The word conclave evokes images of locked doors, rising smoke, and prayers in St. Peter’s Square—but this wasn't always the way popes were chosen. This video takes you back to the first true conclave in 1271, when a deacon named Tedaldo Visconti was elected as Pope Gregory X after three years of deadlock. Discover how a crisis in Viterbo, pressure from the people, and a revolutionary papal bull led to the birth of the modern papal election process. Explore the legacy of a pope whose heart remained in the Holy Land, and whose final gift helped build the cathedral where he now rests.

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