not of this world

i found the following very interesting. despite its relative length, i trust you will too:

Conclaves were created for pragmatic reasons by hardheaded secular rulers in a century – the thirteenth – when Europe was dominated by the papacy. Then, the security of every throne on the continent depended on its relationship with the Roman pope. His policies, his wishes and preferences, his likes and dislikes, his vendettas and quarrels, even the interests of his family and the particular dynasties he favored – all these could unseat a king or queen, an emperor or empress, a prince or princess of the blood. Consequently, when the Chair of St. Peter fell vacant – and some interregnums lasted for years – the stability of Europe – its political institutions, its international trade, the very peace of the entire area – was threatened. To survive, the Europe of 750 years ago needed a pope. Yet in Rome at this time, following the death of Innocent III in 1216, the cardinals were so at loggerheads with each other that they could not find agreement on anything – except that they alone held the power to appoint the next pope. In this turbulent mood they met in Perugia to elect Innocent’s successor. They were still bitterly feuding when the local authorities locked the doors on their meeting place. The result was gratifying: the cardinals, frightened by this unexpected imprisonment, quickly chose Honorius III as pope. If not exactly a proper conclave, it had prepared the way.

Honorius was followed by Gregory IX in 1227. And it was he, with his ineffectual ways, his foolish alliances and his military and political posturing, who led the Church and Europe to the collision point only a formal conclave would eventually solve. Having antagonized England, Spain and France, Gregory next tangled with Frederick II, emperor of all Germany. It was a fatal mistake. Frederick’s armies steamrolled down through Italy almost to the gates of Rome. The sight of their vast encampment stretching out over the hills undoubtedly contributed to Gregory’s demise. With a strangled moan – he may have been asking for God’s forgiveness – Gregory fell to the ground and died of a massive heart attack. Perhaps his age also had something to do with his dying: Gregory was nearly one hundred years old.

His death on August 22, 1241 caused a new and increasingly squalid divisions within the College of Cardinals. They could not agree on whom to elect as the man most likely to appease the wrath of Frederick. At this time Rome was governed by one of the Orsinis, the most powerful lay family behind the papacy. Orsini recognized that his own future was at stake: if a pope was not quickly produced to open a dialogue with Frederick, Rome, like the rest of Italy, would fall under hated foreign domination. Orsini set about ending the friction among the cardinals in typical fashion. He had each one bound hand and foot and publicly flogged. Afterward, the brutalized cardinals were thrown into the Septizodium, a massive three-tiered structure which had already stood on the Appian Way for over a thousand years. Orsini ordered its door locked and the windows blocked in. Sentries were posted around the building and on its roof with orders to kill anybody attempting to enter or leave. The ten cardinals found themselves incarcerated in appalling conditions: their bedding was filthy and food barely edible; their lavatory buckets were not to be emptied until after they had produced a pontiff. When one cardinal seemed to be dying he was quickly placed by the others in a crude coffin and its lid was lowered. Inside, the suffocating cardinal could hear the changing of the mass for the already dead. The roof sentries, forbidden to leave their posts, used the gutters as latrines. Whenever the violent Roman summer thunderstorms struck, the roof drains became clogged with the sentries’ refuse: the overspill of excrement and urine poured down on the hapless cardinals. Nevertheless they needed over two months to agree that a Milanese cardinal – he looked not unlike Paul – should be their new pope. He took the name Celestine IV, but died two weeks later without having been consecrated. Frederick finally stepped in. He demanded a replacement pope – fast. The cardinals hesitated. Once more Frederick set about convincing them: he began systematically to destroy their personal property, a military juggernaut which moved from one estate to another. The cardinals eventually saw the wisdom of meeting again to produce a pope. Frederick’s sword, serving as conclave key, created Innocent IV.

excerpt from Pontiff