section_path: Papacy (1878–1903)/Election
section_name: Election
paragraph_text: Election
  
  Pope Pius IX died on 7 February 1878, In the conclave, the cardinals faced varied questions and discussed issues like church–state relations in Europe, specifically Italy; divisions in the church; and the status of the First Vatican Council. It was also debated that the conclave be moved elsewhere, but Pecci decided otherwise in his capacity as the camerlengo. On 18 February 1878, the conclave assembled in Rome. Cardinal Pecci was elected on the third ballot and chose the name Leo XIII. He was crowned on 3 March 1878.
  
  During the conclave, he secured his election on the third scrutiny with 44 out of 61 votes, more than the requisite two-thirds majority. While the 1878 conclave was characterized by fewer political influences than in previous conclaves due to a variety of European political crises, it was generally believed that the long papacy of the conservative Pius IX led many of the cardinals to vote for Pecci because his age and health created the expectation that his papacy would be somewhat brief. Following the conclave, John Henry Newman is reported to have said: "In the successor of Pius I recognize a depth of thought, a tenderness of heart, a winning simplicity, and a power answering to the name of Leo, which prevent me from lamenting that Pius is no longer here." In the conclave, Pecci was perceived as the main " papabile " candidate; however, Cardinals Flavio Chigi and Tommaso Martinelli were also considered as potential candidates. But some cardinals who opposed Pecci, and were alarmed at the rising votes he was securing, banded together to cast their ballots for Cardinal Alessandro Franchi; however, Franchi secured no votes in the final ballot that saw Pecci duly elected. Allegedly, those who were dedicated to thwarting his election were Cardinals Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano, Pietro Giannelli, Chigi, Lorenzo Ilarione Randi, Carlo Sacconi, Raffaele Monaco La Valletta, Luigi Amat di San Filippo e Sorso, and Johann Baptist Franzelin. It was also suggested that, before his death, Pius IX heavily favored Cardinal Luigi Bilio to succeed him, and while many of the cardinals created by the late pope intended to vote for Bilio to honor the man who elevated them in the first place, they feared that voting for an ultra-conservative could potentially evoke a veto from one of the European powers and stall the election more than was necessary. To that end, there had been early talks about Austria possibly vetoing Bilio; however, this never occurred. Before the conclave, Cardinals Domenico Bartolini, Monaco, Bilio, Henry Edward Manning, Lorenzo Nina, and Franchi (proposed by Pecci's opponents) all agreed on supporting Pecci's candidacy, also determining that the next pope needed to be an Italian. Both Manning and Edward Henry Howard agreed to persuade the foreign cardinals to back Pecci's candidacy.
  
  Upon his election, he announced that he would assume the name "Leo" in memory of Pope Leo XII due to his admiration for the late pope's interest in education and his conciliatory attitude toward foreign governments. When asked what name he would take, the new pope responded: "As Leo XIII, in remembrance of Leo XII, whom I have always venerated". His election was formally announced to the people of Rome and the world at 1:15 pm.
  
  He retained the administration of the Perugia see until 1880.
  
  Pope Pius IX died on 7 February 1878, In the conclave, the cardinals faced varied questions and discussed issues like church–state relations in Europe, specifically Italy; divisions in the church; and the status of the First Vatican Council. It was also debated that the conclave be moved elsewhere, but Pecci decided otherwise in his capacity as the camerlengo. On 18 February 1878, the conclave assembled in Rome. Cardinal Pecci was elected on the third ballot and chose the name Leo XIII. He was crowned on 3 March 1878.
  
  During the conclave, he secured his election on the third scrutiny with 44 out of 61 votes, more than the requisite two-thirds majority. While the 1878 conclave was characterized by fewer political influences than in previous conclaves due to a variety of European political crises, it was generally believed that the long papacy of the conservative Pius IX led many of the cardinals to vote for Pecci because his age and health created the expectation that his papacy would be somewhat brief. Following the conclave, John Henry Newman is reported to have said: "In the successor of Pius I recognize a depth of thought, a tenderness of heart, a winning simplicity, and a power answering to the name of Leo, which prevent me from lamenting that Pius is no longer here." In the conclave, Pecci was perceived as the main " papabile " candidate; however, Cardinals Flavio Chigi and Tommaso Martinelli were also considered as potential candidates. But some cardinals who opposed Pecci, and were alarmed at the rising votes he was securing, banded together to cast their ballots for Cardinal Alessandro Franchi; however, Franchi secured no votes in the final ballot that saw Pecci duly elected. Allegedly, those who were dedicated to thwarting his election were Cardinals Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano, Pietro Giannelli, Chigi, Lorenzo Ilarione Randi, Carlo Sacconi, Raffaele Monaco La Valletta, Luigi Amat di San Filippo e Sorso, and Johann Baptist Franzelin. It was also suggested that, before his death, Pius IX heavily favored Cardinal Luigi Bilio to succeed him, and while many of the cardinals created by the late pope intended to vote for Bilio to honor the man who elevated them in the first place, they feared that voting for an ultra-conservative could potentially evoke a veto from one of the European powers and stall the election more than was necessary. To that end, there had been early talks about Austria possibly vetoing Bilio; however, this never occurred. Before the conclave, Cardinals Domenico Bartolini, Monaco, Bilio, Henry Edward Manning, Lorenzo Nina, and Franchi (proposed by Pecci's opponents) all agreed on supporting Pecci's candidacy, also determining that the next pope needed to be an Italian. Both Manning and Edward Henry Howard agreed to persuade the foreign cardinals to back Pecci's candidacy.
  
  Upon his election, he announced that he would assume the name "Leo" in memory of Pope Leo XII due to his admiration for the late pope's interest in education and his conciliatory attitude toward foreign governments. When asked what name he would take, the new pope responded: "As Leo XIII, in remembrance of Leo XII, whom I have always venerated". His election was formally announced to the people of Rome and the world at 1:15 pm.
  
  He retained the administration of the Perugia see until 1880.