Carlo Rezzonico had reigned as Clement XIII for nearly eleven years when he died in February 1769, triggering one of the most politically charged conclaves of the eighteenth century. The Bourbon courts of France, Spain, and Naples had spent years demanding the outright suppression of the Jesuits, and the sede vacante coinage was struck while cardinals negotiated under that exact pressure. The conclave that followed lasted three months — longer than any since the sixteenth century.
The camerlengo overseeing this issue was Carlo Rezzonico the younger, nephew of the deceased pope, exercising the traditional interregnal minting authority. The conclave ultimately produced Ganganelli as Clement XIV, who suppressed the Society of Jesus four years later.
Carlo Rezzonico had reigned as Clement XIII for nearly eleven years when he died in February 1769, triggering one of the most politically charged conclaves of the eighteenth century. The Bourbon courts of France, Spain, and Naples had spent years demanding the outright suppression of the Jesuits, and the sede vacante coinage was struck while cardinals negotiated under that exact pressure. The conclave that followed lasted three months — longer than any since the sixteenth century.
The camerlengo overseeing this issue was Carlo Rezzonico the younger, nephew of the deceased pope, exercising the traditional interregnal minting authority. The conclave ultimately produced Ganganelli as Clement XIV, who suppressed the Society of Jesus four years later.