13 July 2014

Cardinal that has voted in the most Conclaves?

Someone asked a good question: which cardinal has voted in the most conclaves?

Based on conclaves from 1400 to last year, Girolamo Cardinal Simoncelli is the winner - having voted in 10 different conclaves. He was born in 1522, elevated to Cardinal in 1553, and died in 1605.

It should be noted that the 16th century saw 17 conclaves (vs 8 in the 20th century). All of the top 10 are from that era.

If I limit it to more modern times (1900 to today), there are three cardinals that have voted in 4 conclaves each: Paul-Émile Cardinal Léger (1904-1991), Giuseppe Cardinal Siri (1906-1989), and Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski (1901-1981).

By strange coincidence, all three were created cardinals in the consistory on 12 January 1953 by Pope Pius XII, which was also his last.

If we include the 19th century, two more are added to the list with 4 each: Carlo Cardinal Oppizzoni (1769-1855) and Tommaso Cardinal Riario Sforza (1782-1857).

The 18th century sees the first two cardinals with more than 4: Alessandro Cardinal Albani (1692-1779) and Pietro Cardinal Ottoboni (1667-1740), both with 6 each. I should note that Cardinal Ottoboni's first conclave was in 1691.