how long pope francis conclave

The conclave that elected Pope Francis in 2013 was very short by historical standards: it lasted about 24–27 hours in total, spread over two calendar days , and required five ballots before he reached the necessary two‑thirds majority.

Quick timeline for Pope Francis’ conclave (2013)

• The cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel and began voting on 12 March 2013.

• They held one ballot that first afternoon, which did not produce a pope (black smoke).

• On 13 March 2013 , they held up to four more ballots; Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis) was elected in the fifth ballot that afternoon.

• From the opening of the conclave to the white smoke and announcement on the balcony, the whole process was just under 27 hours.

Context: how that compares

• Recent papal conclaves usually last 1–3 days ; for example, the election of Benedict XVI in 2005 also took two days.

• Historically, some medieval conclaves stretched for weeks or even years , but for roughly the last two centuries most have finished within three to five days.

So, if you’re specifically wondering “how long did Pope Francis’ conclave last?”, the practical answer is: around a day and a bit, over two days of voting, with five ballots total.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.