# 1198 papal election

The 1198 papal election (held 8 January) was convoked after the death of Pope Celestine III; it ended with the election of Cardinal Lotario dei Conti di Segni, who took the name Innocent III. In this election for the first time the new pope was elected per scrutinium.

## Death of Celestine III

Pope Celestine III had been elected to the papacy in 1191 at the age of 85. In spite of his very advanced age, his pontificate lasted almost seven years.
A little before Christmas 1197, the 91-year-old Pope began to feel ill, and summoned all the cardinals to a meeting in his presence, announcing that they should discuss the matter of electing his successor. He stated that he was willing to abdicate the papacy on condition that his close collaborator, Cardinal Giovanni di San Paolo, would be elected the new pope. Cardinal Giovanni, the cardinal-priest of S. Prisca, had been conducting all of the pope's business for him, except the consecration of bishops. The cardinals unanimously rejected the pope's suggestion, saying that they would not elect him with that condition, and that it was unheard of for a pope to depose himself. In fact, Cardinal Octavianus, the Bishop of Ostia, was working to become pope, as were Cardinal Petrus of Porto, Cardinal Giordano of S. Pudenziana, and Cardinal Graziano of Ss. Cosma e Damiano.
Two weeks later, on 8 January 1198, Celestine III died, and on the same day the cardinals started proceedings for the election of his successor.

## List of participants

At the death of Celestine III there were 29 cardinals in the Sacred College. However, no more than 21 were present at Rome:
| Elector | Cardinalatial title | Elevated | Elevator | Notes |
| Ottaviano di Paoli | Bishop of Ostia e Velletri | 18 December 1182 | Lucius III | He consecrated the new pope to the priesthood and episcopate |
| Pietro Gallocia | Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina | 1188 | Clement III | |
| Soffredo | Priest of S. Prassede | 18 December 1182 | Lucius III | |
| Pietro Diani | Priest of S. Cecilia | 16 March 1185 | Lucius III | |
| Giordano di Ceccano, O.Cist. | Priest of S. Pudenziana | 12 March 1188 | Clement III | |
| Giovanni da Viterbo | Priest of S. Clemente and bishop of Viterbo e Toscanella | May 1189 | Clement III | |
| Guido Papareschi | Priest of S. Maria in Trastevere | 22 September 1190 | Clement III | |
| Giovanni di Salerno, O.S.B.Cas. | Priest of S. Stefano in Monte Celio | 22 September 1190 | Clement III | Elected Pope but declined |
| Cinzio Cenci | Priest of S. Lorenzo in Lucina | 22 September 1190 | Clement III | |
| Ugo Bobone | Priest of SS. Silvestro e Martino | 22 September 1190 | Clement III | Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica |
| Giovanni di San Paolo | Priest of S. Prisca | 20 February 1193 | Celestine III | Celestine III tried to designate him as his successor |
| Graziano da Pisa | Deacon of SS. Cosma e Damiano | 4 March 1178 | Alexander III | Protodeacon; he crowned the new pope |
| Gerardo Allucingoli | Deacon of S. Adriano | 18 December 1182 | Lucius III | Cardinal-nephew |
| Gregorio de San Apostolo | Deacon of S. Maria in Portico | 12 March 1188 | Clement III | |
| Gregorio Crescenzi | Deacon of S. Maria in Aquiro | 12 March 1188 | Clement III | |
| Gregorio Carelli | Deacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro | 22 September 1190 | Clement III | |
| Lotario dei Conti di Segni | Deacon of SS. Sergio e Bacco | 22 September 1190 | Clement III | Cardinal-nephew; elected Pope Innocent III |
| Gregorio Boboni | Deacon of S. Angelo in Pescheria | 22 September 1190 | Clement III | |
| Niccolò Scolari | Deacon of S. Maria in Cosmedin | 22 September 1190 | Clement III | Cardinal-nephew |
| Bobo | Deacon of S. Teodoro | 20 February 1193 | Celestine III | Cardinal-nephew |
| Cencio | Deacon of S. Lucia in Silice and Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church | 20 February 1193 | Celestine III | Acting papal chancellor; future Pope Honorius III (1216–1227); possibly of Savelli family |
Four electors were created by Celestine III, five by Lucius III, one by Alexander III and the remaining thirteen by Clement III.

## Absentees

At least eight cardinals were absent:
| Elector | Cardinalatial title | Elevated | Elevator | Notes |
| Konrad von Wittelsbach | Bishop of Sabina and Archbishop of Mainz | 18 December 1165 | Alexander III | prior episcoporum; papal legate in the Holy Land; external cardinal |
| Guillaume aux Blanches Mains | Priest of S. Sabina and Archbishop of Reims | March 1179 | Alexander III | Protopriest; Minister of State of the Kingdom of France; external cardinal |
| Ruggiero di San Severino | Priest of S. Eusebio and Archbishop of Benevento | Circa 1178–1180 | Alexander III | External cardinal |
| Pandolfo da Lucca | Priest of SS. XII Apostoli | 18 December 1182 | Lucius III | Papal legate in Tuscany |
| Adelardo Cattaneo | S.R.E. cardinalis and bishop of Verona | 16 March 1185 | Lucius III | Resigned the titular church of S. Marcello after the election to the see of Verona in 1188; external cardinal |
| Bernardo, C.R.S.F. | Priest of S. Pietro in Vincoli | 12 March 1188 | Clement III | Papal legate in Tuscany and Lombardy |
| Roffredo dell'Isola, O.S.B.Cas. | Priest of SS. Marcellino e Pietro | 1188 | Clement III | Abbot of Montecassino; ; external cardinal |
| Peter of Capua | Deacon of S. Maria in Via Lata | 20 February 1193 | Celestine III | He was legate in Bohemia and Poland in 1197. At the death of Celestine III he had already finished this mission but was unable to reach Rome before the election |

## Election of Pope Innocent III

On the same day that Celestine III died, some of the cardinals assembled at the Sapta Solis monasterii Cliviscauri, which is taken by scholars to be the Septizodium, or possibly in the nearby church of Santa Lucia in Septisolio. Others accompanied the body of the dead pope to its funeral in the Lateran Basilica. Following the return of the cardinals from the funeral, they assembled in voluntary enclosure, as reported by pope Innocent himself on a letter on January 9. This may have been done to guarantee safety and freedom in the election, given the presence and influence of the Germans in Italy.
Now for the first time (secundum morem), the electors voted by scrutiny (per scrutinium). Some cardinals were elected scrutineers; they counted the votes, recorded the result and announced it to the rest of the Sacred College. In the first scrutiny Cardinal Giovanni di Salerno received the greatest number of votes (ten), but declared that he would not accept the election to the pontificate. Ottaviano di Paoli also received three votes, but declared his own preference for Lotario. In the second scrutiny the cardinals united their votes in favor of 37-year-old Cardinal Lotario dei Conti di Segni, deacon of SS. Sergio e Bacco, who was the youngest of all the cardinals. He accepted his election and took the name Innocent III. The name was possibly chosen for him by cardinal Graziano da Pisa, as a means to supplant the memory of Antipope Innocent III.
On 22 February 1198 the new pope was ordained to the priesthood and consecrated to the episcopate by Cardinal Ottaviano di Paoli, bishop of Ostia e Velletri, and solemnly crowned by Cardinal Graziano da Pisa of SS. Cosma e Damiano, the protodeacon.