The papal conclave from April 4-8, 1455 elected Alfons Borja Pope Callixtus III

Pope Callixtus III

Pope Callixtus III , né Alfons de Borja, was Pope from April 8, 1455 to his death in 1458.-Biography:...

 following the death of Pope Nicholas V

Pope Nicholas V

Pope Nicholas V , born Tommaso Parentucelli, was Pope from March 6, 1447 to his death in 1455.-Biography:He was born at Sarzana, Liguria, where his father was a physician...

. The conclave was the first in the Apostolic Palace

Apostolic Palace

The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, which is located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Sacred Palace, the Papal Palace and the Palace of the Vatican...

, the site of all but five papal conclave thereafter. The conclave was also the first to feature accessus

Accessus

Accessus is a term applied to the voting in conclave for the election of a pope, by which a cardinal changes his vote and accedes to some other candidate. Accessus voting was first used in the papal conclave, 1455...

 voting (votes cast in accessit), derived from a practice of the Roman Senate

Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...

, where a cardinal could change their vote after an unsuccessful scrutiny to any cardinal already receiving votes.

The early defeat of Greek Cardinal Basilios Bessarion—a potential compromise candidate between the Colonna and Orsini factions—is a notable display of the lingering antipathy towards certain characteristics of the Eastern church, such as bearded priests, centuries after the East-West Schism

East-West Schism

The East–West Schism of 1054, sometimes known as the Great Schism, formally divided the State church of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, respectively...

. Although Western canon law

Canon law

Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...

 had prohibited beards for priests since at least the eleventh century, the issue would continue to be debated well into the sixteenth century.

The election

The two main factions of the cardinals were divided between the followers of Prospero Colonna and Latino Orsini; among the papabile

Papabile

Papabile is an unofficial Italian term first coined by Vaticanologists and now used internationally in many languages to describe a cardinal of whom it is thought likely or possible that he will be elected pope. A literal English translation would be "popeable" or "one who might become pope".In...

were Barbo, Trevisan, Capranica, Orsini, and Bessarion. Capranica received a plurality on the first three scrutinies, with the other votes scattered; Orsini and the French cardinals rallied against Capranica because he was close to Colonna.

On April 6, Easter Sunday, the factions began to consider neutral candidates. In this capacity, Basilios Bessarion (noted for defecting from the Eastern Church following the East–West Schism

East–West Schism

The East–West Schism of 1054, sometimes known as the Great Schism, formally divided the State church of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, respectively...

) was able to receive eight votes, before his candidacy was scuttled following a speech by Alain de Coëtivy—recorded by eyewitnesses—which emphasized Bessarion's former membership in the Eastern Orthodox Church and his retention of Greek mannerisms, such as a full beard. The French cardinal is reported to have remarked:
Bessarion made no attempt to defend himself, claiming he was not interested in being elected; his reputations for reform and austerity also would have been unpopular with many of the Renaissance cardinals. Nevertheless, the renowned humanist scholar remained a strong candidate in the following 1464 conclave as well.

It is known that the early scrutinies the following Monday were disorganized; for example, non-cardinal Antonio de Montefalcone received at least one vote. de Coëtivy and Trevisan pushed for Borja's election, gaining momentum until Borja prevailed the following Tuesday. The core of the requisite two-thirds majority was likely composed of the French, Spanish, and Venetian cardinals: Trevisan, de Coëtivy, Barbo, Orsini, d'Estaing, de Carvajal, de La Cerda, Rolin, and Torquemada; the vote of Isidore or Calandrini, or both, likely was also required as Borja very likely did not vote for himself; Borja almost certainly did not receive the votes of Colonna, Capranica, or Bessarion.

