The secret vote that elected Pope Gregory X lasted from November 1268 to September 1271. It was the first example of a papal election by “compromise,” after a long struggle between supporters of two main geopolitical medieval factions — those faithful to the papacy and those supporting the Holy Roman Empire.

Four of the 133 cardinal electors who will pick Pope Francis's successor in a conclave starting Wednesday have not yet arrived in Rome, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Friday. He stressed that there are still 133 who will enter the Sistine Chapel because the announced absences are only those of the two cardinals who have manifested health problems: the Spaniard Antonio Canizares Llovera and John Njue of Kenya.

VATICAN CITY (CNS)—All but four of the 135 cardinals who are eligible to enter the conclave May 7 to vote for a new pope had arrived in Rome by May 2, according to the Vatican press office.