Editing Pope Pius VIII (section)

=== Election ===
{{main|1829 papal conclave}}
[[File:Pope Pius VIII.jpg|thumb|259x259px|Illustration of Pope Pius VIII]]
After the death of Pope Leo XII in 1829, Castiglioni, who had all the qualities and skills required to be pope, was again considered to be a major candidate, though was questioned due to his frail health and age. Despite these concerns, he was elected as pope in the papal conclave of 1829. Given that both Popes Pius VII and Leo XII had referred to him as Pius VIII, it seemed only suitable that it was the pontifical name that he chose. He was [[Papal coronation|crowned]] on 5 April 1829 by Cardinal [[Giuseppe Albani]].<ref name="CASTIGLIONI, Francesco Saverio (1761–1830)" />

Throughout the conclave, Cardinal Albani settled on proposing Castiglioni as a candidate for the papacy on the basis that his infirmities and age would see a short papacy in which he could persuade the ailing pontiff to hand over aspects of governance to himself. This was on the basis that Albani did not desire to be pope, but rather to be appointed as [[Cardinal Secretary of State]] in which he would hold power in terms of ecclesial governance. Albani approached Castiglioni with his offer, drawing up an agreement which Castiglioni signed without demur. With Castiglioni elected, Albani ended up being appointed to his desired posting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pickle-publishing.com/papers/triple-crown-pius-viii.htm|title=Pope Pius VIII: Proceedings of the Conclave that led to his election|publisher=Pickle Publishing|date=2005|author=|accessdate=20 February 2022}}</ref>

When the conclave opened, the French cardinals were told that the French court would support seven cardinals for the papacy, which included Castiglioni. King [[Charles X of France|Charles X]] had a very positive opinion of Castiglioni, and favored either Castiglioni, [[Placido Zurla]], [[Emmanuele de Gregorio]], or Cesare Brancadoro to become pope. Castiglioni led in the first ballot with eleven votes, and on 4 March in his capacity as the [[Apostolic Penitentiary|Major Penitentiary]] distributed ashes to the cardinals since it was [[Ash Wednesday]]. While there were whispers of a faction supporting de Gregorio, a faction consisting of Cardinals Antonio Maria Frosini, Carlo Maria Pedicini, Antonio Palotta, Tommaso Maria Raimondo Leopoldo Arezzo, and [[Agostino Rivarola]] was said to have started shoring up support for Castiglioni. On 6 March, de Gregorio was still in the lead, with Castiglioni receiving fifteen votes in the afternoon scrutiny. Due to a series of controversies surrounding de Gregorio throughout the day, de Gregorio's votes had fallen on 7 March, while Castiglioni received fourteen in the morning and fifteen in the afternoon. On 14 March, Castiglioni received 20 votes in the morning and 23 in the afternoon, while fluctuating on 15 and 16 March. Castiglioni received 22 votes in the 20 March morning vote while [[Bartolomeo Pacca]]'s votes increased that afternoon from 11 to 19 in a bid to end the deadlock and elect a compromise candidate. Castiglioni's voting total remained the same on the following day.<ref name=SV>{{cite web|url=http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/SV1829.html|title=SEDE VACANTE 1829|publisher=|author=John Paul Adams|date=20 August 2015|accessdate=20 February 2022}}</ref>

In the morning vote on 23 March, he had received 24 votes and received 26 in the afternoon. Meanwhile, [[Pope Gregory XVI|Cappellari]] received 19 votes that had originally been cast for Pacca due to his supporters deciding upon him as an amenable compromise and because Pacca was officially [[Jus exclusivae|vetoed]]. On 24 March, Cardinals [[Carlo Oppizzoni]] and [[Fabrizio Sceberras Testaferrata]], from different factions, were both privately in agreement to canvass additional support for Castiglioni. While Cappellari received 22 votes in an indication that his candidacy was improving, Castiglioni received 23 votes while de Gregorio had sunk to two votes. On 26 March, in the afternoon scrutiny, de Gregorio had suddenly risen to 24 votes while Castiglione had sunk to 14 or 15. He sunk to 13 on 28 March, though the results changed on 30 March in which de Gregorio had secured 23 votes and Castiglioni had secured just over 25 in the morning, only for both candidates to sink in the afternoon scrutiny. On 31 March, he had secured 28 votes with a clear lead, and barely had two-thirds majority in the morning ballot. In the next ballot, Castiglioni was elected as pope with 47 votes.<ref name=SV/>