alternatehistory.com

At the 1513 papal conclave, Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici was elected Pope (specifically, he became Pope Leo X) on the second ballot, conducted the morning after the first one.

However... a Cardinal by the name of Jaume Serra i Cau, also known (for some reason) as Alborense, was nearly elected on the first ballot, receiving thirteen votes -- according to one version, due to chance:

Twenty-five cardinals entered the conclave. The absence of the French element left practically only two contending parties—the young and the old. The former had secretly settled on Giovanni de' Medici; the second openly supported S. Giorgio, England's candidate. The Sacred College had been assembled almost a week before the first serious scrutiny took place. Many of the cardinals, wishing to temporise and conceal their real intentions, had voted for the man they considered least likely to have any supporters. As luck would have it, thirteen prelates had selected the same outsider, with the result that they all but elected Arborense (sic), the most worthless nonentity present. This narrow shave gave the Sacred College such a shock that its members determined to come to some agreement which would put matters on a more satisfactory basis for both parties.

There were twenty-five cardinals there; had a few more cast their ballots for Alborense, he would have become Pope.

I can't find much about this man, save for him being Spanish and acting as a tutor to the son of Pope Alexander VI. If he had become Pope... what influence or effect might it have had... particularly on either the Reformation or the annulment of Henry VIII's marriage?

I leave it to you. :)
Top