, and reached its apex during the 16th and 17th centuries. The word nepotism originally referred specifically to... )
Bernard d’Albi	Priest of S. Ciriaco alle Terme	December 18, 1338	Benedict XII
Guillaume d'Aure, O.S.B.	Priest of S. Stefano al Monte Celio	January 1339	Benedict XII
Raymond Guillaume des Farges	Deacon of S. Maria Nuova	1310, December 19	Clement V (Cardinal-nephew Cardinal-nephew A cardinal-nephew is a cardinal elevated by a Pope who is that cardinal's uncle, or, more generally, his relative. The practice of creating cardinal-nephews originated in the Middle Ages, and reached its apex during the 16th and 17th centuries. The word nepotism originally referred specifically to... )	Protodeacon Protodeacon Protodeacon derives from the Greek proto- meaning 'first' and diakonos, which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "servant", "waiting-man," "minister" or "messenger." The word in English may refer to various clergymen, depending upon the usage of the particular church in question.-Eastern...  of the Sacred College Cardinals
Gaillard de la Mothe	Deacon of S. Lucia in Silice	December 17, 1316	John XXII
Giovanni Colonna	Deacon of S. Angelo in Pescheria	December 18, 1327	John XXII

Ten electors were creatures of John XXII, six of Benedict XII and one of Clement V. Thirteen of them were French, three Italians and one Spaniard.

The post of the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church was occupied at that time by Gasbert de Valle, archbishop of Narbonne (not a Cardinal) and nephew of Pope John XXII.

Absentee cardinals

Two French Cardinals, both elevated by John XXII, did not participate in this conclave:

Elector	Cardinalatial Title	Elevated	Elevator	Notes
Gauscelin de Jean Gauscelin de Jean Gauscelin de Jean was a French cardinal.He was born at Cahors in the family related to the family of Pope John XXII. From 1312 he was archdeacon of Paris...	Bishop of Albano	December 17, 1316	John XXII (Cardinal-nephew Cardinal-nephew A cardinal-nephew is a cardinal elevated by a Pope who is that cardinal's uncle, or, more generally, his relative. The practice of creating cardinal-nephews originated in the Middle Ages, and reached its apex during the 16th and 17th centuries. The word nepotism originally referred specifically to... )	Grand penitentiary
Bertrand de Montfavez	Deacon of S. Maria in Aquiro	December 17, 1316	John XXII	Archpriest of the patriarchal Lateran Basilica

The election of Pope Clement VI

The conclave started on May 5 and lasted only two days. On May 7 Cardinal Pierre Roger, former Chancellor of the Kingdom of France, was unanimously elected Pope, "by divine inspiration alone", as reported shortly thereafter Cardinals des Farges and Ceccano. Elect took the name of Clement VI. On May 19 new Pope was crowned

Papal Coronation

A papal coronation was the ceremony of the placing of the Papal Tiara on a newly elected pope. The first recorded papal coronation was that of Pope Celestine II in 1143. Soon after his coronation in 1963, Pope Paul VI abandoned the practice of wearing the tiara. His successors have chosen not to...

 in the church of the Dominicans in Avignon by Raymond Guillaume des Farges, protodeacon

Protodeacon

Protodeacon derives from the Greek proto- meaning 'first' and diakonos, which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "servant", "waiting-man," "minister" or "messenger." The word in English may refer to various clergymen, depending upon the usage of the particular church in question.-Eastern...

 of S. Maria Nuova..

Shortly after the death of Benedict XII king Philip VI of France

Philip VI of France

Philip VI , known as the Fortunate and of Valois, was the King of France from 1328 to his death. He was also Count of Anjou, Maine, and Valois from 1325 to 1328...

 sent to Avignon his eldest son

John II of France

John II , called John the Good , was the King of France from 1350 until his death. He was the second sovereign of the House of Valois and is perhaps best remembered as the king who was vanquished at the Battle of Poitiers and taken as a captive to England.The son of Philip VI and Joan the Lame,...

with the task to support the candidature of Cardinal Roger, but when he arrived, the election had been already accomplished with the result expected by the king.

Sources

• List of participants of the conclave of 1342 by Salvador Miranda
• G. Mollat The Popes at Avignon 1305-1378, London 1963 Wrigley, J.E. 1982. "The Conclave and the Electors of 1342". Archivum Historiae Pontificiae Roma, 20: 51-81.