Cardinal electors

Elector	Nationality	Order	Title	Elevated	Elevator	Notes
Giorgio Fieschi Giorgio Fieschi Giorgio Fieschi was an Italian cardinal, of the counts of Lavagna.He was elected bishop of Mariana, in Corsica, on May 27, 1433...	Ligurian	Cardinal-bishop	Bishop of Palestrina	18 December 1439	Eugenius IV	Dean of the College of Cardinals Dean of the College of Cardinals The Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals is the president of the College of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, and as such always holds the rank of Cardinal Bishop. The Dean is not necessarily the longest-serving member of the whole College... ; bishop of Albenga
Isidore of Kiev Isidore of Kiev Isidore of Kiev, also known as Isidore of Thessalonica was a Greek Metropolitan of Kiev, cardinal, humanist, and theologian. He was one of the chief Eastern defenders of reunion at the time of the Council of Florence.-Early life:...	Greek	Cardinal-bishop	Bishop of Sabina	18 December 1439	Eugenius IV	Archbishop of Ruthenia
Basilios Bessarion	Greek	Cardinal-bishop	Bishop of Frascati	18 December 1439	Eugenius IV	Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is the title possessed by the Latin Rite Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem. The Archdiocese of Jerusalem has jurisdiction for all Latin Rite Catholics in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Cyprus... ; administrator of Mazara del Vallo Mazara del Vallo Mazara del Vallo is a town and comune in southwestern Sicily, Italy, which lies mainly on the left bank at the mouth of the Mazaro river, administratively part of the province of Trapani.... ; legate in Bologna
Alfons de Borja Pope Callixtus III Pope Callixtus III , né Alfons de Borja, was Pope from April 8, 1455 to his death in 1458.-Biography:...	Catalan	Cardinal-priest	Title of Ss. IV Coronati, bishop of Valencia	2 May 1444	Eugenius IV	Elected Pope Callixtus III
Juan de Torquemada Juan de Torquemada (Cardinal) Juan de Torquemada , or rather Johannes de Turrecremata, Spanish ecclesiastic, was born at Valladolid, and was educated in that city.... , O.P.	Spanish	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Maria in Trastevere	18 December 1439	Eugenius IV
Ludovico Trevisan	Venetian	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Lorenzo in Damaso, patriarch of Aquileia	1 July 1440	Eugenius IV	Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church
Pietro Barbo Pope Paul II Pope Paul II , born Pietro Barbo, was pope from 1464 until his death in 1471.- Early life :He was born in Venice, and was a nephew of Pope Eugene IV , through his mother. His adoption of the spiritual career, after having been trained as a merchant, was prompted by his uncle's election as pope...	Venetian	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Marco	1 July 1440	Eugenius IV	Future Pope Paul II; 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... ;bishop of Vicenza; archpriest of the Vatican Basilica
Juan Carvajal Juan Carvajal Juan Carvajal was a Spanish Cardinal.-Life and work:Making much progress in canon law and civil law, by 1440 he had attained distinction at Rome as auditor of the Rota and governor of the City...	Spanish	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Angelo in Pescheria, bishop of Plasencia	16 December 1446	Eugenius IV
Antoni Cerdà i Lloscos, O.SS.T.	Catalan	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Crisogono, bishop of Lérida	16 February 1448	Nicholas V
Latino Orsini Latino Orsini Latino Orsini was an Italian Cardinal.He was of Roman branch of the Orsini family and the owner of rich possessions, He entered the ranks of the Roman clergy as a youth, became subdeacon, and as early as 10 March 1438, was raised to the Episcopal See of Conza in Southern Italy...	Roman	Cardinal-priest	Title of Ss. Giovanni e Paolo	20 December 1448	Nicholas V	Administrator of the see of Bari
Alain de Coëtivy Alain de Coëtivy Alain de Coëtivy was a French prelate from a Breton noble family. He was bishop of Avignon, Uzès, Nîmes and of Dol, titular cardinal of Santa Prassede, then cardinal-bishop of Palestrina and cardinal-bishop of Sabina....	French	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Prassede, bishop of Avignon	20 December 1448	Nicholas V	Administrator of the see of Nimes
Filippo Calandrini Filippo Calandrini Filippo Calandrini was a half-brother of Pope Nicholas V, who named him bishop of Bologna in 1447 and Cardinal Priest in 1448. Grand penitentiary from 1459. He was also bishop of Albano and bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina . He died at Bagnoreggio, at the age of 73.-External links:*...	Ligurian	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Susanna, bishop of Bologna	20 December 1448	Nicholas 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... ; 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...
Guillaume d'Estaing, O.S.B.	French	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Sabina	19 December 1449	Nicholas V	Bishop of Fréjus
Domenico Capranica Domenico Capranica Domenico Capranica was an Italian theologian, canonist, statesman, and Cardinal.He was born in Capranica Prenestina. After studies in canon and civil law at Padua and Bologna, under teachers probably including Giuliano Cesarini, he received the title of Doctor of Both Laws at the age of twenty-one...	Capranica Prenestina Capranica Prenestina Capranica Prenestina is a comune in the Province of Rome in the Italian region Latium, located about 40 km east of Rome.It is located in the Monti Prenestini area.-External links:*...	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Croce in Gerusalemme, administrator of Fermo	23 July 1423 (in pectore, admitted into Sacred College on 30 April 1434)	Martin V (confirmed by Eugenius IV)	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... ; archpriest of the Lateran Basilica; grand penitentiary
Prospero Colonna Prospero Colonna (cardinal) Prospero Colonna was a cardinal-nephew of Pope Martin V , whose election ended the Western Schism. Colonna was excommunicated for a period due to his rebellion against Martin V's successor, Pope Eugene IV, becoming one of the few excommunicated cardinals...	Roman	Cardinal-deacon	Deacon of S. Giorgio in Velabro	24 May 1426	Martin V	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...

Absentee cardinals

Elector	Nationality	Order	Title	Elevated	Elevator	Notes
Peter of Foix Peter of Foix Pierre de Foix was a French cardinal, created in 1409.He was a papal legate in Avignon and Archbishop of Arles from 1450 to 1463.He founded both the University of Avignon, and the Collège de Foix in Toulouse.... , O.F.M.	French	Cardinal-bishop	Bishop of Albano	September 1414	Antipope John XXIII	Legate in 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... ; administratort of the sees of Arles and Dax
Guillaume d'Estouteville, O.S.B.Clun.	French	Cardinal-bishop	Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina, archbishop of Rouen	18 December 1439	Eugenius IV	Papal legate in France; archpriest of the Liberian Basilica; administrator of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne
Peter von Schaumberg	Germany	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Vitale, bishop of Augsburg	18 December 1439	Eugenius IV
Dénes Szécsi	Hungarian	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Ciriaco, archbishop of Esztergom	18 December 1439	Chancellor of the Kingdom of Hungary
Jean Rolin Jean Rolin Jean Philippe Rolin is a French writer and journalist. He received the Albert Londres Prize for journalism in 1988, and his novel L'organisation received the Medicis award in 1996....	French	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Stefano al Monte Celio, bishop of Autun	20 December 1448	Nicholas V
Nicholas of Kues	German	Cardinal-priest	Title of S. Pietro in Vincoli	20 December 1448	Nicholas V	Bishop of Brixen