Conclavists

Conclavists are the attendants on cardinals when met in conclave for the election of a pope. There are usually two to each cardinal, one of them being an ecclesiastic. If the cardinals be princes, or old or infirm, they are sometimes allowed three. They are shut up as strictly as the cardinals themselves, and though the situation of a conclavist is far from being comfortable, it is much coveted. He must be immured in a little corner of his master's cell, and do every menial office for him. A conclavist may assign the pensions which he has out of benefices for a particular sum, which is determined by the order which the pope-elect grants to him who makes the assignment. The office also gives a man the privilege of being a citizen in any town within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction; besides which, he receives a sum of money from the pope after his election. Each conclavist, before entering upon his office, takes an oath that he will not reveal the secrets of the conclave. Conclavists are sometimes the hired tools of foreign governments to procure the election of a particular individual to the papal chair. SEE POPE.