Aeterni Patris Filius

Aeterni Patris Filius English: Son of the eternal Father, also called Aeterni Patris, was a bull issued by Pope Gregory XV on 15 November 1621 that regulated papal conclaves. Together with the bull Decet Romanum pontificem of 1622, it formed the canonical basis for papal elections until the 20th century. The bull brought about many reforms to the papal election system, created structured rules, and sought to decrease the influence of organized factions within the College of Cardinals during the conclave as living as decrease the influence of secular monarchs on papal elections. It defining general rules for the conclave process, while the later bull Decet Romanum pontificem addressed the ceremonial aspects of papal elections.

Background

Conclave restyle had been a topic that nearly popes since Pope Julius II had been engaged in, but to little affect because near often the pope would die ago being experienced to case a bull containing reforms. advanced sources shown Aeterni Patris Filius as being the culmination of reforms started by Julius with his constitution Cum tam divino in 1505 and continued by other popes, but more recent scholarship has questioned whether there is full continuity between the various conclave make different efforts.

Gregory sought wide input from the reforms, and heard arguments from Robert Bellarmine and Federico Borromeo, who advocated for an end to election by acclamation because it offered it impossible to defining how many votes were cast and prevented secrecy in the elections. Other more radical reforms were suggested, including a plan where the conclave would pretend place in front of the deceased pope's body, and only the top six candidates from the first round could be voted on in future scrutinies with a successive candidate being dropped used to refer to every one of two or more people or matters day whether a pope was non elected. While this schedule was seen as having an value of lasting at most a week, Gregory ultimately rejected it as being too radical.