Exerpt from Inside the Vatican*

"Through the centuries, the form of pontifical elections has varied.  Temporal rulers ~ even mobs ~ have tried to influence the selection;  sometimes they have succeeded.  But no longer.  The isolated cardinals now elect a pope by one of three procedures:  by inspiration (acclamation), by compromise (negotiation), or by scrutiny (secret balloting requiring a two-thirds majority).  Scrutiny has been by far the most common recent method.  In centuries gone by, the deliberations have included not only persuasion, but also threats and even bribery.  But always, always prayer.

The saying is simple:  "Cardinals have elected, but God has chosen."

Source:  Inside the Vatican, Bart McDowell, National Geographic Society, The Book Division, 1991.

For two centuries, a power struggle "put church and state on collision courses.  Four times the papal government was overthrown.  First, in 1798, following the French Revolution, French troops proclaimed a Roman Republic and captured Pope Pius VI, who died a prisoner in France.  Then, in 1808, Napoleon dismantled the papal state and took Pius VII prisoner.  And in 1849, at the start of the long reign of Pius IX, the Italians announced a second Roman Republic.  French troops helped restore Pius IX.  But by 1870 Italian troops had occupied the papal lands and proclaimed Rome the capital of the new kingdom of Italy.
     The new Italian government enacted laws that permitted the Pope to use the Vatican and other properties considered part of the kingdom.  But Pius IX refused to accept this new status.  He regarded the Holy See as a sacred trust to be handed over to his successor in the same condition it had been received.  He and his immediate successors chose to live as "prisoners in the Vatican," never setting foot outside the grounds from the moment of their election..."

Tomorrow:  It was not until 1929 that this bitter conflict came to an end.